Posts Tagged ‘Africa’

Discovering the Nyasasaurus Parringtoni


06 Dec

Have you ever been sorting through things, found something you had no idea what it was, set it aside and thought “I’ll figure that out later”? That’s essentially what happened to a fossil in the collection of the London Museum of Natural History. Found in the 1930s, originally studied in the 1950s, but not identified until this year, the fossil is of what is now believed to be the oldest ever dinosaur- by 10 to 15 million years.

Obviously, researches intend to go back to the area where it was originally found inAfricato try and find more samples.

The Arabian Route


03 Dec

Every once in a while, I regret my decision not to follow through and become a trained “historian”. The truth is, I wouldn’t have been involved in this kind of expedition anyway, since Paleolithic would not have been my era, and I hate the heat, so tramping around the deserts of Arabia would have been totally off the list.

But still, how cool is this that they are finding a trail of breadcrumbs that indicates humans started leaving Africa earlier than expected and by a different route than most theorize.

The story of humanity is being written before our eyes.

HIV Prevention Drug Trials Halted in Africa


19 Apr

A major trial of a pill meant to help prevent HIV infection has been halted. Given how rarely drug trials are truly successful, this news isn’t surprising, but it is sad.

Women inAfricararely have options when it comes to protecting themselves from the virus. This pill was hope that they could finally exert some control over their health and the health of their children to be. Sadly, the results show it isn’t working. The women given the real drug and the women given the dummy pill are being infected at the same rate.

On to the next study.

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