Sir Magdi talks about the glory and threats of science
There is a glorious side to science, to the ability to explain things and make people’s lives better. But there are also pitfalls that many researchers may fall in. Read more
There is a glorious side to science, to the ability to explain things and make people’s lives better. But there are also pitfalls that many researchers may fall in. Read more
More women than ever before are pursuing education in science around the world, and the Arab world is no exception. However, the number of women who pursue research careers after education quickly trickles down, especially in the private sector. In the Arab world, this is mainly due to cultural norms that force women to forego time-consuming research careers for family-raising responsibilities. Read more
The Egyptian army’s claim to have invented a device that can detect and cure hepatitis C and AIDS seemed incredulous to many of us when it was first announced in a large press conference, but with every media report it became more absurd and ridiculous. Read more
While politics are usually the main topic of discussion in most Arab states, surprisingly, science took the forefront in Egypt over the past few days – for some rather unfortunate reasons, however. Read more
A young Kuwait scientist has launched a campaign in the Middle East to give people a chance to name an asteroid, hoping it would reignite Arab’s passion with science and space. Read more
While the civil war in Syria has left hospitals and clinics in ruin, leaving millions without proper healthcare, it also had an unexpected side effect. Polio, which had disappeared in Syria since 1995, reemerged in mid-October in Deir-ez-Zor province, a rebel-controlled area. The politicized lines that the disease breakout is following may suggest that it is being used as a weapon against rebels. Read more
The Atlas Mountains in Morocco are unusually high, given that they do not have roots that are deep enough to maintain them, according to standard models for mountain formation. However, a team of researchers who measured seismic data found the mountain range is floating on a bed of hot molten rocks which gives them extra buoyancy. Read more
This is a guest blogpost from Mohammed Jawad, an honorary clinical research fellow at Imperial College London who recently spent a month at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, thanks to a grant from the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship scheme. The scheme, led by the Academy of Medical Sciences, provides opportunities for biomedical researchers to travel from the Middle East to the UK, or vice versa, for up to four weeks at a time. This year, A small number of three-month fellowships will also be available. Read more
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) have managed to understand how metformin, a widely used oral diabetes drug, interacts with the body to control the blood glucose level. Read more
Egypt has the highest hepatitis C burden in the world, with some 14.7% of Egyptians testing positive for HCV antibody. Therefore, it was no surprise that news of the latest oral HCV treatments approved by the FDA in the United States generated quite a buzz in local Egyptian media. The new drugs are very effective and have nearly no side effects, unlike the current regimens that cause depression, anaemia and severe nausea and do not have high success rates. Read more
Recent comments on this blog
Gold motifs from Tutankhamun’s tomb hint at Levantine influence
How global warming controls plankton populations
Libya’s fossil discovery illuminates an interval of evolutionary history