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South African physicist Neil Turok gave a speech in which he declared his wish that the next Einstein would be from Africa

It was a rallying call for investment in maths and physics research in Africa. The "Next Einstein" slogan became a mission for the organisation Neil Turok had founded to bring Africa into the global scientific community: the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). That search for an African Einstein now has some results, with 15 "Next Einstein Fellows" and 54 "Next Einstein Ambassadors" announced at an event last month. These are young African scientists, often leaders in their fields, working and studying in Africa."Einstein is a natural, easy role model for people to look at - not just because he was a spectacular scientist, but also he thought about the way we should care for social justice as well as science," says the 36-year-old South African cosmologist Amanda Weltman, speaking to the BBC Discovery programme. Her work on the Chameleon field, a way to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe, is seen as a cont...

Lions in Africa is rapidly dropping in unprotected area, a study has found

It suggests that lion populations in unprotected areas could be cut in half over the next two decades. The paper's authors say lions should now be upgraded to an endangered species in Central and West Africa. The loss of habitat, hunting, and a demand for traditional medicine have all contributed to population decline. Lions are currently considered "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but endangered status means they would be considered at "a very high risk of extinction in the wild". The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, says "many lion populations are either now gone or expected to disappear within the next few decades".African lion populations are declining everywhere on the continent, with the exception of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, which are having success with what the paper calls "small, fenced, intensively m...

Our ancestors sleep less than we do, a study suggests

US scientists examined the resting examples of customary social orders in Africa and South America, whose ways of life nearly take after antiquated seeker gatherers. They observed 98 individuals for 1,165 evenings, and found that they dozed for a normal of 6.5 hours for each night. By examination, the researchers said that the vast majority in the US get around seven hours, as per a huge rest survey. The new study, distributed in the diary Current Biology, additionally observes that temperature assumed a more prominent part than light in molding resting examples. Prof Jerome Siegel, from the University of California, Los Angeles, said: "The issue is: what is the information on how rest has changed? "What's more, it struck me that these gatherings, which are quickly vanishing, give the last chance to truly recognize what human rest was similar to before we all made our different civilization. From fake lights, to late night TV, and now the ev...

Homo naledi fossil prints come to London

They are among the most sensational fossils to be found in Africa in recent years, and visitors to London's Natural History Museum can see what all the fuss is about on Friday. 3D prints of the remains of Homo naledi will be on display at the NHM's Science Uncovered event. They were given to the institution by the Johannesburg discovery team. Bones from perhaps 15 of the human-like creatures were recovered from a cave complex not far from the city. It is the biggest haul of fossil hominin remains ever identified on the African continent. The researchers - led by Lee Berger of Wits University - have scanned the bones to make faithful copies, and these have now been shared with the London museum. At Science Uncovered, Dr Louise Humphrey will be explaining their significance and what they could tell us about human origins. I think the effect on the field is transformative," she told, "not just because the morphology indicates a new specie...