Jordan and Syria capture the limelight this week. The Royal Society’s Atlas of Islamic World Science and Innovation reports on Jordan’s investment in science, technology and innovation, highlighting the need to overhaul its education system. Read more
The diversity of microbial species living in your gut may serve as markers to identify your likelihood of becoming obese. Researchers, including Jun Wang from King Abdulazziz University, Saudi Arabia, found significant differences in the composition of gut microbes in 169 obese and 123 non-obese Danish individuals. Read more
Aid organizations are failing to address urgent the health needs of Syrians, domestically and of those driven from home. This conclusion is based on an UNHCR report that highlights the lack of long-term strategies and poor coordination to explain the agencies’ shortfalls. Read more
Last month the Lebanese Psychiatric Society (LPS) issued a statement declaring that “homosexuality is not a mental disorder and does not need to be treated.” … Read more
The mystery of why the universe contains more matter than antimatter has long puzzled physicists. The standard model of physics predicts that an equal number of particles and antiparticles should have formed soon after the big bang, cancelling each other out and thereby stopping the “content” of the universe (galaxies, stars, planets, etc.) from forming. Read more
When epidemiologist Diego Cuadros told fellow scientists that he was moving to Qatar, they looked at him in disbelief. What, they asked, did he hope to gain from doing research in a small Arab emirate, fabulously rich in oil and gas but with no noteworthy tradition in science? Read more
It seems that young researchers from the Arab world are missing out on a big opportunity to mix with people from the highest echelons of science. At least that’s the suggestion when only two Arab researchers attended the Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, Germany—an annual conference where Nobel winners present to and interact with young researchers from around the world. Read more
It’s often associated with Egypt, but the Nile River’s water resources are shared by eleven countries. It’s a resource that has been at the center of growing tension between Egypt and Ethiopia, particularly as the latter country moves ahead with plans to build the world’s tallest dam, leaving many in Egypt wary of the impact on its primary source of water. Read more
It’s not easy being a science researcher starting off a career in Egypt. Sameh Soror, a structural biologist at Helwan University, Cairo, knows this all too well. As the first Arab to now co-chair the Global Young Academy (GYA), an organization that helps support early career scientists across the world, he’s keen to give his colleagues a voice. Read more
Egyptians have access to around 750 cubic metres of water per person per year. That’s significantly less than the water scarcity limit of 1000 cubic metres. The realisation that the Nile cannot continue to sustain Egypt’s growing population has pushed researchers to tackle the possibility of water desalination. Read more
