- The Scientists path Series
The whole idea of this project is: To give a younger scientist a guide into a science career by learning from others in addition to knowing the diversity of career Continue Reading - Phytochemicals and their health benefits
Have you ever taken black coffee/tea with no sugar, or concoctions your mother made you from some roots and barks of plants, claiming that it would cure your stomach ache? Continue Reading - Social media users in Kenya and South Africa trust science, but still share COVID-19 hoaxesHerman Wasserman, University of Cape Town and Dani Madrid-Morales, University of Houston The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread disinformation circulating on social media globally. This includes false information about Continue Reading
- Nairobi is rapidly losing its green spaces: this could open the door to more diseases
Hundreds of trees have been felled along Nairobi’s Uhuru and Waiyaki highways to make space for a new expressway. CELINE CLERY/AFP via Getty Images Eric Fèvre, University of Liverpool and Continue Reading - Healthcare professionals can help reduce antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites resist the actions of the antimicrobials (drugs) that are designed to kill them, making infections harder to treat hence increasing Continue Reading - A career in science policy
For the longest time, I thought I wanted to work the rest of my life behind a microscope or be that lady in a white coat which seemed cool. However, Continue Reading - Is Climate Change contributing to Antimicrobial Resistance?
Global temperatures have increased by about 1ºC in the past century and is continuing to rise. Currently, countries around the world are working towards the targets set out in the Continue Reading - Science Media Africa Partnership announcement
I (Sarah Nyakeri) am not the best communicator around but passionate about it, especially science communication. I am learning everday. I created this space to share news, articles, explainers, summaries Continue Reading - New guidelines for malaria launched
The WHO Guidelines for malaria, launched today, bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-friendly and easy-to-navigate online platform. They are designed to support malaria-affected countries in their Continue Reading - Diagnosis of malaria: WHO 2021 Guidelines
The signs and symptoms of malaria are non-specific. Malaria is suspected clinically primarily on the basis of fever or a history of fever. There is no combination of signs or Continue Reading - Mary Oyiela Abukutsa Onyango- African Scientist
Mary Abukutsa is a dynamic result-oriented, strategic thinker and transformational leader with a personal mission statement that guides her in touching lives through the provision of excellent service with humility Continue Reading - A Namibian Teenager invents a Sim-Less and Airtime-less Phone
The invention of a secondary school student named Simon Petrus got Namibia’s social media abuzz for the right reasons. Simon Petrus created a mobile phone that works with radio frequencies, no sim card nor Continue Reading - Technologically Excluded
Almost everything is electronic these days, from banking to treatment that we receive. Yet as the world moves in a fast pace forward technologically, a lot of people are left Continue Reading - Microbiology and Quality Assurance
When I joined campus to study industrial microbiology and biotechnology, I had no idea of where that would lead me. I knew I would end up in a lab somewhere Continue Reading - Explainer: Clinical Trials in Vaccine Development
Development of treatments and interventions is not a walk in the park as it requires intense research, tests, trials, financing and time. It is very possible for an approved treatment Continue Reading - Monoclonal antibodies as a COVID-19 most promising medicine
For more than 30 years, monoclonal antibodies have transformed the way we treat many diseases. Researchers think they are also one of the most promising treatments for Covid-19. Here’s why. Continue Reading - What is Cloning and Types of Cloning
Is your information about cloning accurate? If you enjoy science fiction movies there is a high possibility that you have encountered the ‘cloning’ severally. Cloning is a fascinating technology and I remember Continue Reading - Interesting Facts About Microbiology
1. The human body has more microbes than there are human cells. In fact, microbes are ten times more than the number of human cells in a living human being. 2. The Continue Reading - Eight Common Problems with Science literature literature reviews and how to fix themResearchers regularly review the literature that’s generated by others in their field. This is an integral part of day-to-day research: finding relevant research, reading and digesting the main findings, summarising Continue Reading
- HIV prevention injection will soon be available for women
Women will soon have access to a more effective HIV preventive drug that would be given in six injections a year instead of 365 daily pills. This is after a Continue Reading - Why a Biochemistry Course is a Bad Idea in Africa
In sci-fi movies, Biochemistry seems to be Lucrative and fun but a nightmare in an African setting. Bright individuals end up telling anyone who wants to do the course to Continue Reading - The ‘science of where’, or GIS, fortified Kenya’s response to COVID-19. Here’s how
Original Author: Peter Macharia, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme The value and potential of geographic information system – or GIS, “the science of where” – has become even more obvious Continue Reading - COVID-19 in South Africa: who should get tested, and what’s available
South Africa has passed the peak of the infection curve, but the danger of a resurgence remains real. At the same time new tests are becoming available. Ina Skosana asked Glenda Mary Continue Reading - Climate change, migration and urbanisation: patterns in sub-Saharan Africa
The link between climate change and migration has gained both academic and public interest in recent years. Many studies have found that environmental hazards affect migration. But the links are nuanced and Continue Reading - Kenya’s Preparedness before the First Corona Virus Case
While coronavirus cases were increasing predominantly in China, What was Kenya doing? In this article, I am going to take you through press release summaries from the ministry of health Continue Reading - Study sheds light on what it takes for women to succeed – or not – in science in Africa
Women are 49.6% of the world’s population. An estimated 70% of the health and social care workforce are women; they deliver care to around 5 billion people. Women are also at the front-line Continue Reading - Stopping Africa’s scientific brain drain: Congo Basin Institute-CBI
Congo basin Institute, situated in Cameroon, is a permanent base where Africans can work in partnership with international researchers, but working out their own solutions to their own problems. CBI Continue Reading - Q and A About Genetically Modified Crops
Global agriculture finds itself engrossed in a heated debate over genetically modified (GM) crops. This debate, which features science, economics, politics, and even religion, is taking place almost everywhere. It Continue Reading - A room, a bar and a classroom: how the coronavirus is spread through the air
The risk of contagion is highest in indoor spaces but can be reduced by applying all available measures to combat infection via aerosols. Here is an overview of the likelihood Continue Reading - Arimis for Skincare Survey
We are doing a study on use Arimis for skincare. Here is a form to fill out. Loading… - Salmon becomes world’s first genetically-modified animal to enter food supply
A fast-growing salmon has become the first genetically engineered animal to be approved for human consumption in the United States. 9 things you need to know about GM Salmon GMO Continue Reading - Why uptake of traditional drugs is slow in Kenya
This material was originally published by Graham Kajilwa on Standard Media “What do you call a doctor in your mother tongue?” Maina Mwea asks in a tone that seeks to Continue Reading - After 15 Years in the Making, You Can Finally Buy Del Monte’s Pink Pineapple
Breeding or genetically modifying fruit to fit the consumer’s ideal is hardly a new concept — humans have been looking to perfect their crops pretty much since the invention of Continue Reading - Scientists build on HIV research in bid to stop snakebite deaths
NAIROBI — Earlier this year, in Gombe state, Nigeria, health workers injected 35 vials of anti-venom into a patient who was bitten by a snake. It didn’t work. This is because Continue Reading - $100M genomic sequencing initiative launches in Africa
GABORONE, Botswana — A $100 million initiative launched this week that aims to expand next-generation genomic sequencing tools and expertise across the African continent, which experts say could be used Continue Reading - We have Phd’s whose Education was a waste of resources – Dr. Njoki Maina
A PhD at 27, Dr. Njoki Maina rejected a position in Harvard to Move to teach in University of Nairobi. In an interview with Standard, she tells her story. What Continue Reading - Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials
There have been numerous scare stories about trials for a coronavirus vaccine being carried out on people in Africa. However, scientists say that it is vital that Africans take part Continue Reading - The FDA has approved the first treatment for Ebola
There is now an approved treatment for Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest diseases. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced October 14 that Inmazeb, a cocktail of lab-made antibodies Continue Reading - Kenya Scientists Release Genome sequencing for the Covid-19 Cases in Kenya
Scientists in Kenya have successfully sequenced genomes of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the global COVID-19 pandemic, obtaining important information about the genetic composition of viral strains in 122 of Continue Reading - ‘We cannot just be testing grounds’: COVID prompts African scientists to call for homegrown vaccines
African scientists say that the COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call that prompts the continent to produce more of its own human vaccines. As a first step, they are Continue Reading - How Infection Works
There is a close connection between microbes and humans. Experts believe about half of all human DNA originated from viruses that infected and embedded their nucleic acid in our ancestors’ egg and sperm cells. Microbes occupy all Continue Reading - Coronavirus in Africa: Five reasons why Covid-19 has been less deadly than elsewhere
Many African countries have been praised for waging an effective campaign to combat the spread of coronavirus despite their reputation for having fragile state heath systems. The continent, which has Continue Reading - When Africa was a German laboratory
At the turn of the 20th century, epidemics of trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness” as it is more commonly known, started to appear across Africa. A vector-borne parasitic disease causing apathy, Continue Reading - How to bring Sci-Hub to Its Knees
When you google this scientists’ darling AKA paywall publisher’s enemy, phrases like “removing barriers in the way of science” will greet you. Although created in 2011 by Alexander Elbakyan, Google trends show that sci-hub related keywords shot up in search between Nov-Dec 2017 (The second lawsuit) and between Dec 2019 to especially April 2020 (Must be COVID-19). Ranking top on the sci-hub-related-keywords charts were the United States, (especially Massachusetts followed by California), India, China and Ethiopia. - There is nothing like ‘Safe Social Distance’ in a room: CDC agrees COVID-19 is Airborne
CDC has finally acknowledged yesterday that we can become infected with COVID-19 through airborne transmission especially in rooms or spaces with inadequate ventilation. People farther than 6 feet apart can Continue Reading - Study Shows How the Brain Works While Speaking To Someone of a Different Social Class
The human brain apparently responds differently whenever we talk to someone of a different socioeconomic background from our own, compared to when we speak to someone we perceive as from Continue Reading - Circadian rhythm: liver gene helps body keep working smoothly after late nights and midnight snacks
We all have an internal “clock” which drives our circadian rhythm (the natural internal process that regulates our sleep-wake cycle during a 24-hour period). External light levels, eating times and Continue Reading - COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most countries, WHO survey
The Covid-19 pandemic not only comes with additional mental health issues but has disrupted or stopped mental health services in 93% of the countries surveyed by WHO between June and Continue Reading - Coronavirus in Senegal: Keeping Covid-19 at bay
Despite only having seven doctors for every 100,000 people, Senegal has been widely praised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. This article looks at how the country has managed Continue Reading - Build Science in Africa
In 10 Years time, the world population has been projected by the UN to be 8.3 billion from the current 7.8 Billion (October 2020) and 3.5 temperature increase. By 2050 Continue Reading - Africa CDC, FIND partner to build capacity for COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests in Africa
The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have announced a new partnership to build capacity in readiness for the Continue Reading - KENYAN SCIENTISTS EMBARK ON SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY RESEARCHThe first-ever government-funded research project on Synthetic Biology in Kenya has been launched. The project, funded under the country’s National Research Fund, will employ synthetic biology innovations in addressing intractable Continue Reading
- KENYA TO PLANT BT COTTON BY NOVEMBER 2020
Photo: Genetic Literacy Project Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Ms. Betty Maina said farmers should expect to plant Bt cotton by November 2020. Speaking during a science media Continue Reading - African countries need cheaper COVID-19 tests: here’s how to get them
COVID-19 continues to infect millions of people as the death toll mounts. There is currently no cure which means that controlling this disease requires a multi-pronged approach. This includes personal protection Continue Reading - Installation of Tree-mounted radio system in Cameroon’s Dja Reserve
Working with the Congo Basin Institute and Peter Houlihan, the FieldKit team is deploying a series of stations in the Dja Faunal Reserve, one of the largest and best-protected rainforests in Africa. The Continue Reading - Africa HIV Viral Load Movement Launched in Addis Ababa
The Africa HIV Viral Load Movement was launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 24 September 2019, in the presence of over 200 participants in the first consultative meeting of the Continue Reading - How digital technologies can help Africa’s smallholder farmers
Digitisation refers to everything from delivering farming advice via text messaging to interactive voice response. It also includes smart phone applications that link farmers to multimedia advisory content, farm inputs, and Continue Reading - Algeria and Argentina certified malaria-free by WHO
Geneva, 22 May 2019 – Algeria and Argentina have been officially recognized by WHO as malaria-free. The certification is granted when a country proves that it has interrupted indigenous transmission Continue Reading - Vaccine Production in Africa: A Feasible Business Model for Capacity Building and Sustainable New Vaccine Introduction
Africa has the highest incidence of mortality caused by infectious diseases, and remarkably does not have the capacity to manufacture vaccines that are essential to reduce mortality, improving life expectancy, Continue Reading - AI Kenya and Zindi Data Science hackathon recap
A brief look at what went down during AI Kenya’s first Data science hackathon event in collaboration with Zindi Africa, held on 13th October 2018 at Moringa School. Entry to Continue Reading - How we can stop Africa’s scientific brain drain
How can Africans find solutions to Africa’s problems? Conservation biologist Kevin Njabo tells his personal story of how he nearly became part of the group of African scientists who seek Continue Reading