Zimbabwe prepares to hold its second election since the 2017 overthrow of President Robert Mugabe, with many disenchanted at a lack of progress under his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa. Many Zimbabweans face economic hardship, and some young people are turning to drugs to fill the void created by a lack of opportunities.
Plus, we look at the impact of the World Bank saying Uganda won’t receive new loans from the institution, as a result of the country passing a stringent anti-LGBTQ+ law in May. Uganda’s government has called the announcement unjust and hypocritical.
And we hear reactions from Ghana to the new government-imposed 10% tax on betting and lottery winnings. The move has not been well received by gamblers, but the authorities say they need the extra revenue.
Hawaii is still reeling from the devastating fires that consumed Lahaina on the island of Maui last week. Professor of Meteorology from the University of Hawaii, Kevin Hamiliton, joins Science in Action to discuss the factors that make these events more likely across the Hawaiian Islands. Amongst these is climate change.
Also this week we discuss the concerning reports of a sudden spike in methane levels in the Arctic with Xin Lan of the US National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.
A few weeks ago, we devoted a whole programme to the exciting research on human embryo models made from stem cells. Whilst representing an incredible step for medical research, these raise serious ethical questions. A team of biologists and embryologists have put together a proposal on how to move forward with this ethical quandary, Embryologist Nicolas Rivron tells us more.
And we address the incredible claim of the room temperature super conductor, LK-99, with sceptical materials scientist Michael Fuhrer.
Photo: The Maui town of Lahaina after being destroyed by wildfires
Credit: Getty Images
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Richard Collings
Libya's political chaos continues. Two powerful militias clashed this week in the capital Tripoli. Calm was restored but over 50 people were killed, and more than 140 were injured.
A group of opposition parties in South Africa have been meeting to form an alliance to dislodge the ruling African National Congress from power. But why was the EFF excluded?
And a petitioner calls on members of parliament in Kenya to ban the use of popular social media app TikTok. He argues that the application is contributing to the erosion of cultural and religious morals.
The conversation this week starts off on corruption. There are allegations of political or corporate malfeasance in the news regularly throughout the world. But can science bring anything to the investigators? We look at some efforts to bring empirical rigour to the fight.
But corruption of sorts is also a big thing in our online lives. Algorithms can deliver duff results, maybe because they are poorly conceived, or perhaps because they are fed corrupt data.
So when our cellular biological algorithms are corrupted, our health is affected. Can cancerous tumours be considered corrupt organs, co-opting healthy cells to assist in their nefarious ends? Dr Ilaria Malanchi of the Crick Institute in London muses on the commonalities.
Also, a look at the politicisation of pre-human palaeontology and how our stories of human origins have been, and in some ways still are, connected with nationalist geographical identities that mainstream science doesn't recognize.
Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Yangyang Chen and Meral Jamal
Producer: Alex Mansfield, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins, Ben Motley, and Sophie Ormiston
After the military junta ruling Niger closed the country’s airspace, we look at the potential implications for the country, and for aviation in Africa more broadly. The move will force commercial aircraft to find alternative routes, increasing flight times and prices for passengers.
Plus, we take a look at why Ethiopia is desperate to establish permanent access to a sea port, and why recent comments from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have provoked the ire of the country’s coastal neighbours.
And we look at some of the factors behind the increase in the number of men in Kenya choosing to get vasectomies.
We speak to a farmer who had to flee Sudan due to the ongoing conflict, while the UN is warning that 20 million people in the country face severe acute hunger.
What makes a good leader? We'll find out from young Burundian leadership coach Iris Irumva.
And we bring you the second part of our special looking at the story behind the prison escape of convicted criminal Thabo Bester, a case that has transfixed South Africa.
Dogs have been our best animal buddy for thousands of years. They’ve helped us out in countless ways from hunting alongside us to guiding us as service dogs. Talk to any pet owner and they’ll tell you how much joy their dog brings them. But you’ll also probably hear about vets bills, muddy footprints, or chewed up slippers. There are plenty of claims about the ways in which dogs might benefit our physical and mental health -- but how strong is the evidence?
This week on CrowdScience, listeners Jason and Finn in Guernsey want to know if there’s any real evidence that our furry friends can benefit our health and wellbeing.
Join Anand Jagatia as he enlists the help of his own pup, Stella, to explore the evidence. He uncovers the profound effects that service dogs can have on the mental health of military veterans in the US. Anand ponders the strangely unique relationship between humans and dogs and we learn about the surprising ways that about growing up with a pet dog can impact your health.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Emily Bird
Editor: Richard Collings
Studio Engineer: Donald MacDonald
Production coordinator: Jonathan Harris, Elliott Prince
Contributors:
Dr Kerri Rodriguez
Professor Tove Fall
Professor Hal Herzog
(Photo: Jack Russell leaping into the air trying to catch a ball. Credit: Brighton Dog Photography/Getty Images)
ECOWAS leaders have ended their emergency summit on the coup in Niger. They say all options are still on the table. They have also called for the immediate activation of a standby force.
A new report accuses the Angolan police of serious human rights abuses.
And a global survey explores the hopes and aspirations of the world's youth.
ProMED is one of the most useful scientific tools you’ve never heard of. It’s a global surveillance system of infectious disease outbreaks which is available, for free, to researchers and the public alike. But ISID, the society which runs the platform, claim they have run out of money to support ProMED and will be switching to a subscription service, against the wishes of both users and staff. ProMED editor Marjorie Pollak tells Science in Action about the vital service ProMED has played in pandemic monitoring – including the very first COVID outbreaks - and ISID boss Linda MacKinnon considers what’s next for the platform.
From wildfires in Europe to droughts in Africa, we have covered every kind of environmental disaster across most of the globe in the space of the past few weeks. To complete the distressing bucket list of climate extremes, we’re talking to sea ice expert Caroline Holmes on the concerning forecast for Antarctica.
Despite these terrestrial challenges, NASA is still trying to defend Earth against nearby objects which might hit us from space. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was launched at the asteroid Dimorphos back in in November 2021 and, a few weeks ago, the Hubble space telescope observed a swarm of boulders shed by Dimorphos post-impact. Some UK newspapers are concerned about their trajectory, but astronomer Dave Jewitt is here to calm us all down.
Photo: Disinfection Work At Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market
Credit: China News Service
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Richard Collings
