Stories by Sarah Wild

From ancient clay tablets to TV shows to video games, the U.S. Library of Congress preserves far more than just books

Prehistoric artifacts used in jewelry, such as beads made from shells, amber and ivory, have shed light on the cultural groups that were present in Europe tens of thousands of years ago

Hawaii’s brightly colored honeycreepers are at imminent risk of extinction, and bacteria could be the key to saving them

Two giant telescopes—one in Australia, the other in South Africa—will comprise the supersensitive Square Kilometer Array

The $25-million facility in Namibia will be the continent’s first millimeter-range astronomical observatory

The numerous changes in the coronavirus’s spike protein could have arisen in an isolated population or an immunocompromised person—or animals

Undercounting or ignoring cases of the disease on the continent could lead to new variants that might derail efforts to end the pandemic

Sensors will monitor solar emissions that threaten GPS and radio signals

Nations in the continent, which have had to import testing supplies and bid against richer countries, are trying to develop their own tests

Coming out of lockdown, the country is relying on thousands of local case trackers and on software, once used to protect rhinoceroses, for disease surveillance

More than 100 millennia ago, people were roasting tubers—a practice that fueled their bodies and may have aided migrations

CERN-like organization will oversee the construction and operation of the powerful Square Kilometer Array

The ultimate goal is to inform efforts to conserve or repair heritage sites

The country’s pioneering first report on its biological invaders paints a dire picture for resources and biodiversity

Sweeping policy changes aim to refocus research efforts on poverty, unemployment, drought and other national problems

MeerKAT has drawn astronomers, engineers and data scientists from around the world

Academics are optimistic that the end of Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian rule could boost science and international collaboration

Crowding antennas closer together may affect the Square Kilometer Array's ability to observe the early Universe

By converting a defunct communications dish, astronomers are breaking ground on Earth and beyond

Ancient rock art research could piece together how the peoples who lived in the region some 5,700 years ago interacted
 

The fall armyworm has rapidly spread across the continent and is wreaking destruction on staple crops 

For astronomers, convincing communities to host next-generation observatories is an increasingly hard sell