Poorest face dilemma in Africa"s cities
A recent study in South Africa and Ghana shows people support government steps to combat COVID-19 but lack the infrastructure and financial security required to maintain social distancing......»»

Catnip leaves kitties feline groovy, wards off mosquitoes: study
Catnip is known to hold a special place in the hearts of felines, who often respond by rubbing their face and head in the plant, rolling around on the ground, then zoning out in a state of intoxicated repose......»»
Storing information with light
New photo-ferroelectric materials allow storage of information in a non-volatile way using light stimulus. The idea is to create energy efficient memory devices with high performance and versatility to face current challenges. The study has been pub.....»»
Jack Ma makes his first public appearance in months
Jack Ma just made his first public appearance in months as his tech empire continues to face scrutiny from Chinese regulators......»»
Genetic rewiring behind spectacular evolutionary explosion in East Africa
Genetic rewiring could have driven an evolutionary explosion in the shapes, sizes and adaptations of cichlid fish, in East Africa's answer to Darwin's Galapagos finches......»»
Forests go into growth "overdrive" to recover from drought
One in 12 people could face severe drought every year by 2100, according to a recent study. And water stored on two-thirds of the Earth's land surface will shrink as the climate warms. As plant ecologists, we're concerned with what that means for for.....»»
Empty cities have long been a post-apocalyptic trope – now, they are a reality
Carry out a Google image search of the phrase "28 Days Later" and among the many stills and publicity images for the 2002 horror film, one will find a scattering of photographs of London taken during the first COVID-19 lockdown in late March and earl.....»»
Massive Blackouts Have Hit Iran. The Government is Blaming Bitcoin Mining.
Massive blackouts and smog have hit cities across Iran. It's a toxic mix as the country, already under economic duress and suffocating U.S. sanctions, simultaneously battles the region's worst coronavirus outbreak. Blackouts are not new in Iran, wher.....»»
Cosmic beasts and where to find them
Two giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa's powerful MeerKAT telescope. These galaxies are thought to be amongst the largest single objects in the Universe. The discovery has been published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal.....»»
Surprising new mechanism of heat shock response identified in yeast cells
How cells respond in the face of stress is a critical component of maintaining homeostasis and preventing disease, but its mechanisms are poorly understood. New research out of the University of Chicago has fit together another piece of the puzzle by.....»»
Startups at CES showed how tech can help elderly people and their caregivers
The COVID-19 pandemic shined a harsh spotlight on the challenges many elderly people face. Older adults are among the highest-risk groups for developing cases that need hospitalization and nursing homes were especially vulnerable to outbreaks. While.....»»
Cities can help migrating birds on their way by planting more trees and turning lights off at night
Millions of birds travel between their breeding and wintering grounds during spring and autumn migration, creating one of the greatest spectacles of the natural world. These journeys often span incredible distances. For example, the Blackpoll Warbler.....»»
The best COVID tech of CES 2021: Smart masks and sanitizers
From smart face masks to temperature-checking doorbells, there was plenty of tech introduced at CES 2021 designed to combat COVID-19. Here was the best......»»
Researcher discusses how social movements succeed
The summer of 2020 was not the first time activists marched in the streets of major U.S. cities, expressing their outrage over high-profile episodes of police brutality and demanding an end to racial inequities. Nor was it the first time that protest.....»»
Facial Recognition Reveals Political Party In Troubling New Research
Researchers have created a machine learning system that they claim can determine a person's political party, with reasonable accuracy, based only on their face. TechCrunch reports: The study, which appeared this week in the Nature journal Scientific.....»»
Scientists reduce uncertainty in forest carbon storage calculations
Investors who bet on tropical forest conservation and reforestation to solve global warming by storing carbon in wood face huge uncertainties because the science behind predicting carbon stocks is still shaky. Even the best Earth Systems Models fail.....»»
Poorest face dilemma in Africa"s cities
A recent study in South Africa and Ghana shows people support government steps to combat COVID-19 but lack the infrastructure and financial security required to maintain social distancing......»»
At a subdued CES, computers provide excitement
In a most unusual time, CES was diminished this year, with lots of companies including Google and Amazon not having a substantial presence and presenters mourning the lack of face-to-face contact. But one category that was still on fire with new prod.....»»
Scientists discover new "spectacular" bat from West Africa
A group of scientists led by the American Museum of Natural History and Bat Conservation International have discovered a new species of a striking orange and black bat in a mountain range in West Africa. The species, which the researchers expect is l.....»»
Rethinking urban planning for sub-Saharan African cities
For his thesis project at EPFL, Armel Kemajou studied the peri-urban areas of Lomé, Togo, and Yaoundé, Cameroon, where populations are expected to double in 20 years. He observed construction strategies that reflected coherent individual and collec.....»»
Facial recognition reveals political party in troubling new research
Researchers have created a machine learning system that they claim can determine a person’s political party, with reasonable accuracy, based only on their face. The study, from a group that also showed that sexual preference can seemingly be in.....»»