Southern African Large Telescope.
SAAO
The astronomical community has thrived and world-class astronomical facilities have been established in South Africa.
The Milky Way above a single MeerKAT antenna in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Inset: EHT image of the Milky Way black hole.
SARAO, EHT
Sagittarius A* lies in the southern sky, passing directly above South Africa.
An illustration shows how, about 65 million years ago, a large asteroid collided with Earth. It hit what is today Mexico and created the Chicxulub crater.
Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images
Impact craters are relatively shallow, so these bowl-shaped “dents” in Earth’s rocky crust can be easily buried or erased by erosion.
Professor Tania Douglas is warmly remembered as an excellent scientist and a remarkable human being.
Je'nine May/UCT Health Sciences
She believed and advocated that Africa needs to find solutions to its own problems and worked tirelessly to build biomedical engineering capacity across the continent.
W.E.B. Du Bois in his office at The Crisis in New York City, 1925.
W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries
As editor of the magazine for 24 years, Du Bois featured articles about biology, evolution, archaeology in Africa and more to refute the rampant scientific racism of the early 20th century.
Scientists around Africa are working at the cutting edge of research and their work is relevant beyond the continent.
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images
Thanks to major science infrastructure, human resource training and education investment in African nations, the continent is well placed to lead from the front.
Africa is data-rich and well connected. Therein lies the solution to many of its challenges.
S.Gvozd/Shutterstock
Data science, led by Africa-based scientists, could play a key role in addressing all of the continent’s crucial needs.
Scientists and medical practitioners can help turn goals into reality, such as through vaccine programmes.
Rebecca Hall/CDC/CDC Connects
Science academies have a crucial role to play in developing ways for scientists to engage more effectively.
Coffee bushes in a shade-grown plantation in the Andes, Ecuador.
Morley Read/Shutterstock
Because the interactions between trees, soils, crops and livestock can be positive or negative, their relationship must be balanced and understood.
With the right skills and infrastructure, Africa can boost its genomics research efforts.
Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock
Genomics research is crucial to identify Africa-specific solutions to a range of diseases.
Scientists need leadership skills if they’re to guide solutions in African countries.
ProStockPhoto/Shutterstock
Science development in Africa is intimately linked to the quality of people who are able to lead change.
A telescope pointed at the skies above Senegal to capture the stellar occultation.
François Colas, Observatoire de Paris, Insititut de Mécanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephémérides
Senegal has made great strides in astronomy and planetary sciences in recent years.
Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock
With the right investment, the next few years could be extremely exciting for Nigerian neuroscience.
Young African scientists face persistent barriers which cause them to leave academia.
Shutterstock/WAYHOME studio
The Global State of Young Scientists Africa project investigates the challenges that shape the career trajectories of young African scientists.
There’s more and more good science news coming from Africa.
Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock
There are several projects and initiatives that offer hope amid all the bad news about African science.
There’s no blueprint for excellence, but some building blocks are crucial.
Shutterstock
Research institutes and “centres of excellence” exist around the world to draw talent and to share resources - all with the aim of solving important problems.
Africa has the chance to innovate and grow, with the right policies and investment.
Shutterstock
Calestous Juma believed that Africa needed an integrated science, technology and innovation framework. The continent can make this happen.
An image by MeerKAT shows hydrogen gas in M83, a famous spiral galaxy.
SKA SA
A precursor to the Square Kilometre Array- the MeerKAT telescope - is being built right now and remarkable progress has been made in the last 12 months.
Africa’s scientists are doing remarkable work.
Shutterstock
Africa’s overall contribution to research might be small, but smart people are undertaking smart and important work on and about the continent.
The demand for “decolonised education” may jeopardise research and learning in South Africa.
Nic Bothma/EPA
It’s important that South African teachers, lecturers and professors develop curricula that build on the best knowledge skills, values, beliefs and habits from around the world.