Plastic pyrolysis − chemists explain a technique attempting to tackle plastic waste by bringing the heat

| Insights & Views

In 1950, global plastic production was about 2 million tons. Its now about 400 million tons an increase of nearly 20,000%. As a material, it has seemingly limitless potential. Plastic is inexpensive to produce while being...

Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize

| Insights & Views

Donald Trumps first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Womens March to the 2020 protests after George Floyds murder. Things feel different this time...

A brief history of Medicaid and America’s long struggle to establish a health care safety net

| Insights & Views

The Medicaid system has emerged as an early target of the Trump administrations campaign to slash federal spending. A joint federal and state program, Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for more than 72 million...

An artist traces her choices under Putin’s Russia – from resistance to retreat to exile – one mural at a time

| Insights & Views

Victoria Lomasko, a graphic artist and muralist, has spent her career documenting how authoritarianism took hold in Vladimir Putins Russia. What she has illustrated as well as the personal journey she has taken affords a...

Surf therapy for children with disabilities: how it’s changing lives in South Africa

| Insights & Views

Children with disabilities face significant challenges in South Africa. Firstly there are delayed diagnoses which can lead to complications. The high cost of healthcare and little financial support for their families can...

High soybean prices in Zambia and Malawi may make chicken costly too: lack of competition is to blame

| Insights & Views

Poultry is one of the cheapest protein sources for the growing population of the east and southern Africa region. That makes soybeans critical to food security in the region, as they are an important input in chicken feed....

Ethiopia’s war may have ended, but the Tigray crisis hasn’t

| Insights & Views

For over 20 years, Ethiopia was led by the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition of four ethnic-based political parties representing Tigray, Amhara, Oromo, and Southern nations, nationalities and...