Uganda unlocks value from honey by-product

Bees on a honey comb. Researchers in Uganda have developed high-value propolis products to boost beekeepers' incomes and improve public health. Copyright: Photo by Robert Schmidt (CC0 1.0)

[GABORONE] When Joel Mukwaya, a biologist and post-graduate student at Uganda’s Makerere University, discovered the immune-boosting benefits of tea made from a honey-by product, he immediately sent some to his grandmother. The tea was made with propolis—a resin-like substance bees use when building their hives “I know of propolis tea’s immune-boosting properties and appetite enhancement,”…

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Malawi aims to boost ethanol production amid challenges

Gift Kadzamira, Director General, National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST)

Malawi is working to increase its ethanol production through public-private partnerships in a bid to generate cheaper, cleaner transport fuel, a senior official says. Ethanol, which is made by breaking down the starch in maize kernels into sugar and fermenting it, is less polluting than petrol, producing lower carbon dioxide emissions. However, it also relies…

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Research project to enrich Africa’s innovation scene

A cross section of participants at the RIM project workshop in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania from March 25 to March 27, 2024

A new project is addressing Sub-Saharan Africa’s research and innovation challenges, funding gaps and gender imbalances to drive development in the region. The Research and Innovation Management (RIM) project is an initiative of the Science Granting Council Initiative (SGCI) aimed at improving the 17-member councils’ ability to identify, support and manage impactful research and innovation across the countries where the councils are domiciled.  The SGCI is a regional effort to promote science and…

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