Africa's architectural movement will benefit the world
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. A new generation of African architects are looking to nature for inspiration to create climate-friendly buildings, and doing so on the cheap. Their innovations are getting noticed abroad, while their influence is spreading.
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Economist
2 days ago
- Economist
Africa's architectural movement will benefit the world
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. A new generation of African architects are looking to nature for inspiration to create climate-friendly buildings, and doing so on the cheap. Their innovations are getting noticed abroad, while their influence is spreading.
Scottish Sun
02-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Inside the labs on the frontline in the battle against one of the world's deadliest diseases – as it reaches Europe
A SWARM of blood-sucking mosquitoes encircle me, buzzing around my face. I'm perched on a bed in a tin-roofed shed and the only barrier to the outside world is a mozzie net filled with holes. 7 Sun Health's Isabel Shaw behind a mosquito net at the Ifakara Institute Credit: © Malaria no More UK/Jordi Matas 7 Dr Brian Tarimo carrying out research at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania Credit: © Malaria no More UK/Jordi Matas 7 Studies can aid the ever-growing threat posed by mosquitoes across the globe Credit: © Malaria no More UK/Jordi Matas I'm at the Ifakara Health Institute, in rural Tanzania, Africa, nestled among towering palms. Here, British and African scientists work in converted shipping containers on the front line in the battle against deadly malaria. Deaths from the infection have been rising. There were 620,000 victims in 2022, up from 560,000 a decade ago — most of them African children under five, according to the World Health Organisation. After years of progress, with global deaths down from 1.8million in 2004, warmer temperatures, war and Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have fuelled a resurgence of the disease. The WHO says 249 million cases were reported globally in 2022, up from 233 million in 2019. Europe was declared malaria-free by the WHO in 2015, but now its threat is edging closer again. 'Smile hides heartbreak' Malaria-carrying mosquitoes have reached southern Europe, and medical cases of affected holidaymakers coming into Britain are at their highest level in more than 20 years, with 2,106 cases in 2023. Symptoms are flu-like, but severe cases can be fatal. People who haven't been regularly exposed to malaria, like those in Europe, don't have the same immunity as those in Africa Dr Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera, principal research scientist at the institute, tells Sun Health their work could have far-reaching consequences for the whole world. He says: 'With global travel and population movement, there's every chance the disease could spread to new regions — if that happens in Europe, the consequences could be serious. Malaria No More UK's campaign film featuring David Beckham 'People who haven't been regularly exposed to malaria, like those in Europe, don't have the same immunity as those in Africa who have lived with the disease for some time, so the risk of severe illness or death is much higher.' In Tanzania, it's as prevalent as the common cold, but that doesn't erase the devastation this disease has brought to families. In a dusty neighbourhood in Dar es Salaam, a few hours from Ifakara, I meet Jamima Charles Abel. She welcomes me into her home — a tiny space along a narrow, muddy street shared by several families. Her smile hides the heartbreak her family has endured. Her son Eric Daniel Richard, 24, 'loved people', Jamima tells me. He was a hard worker at a local business, supporting his family despite having moved out. One day last December, he developed flu-like symptoms. Within 24 hours, he was gone. Jamima, 44, is terrified for her other two children. Just last month, her 17-year-old son caught malaria but has since recovered. The infection is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. 7 Europe was declared malaria-free by the WHO in 2015, but now its threat is edging closer again Credit: Getty 7 Drones are being used to find and dismantle mosquito breeding grounds Credit: © Malaria no More UK/Jordi Matas 7 An insectary at the institute in Tanzania helps researchers fight against the spread of malaria Credit: © Malaria no More UK/Jordi Matas Male mosquitoes don't bite and are therefore harmless. When an infected mosquito bites a person, the parasite enters the bloodstream and infiltrates red blood cells. Genetically engineered mosquitoes The Plasmodium parasite is adept at evading the immune system. It means a vaccine, which seems like the simplest option, is far from straightforward. So scientists are working on other cutting-edge solutions. A team from Imperial College London, in partnership with a team at Ifakara, has genetically engineered mosquitoes resistant to the malaria parasite. It's hoped these mozzies will be released into the wild within eight years, dominating and repopulating areas within a few months. 'This is the first malaria-fighting technology that doesn't rely on human behaviour,' Dr Lwetoijera explains. 'With our current tools, like bed nets and insecticides, the biggest challenge is compliance. 'People have to use them consistently for them to work, which isn't always possible.' Funding is one of the biggest challenges scientists face. And a huge blow came earlier this year when Donald Trump made abrupt cuts to foreign aid, and Keir Starmer announced plans to slash the overseas aid budget to its lowest level in a generation. Dr Sarah Moore, who has worked at Ifakara for 20 years, says: 'Every day, the equivalent of four jumbo jets full of children die of malaria in Africa. 'If aid continues to fall as predicted, it could rise to five. Because it's Africa, no one cares.' Among other developments, drones are being used to find and dismantle mosquito breeding grounds in Dar es Salaam, such as stagnant water pools, leafy foliage and shaded areas. Taking our foot off the gas could lead to a surge, including in new places not ready to fight back At dusk, when mosquitoes begin to stir, experts knock on the doors of locals to set up traps. Mwanabibi Kharifa Mohamed, a grandmother and mother of four, is one local taking part. As Alex Limwagu, a research scientist, sets mosquito traps in the garden, Mwanabibi tells me her children have caught the disease more times than she can count — the family can't afford nets — but it never quells her panic. 'I rush straight to the hospital because I know in two minutes they could die,' she says. Since the mosquito team arrived this year, Mwanabibi has learned more about protecting her family. 'I used to be ignorant,' she says. 'But Alex taught me how mosquitoes breed and how to protect my children. If malaria disappeared, life would be peaceful.' The WHO wants to reduce global malaria by 90 per cent by 2030. It believes the ambitious target is 'achievable' — but not without the dedicated scientists on the ground and the funds to keep them going. Victoria Fowler, head of UK advocacy at the charity Malaria No More UK, says: 'Taking our foot off the gas could lead to a surge, including in new places not ready to fight back. We need the Government to back the Global Fund to Fight Malaria at the Spending Review this month. 'Standing behind our scientists is crucial to get back on track to beat this killer, saving hundreds of thousands of children's lives and protecting the British public.'
Scottish Sun
28-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Africa is being split apart by intense ‘superplume' of hot rock 1,800 miles below Earth's surface, experts warn
The East African Rift System (EARS) is the largest active continental rift system on Earth CONTINENTAL DRIFT Africa is being split apart by intense 'superplume' of hot rock 1,800 miles below Earth's surface, experts warn Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AFRICA is splitting apart - meaning the continent will form two separate land masses with an ocean in between in several million years, experts say. But the driving force behind the continental drift has long been debated. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 The East African Rift System drives volcanic activity in places like the Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia Credit: Getty 7 Damage caused by the rift at an intersection in Maai Mahiu-Narok Credit: Nation 7 Scientists previously thought Africa's tectonic plates, which collided to form large mountains and pulled apart to create vast basins, were simply moving apart again. But a new study from the University of Glasgow suggests that intense volcanic activity deep underground may be fuelling the divide. A gigantic superplume of hot rock, roughly 1,800 miles (2,900km) beneath the Earth's surface, is pushing up against the African crust and fracturing it. Professor Fin Stuart, of the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), led the project. He said: "We have long been interested in how the deep Earth rises to surface, how much is transported, and just what role it plays on forming the large-scale topography of the Earth's surface. "Our research suggests that a giant hot blob of rock from the core-mantle boundary is present beneath East Africa, it is driving the plates apart and propping up the Africa continent so it hundreds of metres higher than normal." Experts suspected as much back in 2023, but geologists have now detected volcanic gases that back up the theory. The Meengai geothermal field in central Kenya has a chemical signature that comes from deep inside Earth's mantle, matching those found in volcanic rocks to the north, in the Red Sea, and to the south, in Malawi. The discovery indicates that all these locations are sat atop the same deep mantle rock, according to experts. Inside active volcano where world's largest ACID lake is buried - so dangerous it melts human skin & spews blue lava Study co-author, Biying Chen, of the University of Edinburgh and SUERC, said: "These gases from our geothermal wells have provide valuable new insight into the Earth's deep interior." Chen added that the findings will help researchers to understand both the geological forces shaping East Africa and "the fundamental processes which drive the formation of our planet's surface over millions of years". 7 The split would create a new ocean Credit: Getty The East African Rift System (EARS) is the largest active continental rift system on Earth. It is in the process of ripping through around 2,175miles (3,500km) of Africa. Continental rifting is nothing new for Earth - and is the reason why we have seven continents today. Roughly 240 million years ago, long before humans roamed, Earth was home to just one supercontinent known as Pangaea. The Scottish Highlands, the Appalachians, and the Atlas Mountains were actually all part of the same mountain range on Pangaea, but were torn apart by continental drift. In January, Ken Macdonald, a professor at the University of California, warned the continent was splitting at a faster rate than expected. Somalia and parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania will form a distinct continent, accompanied by a fresh coastline. The split would create a new ocean, and a small new continent that he said could be called the "Nubian continent". "What might happen is that the waters of the Indian Ocean would come in and flood what is now the East African Rift Valley," Ken Macdonald, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the Mail Online. The new ocean could become as deep as the Atlantic if waters continue to flow into the area, added Macdonald. 7 A deep chasm next to a repaired section of road that had been washed away during a heavy downpour at Maai-Mahiu in 2018, around 54km southwest of Nairobi capital Nakuru Credit: Getty - Contributor 7 Women work on their farm near a chasm suspected to have been caused by a heavy downpour along an underground fault-line near the Rift Valley town of Mai Mahiu, Kenya March 28, 2018. Picture taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya Credit: Reuters / Thomas Mukoya
