By Marina Joubert, Science Communication Researcher, Stellenbosch University
Antimicrobial resistance is projected to cause up to 10 million deaths each year by 2050, making it one of the most pressing global health challenges of this century. In 2021, an estimated 4.71 million deaths were associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance happens when disease-causing microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi…
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By Busani Ngcaweni, Director: Center for Public Policy and African Studies & Visiting Professor, China Foreign Affairs University, University of Johannesburg
In the ongoing quest to understand South Africa’s political and economic stagnation, it may be helpful to look at other postcolonial states that have travelled further along the path of independence. This may help clarify the stagnation question that citizens, politicians and economists are grappling with.
Much of the analysis of postcolonial Africa and…
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By Richard Fosu, Lecturer in International Relations, Monash University
Hardly a month goes by without news of another unconstitutional change of government on the African continent.
These can take one of three forms.
The first is a military coup d’état or violent change of (democratically) elected government. The second is the refusal of an incumbent government to relinquish power after losing an election. And finally, manipulating constitutions to win or extend term limits of an incumbent government.
We study
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By Nick Scroxton, Research Fellow, Palaeoclimate, National University of Ireland Maynooth
Gerrit (Gert) van den Bergh, Researcher in Palaeontology, University of Wollongong
Michael Gagan, Honorary Professor, Palaeoclimate, University of Wollongong; The University of Queensland
Mika Rizki Puspaningrum, Researcher in Palaeontology, Bandung Institute of Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung
About 50,000 years ago, humanity lost one of its last surviving hominin cousins, Homo floresiensis (also known as “the hobbit” thanks to its small stature). The cause of its disappearance, after more than a million years living on the isolated volcanic island of Flores, Indonesia, has been a longstanding mystery.
Now, new evidence suggests a period of extreme drought starting about 61,000 years ago may have contributed to the hobbits’ disappearance.
Our new study, published today in Communications…
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By Nikhil Venkatesh, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Sheffield
As OpenAI marks its tenth birthday in December 2025, it can celebrate becoming one of the world’s leading companies, worth perhaps as much as US$1 trillion (£750 billion). But it started as a non-profit with a serious moral mission – and its story demonstrates the difficulty of combining morality with capitalism.
The firm recently became a “public…
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By Samantha Brooks, Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Liverpool John Moores University
We often throw caution to the cold, dark wind of December when it comes to spending. The cost-of-living crisis may slip our minds amid the razzle-dazzle of Christmas. We just want a moment to enjoy ourselves, to forget about the winter gloom. It’s natural for us to behave this way. Our brains are wired for it.
People in the UK spend on average an extra £700 at Christmas. The UK Office…
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By Siobhan Mclernon, Senior Nurse Lecturer , London South Bank University
Raafiah Mussa, PhD Candidate, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL
Surviving a stroke is only the beginning. Many people face years of hidden disabilities, limited rehabilitation and financial strain without enough help.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The flag of the United Republic of Tanzania. © 2010 TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images (Nairobi) – Tanzanian authorities have wrongfully arrested alleged protest organizers and opposition supporters ahead of nationwide protests called for December 9, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should end its crackdown and immediately release all those arbitrarily detained.Activists have urged people to demonstrate peacefully on Tanzania’s Independence Day, known as D9, against the police use of lethal force around the October 29 general elections.…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A picture of former Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, December 8, 2024. © 2024 Omar Sanadiki/AP Photo (Beirut) – Syrian transitional authorities have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities, Human Rights Watch said today on the anniversary of the former government’s fall. As Syrian authorities move the country forward, they should, with international support, credibly address outstanding…
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By Thulani Ningi, Research associate, University of Fort Hare
Alois Mugadza, Research Fellow, The University of the West Indies
Saul Ngarava, Postdoctoral research associate, University of Lincoln
South Africa’s water, energy and food crises are interconnected. Coordinated funding across all three, including community-led and blended finance, is needed.
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