AI and blockchain are coming to African farms: 4 things must happen for farmers to benefitOlaoluwa Omoniyi Olarewaju, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Mining, water and trust: how Namibia’s geoscientists see their role with communitiesMarina Joubert, Stellenbosch University
What animal bones in Malawi teach us about the social lives of people long agoAlex Bertacchi, University of Kiel and Jessica C. Thompson, Yale University
Brambles are a problem weed in South Africa but researchers are closer to finding a natural enemy to manage themGrant Martin, Rhodes University
Illegal fishing is thriving in African waters – a satellite system could help change thatWanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, University of Florida
Lion tracks from the ice age: how two ways of seeing brought ancient animals to lifeCharles Helm, Nelson Mandela University; Clive Thompson, and Jan Carlo De Vynck, University of the Witwatersrand
One third of food is lost or wasted: how to help farmers cut post-harvest lossesAbeeb Babatunde Omotoso, North-West University; Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; North-West University; Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu, North-West University, and Olaniyi Fawole, University of Johannesburg
Snakebites are a far bigger problem than we knew: new study maps the hidden dangersDileepa Ediriweera, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
African genomics research is growing: what countries are doing to connect genetic data and healthcareMohamed Zahir Alimohamed, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
Zimbabwe’s dinosaurs were different from South Africa’s: new species offers cluesPaul Barrett, Natural History Museum
Ocean, desert rainfall and a parasitic disease: researchers connect patternsAdrià San José Plana, Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS); Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Xavier Rodo, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
New world map makes Africa look bigger: what’s the fuss about? Cartographers explainJack Swab, University of Tennessee and Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee
Africa’s rocks hold ancient stories. We need better ways to document and protect themKamaldeen O L Omosanya, University of the Western Cape
Fewer than 2% of Africans who need hearing aids have them, but new solutions offer hopeDe Wet Swanepoel, University of Pretoria
Sunscreen for lakes and dams: could a thin floating layer of nanomaterial shield water from evaporation?Daniel Kwasi Kpeglo, University of South Africa
Discovery of ancient DNA from antelope fossils in South Africa opens a new window on the pastDeon de Jager, University of Copenhagen and Eline Lorenzen, University of Copenhagen
Early mammals weren’t all loners, as scientists thought – some already lived in pairs alongside the dinosaursCarsten Schradin, Université de Strasbourg; University of the Witwatersrand
South Africa produces enough food, yet millions face hunger. Better cold storage could help change thatIkechukwu Opara, Stellenbosch University and Frederic Isingizwe, University of the Western Cape
Air traffic control is becoming more automated. Is regulation keeping up?Cindy Hendrikse, University of Cape Town
A new class of metals could transform Africa’s clean energy economy – scientists explainMichael Oluwatosin Bodunrin, University of the Witwatersrand; Abdalrhaman Koko, National Physical Laboratory, and Nihad Omer, Sudan University of Science and Technology
The bloodsucking insect with a saw for a mouth: how the tsetse fly bites through almost anythingMarkus Engstler, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg and Daniel Masiga, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
The soil’s early warning system: microbes can predict desertification before plants start to dieMarc Van Goethem, University of Pretoria
Archaeology has evolved: Four eras of understanding Africa’s pastTim Forssman, University of Mpumalanga
South Africa’s privacy laws are evolving, but vulnerable people are being left behindPhumezo Ntlatywa, Sol Plaatje University
Can a newly discovered soil fungus stop the devastating African armyworm when chemicals have failed?Letodi Luki Mathulwe, Stellenbosch University
Antibiotic resistance is spreading through South Africa’s water systems: study explains howThulani P. Makhalanyane, Stellenbosch University and John Paul Makumbi, Stellenbosch University
Stored water can develop slimy bacterial films: nanotechnology may be a solutionMuthumuni Elizabeth Managa, University of South Africa and Lijo Mona, University of South Africa
Did Cape Town’s gunshot detection system work? Why jury is still out on what ShotSpotter achievedGrant Oosterwyk, University of Cape Town; Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Raffaele F. Ciriello, University of Sydney
The sex life of treefrogs: how females build better nests by mating with multiple partnersPhillip Byrne, University of Wollongong and Aimee Silla, University of Wollongong
Oxygen atoms in 15-million-year-old giant eggshells reveal how plants reacted to a hotter Earth – studyVincent Hare, University of Cape Town
Lesotho’s mountain life was harsh for early humans: fire made all the differenceKyra Pazan, California State University, Stanislaus and Andrew Carr, University of Leicester
In Sudan, a migrant community reveals a resistance to malaria: the genetic study helping shape medicineDavid Comas, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Instituto de Biología Evolutiva (IBE - CSIC - UPF) and Laura Vilà Valls, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Instituto de Biología Evolutiva (IBE - CSIC - UPF)
Embryo fossil found in South Africa is world’s oldest proof that mammal ancestors laid eggsJulien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand; Jennifer Botha, University of the Witwatersrand, and Vincent Fernandez, University of the Witwatersrand
Life in fossil bones: what we can learn from tiny traces of ancient blood chemicalsTimothy G. Bromage, New York University
Monkeys keep pets too – animal specialist on the world of interspecies friendshipCyril Grueter, The University of Western Australia; University of Oxford
Female baboons keep family bonds strong: research reveals the benefitsJoan Silk, Arizona State University
A Namib desert beetle runs to stay cool: how scientists solved the puzzle of this unique and speedy speciesDuncan Mitchell, University of the Witwatersrand and Joh R. Henschel, University of the Free State
Chimpanzees ingest more than the equivalent of one alcoholic drink a day – new researchStefano Kaburu, Nottingham Trent University
Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it tooKayla Kolff, Osnabrück University and Simone Pika, Osnabrück University
AI can make the dead talk – why this doesn’t comfort usTom Divon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Christian Pentzold, University of Leipzig
Could AI create a new form of inequality in South Africa?Rennie Naidoo, University of the Witwatersrand
AI regulation in Africa: why copying the European model won’t workKinfe Yilma, University of Leeds and Grace Mutung'u, Strathmore University
AI offers promise for agriculture, but smallholder farmers risk being left behindAbiodun Olusola Omotayo, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; North-West University and Abeeb Babatunde Omotoso, North-West University
