Coronaviruses and bats have been evolving together for millions of years
Reading Time: 4 minutesBATS do a lot of good for the world — they pollinate plants, they eat disease-carrying insects, and they help disperse seeds that help with the regeneration of tropical forest trees. Bats and a range of other mammal groups are also natural carriers of coronaviruses. To better understand this very diverse family of viruses, which […]
They live in the most biodiverse place on Earth but they go hungry
Reading Time: 3 minutesMASSIVE seasonal floods mean many ribeirinhos – a marginalised social group who live alongside rivers in Brazil’s Amazonian floodplain forests, struggle to catch enough fish to eat and can go hungry. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] The Purus River, which flows towards the regional capital city of Manaus, undergoes one of the largest annual variations […]
FAO, UN fight locust plague amid Covid-19 pandemic
Reading Time: 3 minutesROME: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is continuing its efforts to contain the Desert Locust upsurge in East Africa despite restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] The Desert Locust upsurge continues to remain alarming, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, […]
Key nose cells identified as likely COVID-19 virus entry points
Reading Time: 4 minutesTWO specific cell types in the nose have been identified as likely initial infection points for COVID-19 coronavirus. Scientists discovered that goblet and ciliated cells in the nose have high levels of the entry proteins that the COVID-19 virus uses to get into our cells. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] The identification of these cells […]
COVID-19 could not have come at a worse time for vulnerable communities across West Africa
Reading Time: 6 minutesWest Africa and the Sahel region in particular have long been prone to droughts and food shortages, and over the past decade, rising insecurity. How is the situation now? This is a complex region – hit by chronic hunger, insecurity, climate change, the threats of a Desert Locust outbreak, and now the pandemic. Year after […]
ISAAA global coordinator: Policies, ethics, religions, all constitute science communications
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCOMMUNICATING SCIENCE is not just about communicating the science of the technology, but also talking about policies, regulations, ethics, and religion and many other things that influence decision making. This is according to ISAAA Global Coordinator Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan. In her interview with Plantae, Arujanan discussed [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] why scientists should communicate science effectively. […]
Coalition: Avert global food security crisis amid fight against pandemic
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA COALITION has called on world leaders urgently to maintain open trade of their surplus food products. The Call to Action has been made as the group is alarmed by the risk of global and regional food shortages triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Published on April 9, 2020, and signed by 60 experts, the call to […]