Africa
hideAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the World's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Not counting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, there are 53 countries, including Madagascar and various island groups, associated with the continent.
Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the Hominidae tree (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago – including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens (human) found in Ethiopia being dated to ca. 200,000 years ago.
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
For more information about Africa, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with africa
French find puts humans in Europe 200,000 years earlier
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (17) |
0
Experts on prehistoric man are rethinking their dates after a find in a southern French valley suggested our ancestors may have reached Europe 1.57 million years ago: 200,000 years earlier than we thought.
Influenza in Africa should not be ignored
Dec 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Influenza is circulating in Africa, but virtually no information or attention is evident, says a new essay in this week's PLoS Medicine. Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Peter Kremsner argue that the lack of adequate surveillance means ...
Climate change could boost incidence of civil war in Africa
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Nov 23, 2009 |
2.4 / 5 (17) |
11
Climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa by over 50 percent within the next two decades, according to a new study led by a team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, ...
Japanese researchers film rare baby fish 'fossil'
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
4
Japanese marine researchers said Tuesday they had found and successfully filmed a young coelacanth -- a rare type of fish known as "a living fossil" -- in deep water off Indonesia.
Scientists: New dinosaur species found in SAfrica
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
0
(AP) -- Scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land.
Researchers complete draft genome sequence for cassava
Nov 09, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
A team of academic, government and industry researchers has completed a first draft of the cassava (Manihot esculenta) genome. The project is an important first step in accelerating the pace of research on this subsistence ...
W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback
Nov 08, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- A crisp African dawn is breaking overhead, and Zibo Mounkaila is on the back of a pickup truck bounding across a sparse landscape of rocky orange soil.
Study uses satellite imagery to identify active magma systems in East Africa's Rift Valley
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
0
A team from the University of Miami, University of El Paso and University of Rochester have employed Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images compiled over a decade to study volcanic activity ...
Expect the unexpected when adapting to climate change in Africa, says researcher
Oct 28, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (7) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Nations, communities and families in Africa need to safeguard their homes and livelihoods against the unpredictable effects of climate change, according to a discussion paper written by Imperial ...
Maize research reduces poverty in west and central Africa
Oct 28, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
An analysis of three and half decades of maize research in African farming communities finds big benefits. A multi-country study, in Agricultural Economics, reports the significant role international maize research plays ...
Boys with urogenital birth defects are 33 percent more common in villages sprayed with DDT
Oct 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
3
Women who lived in villages sprayed with DDT to reduce malaria gave birth to 33 per cent more baby boys with urogenital birth defects (UGBD) between 2004 and 2006 than women in unsprayed villages, according to research published ...
Trigger of deadly food toxin discovered
Oct 21, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A toxin produced by mold on nuts and grains can cause liver cancer if consumed in large quantities. UC Irvine researchers for the first time have discovered what triggers the toxin to form, ...
Scientists discover largest orb-weaving spider
Oct 21, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (10) |
0
Researchers from the United States and Slovenia have discovered a new, giant Nephila species (golden orb weaver spider) from Africa and Madagascar and have published their findings in the Oct. 21 issue of the ...
SAfrica to limit trans fats as heart disease rises
Oct 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- South Africa's health department says it will draft regulations aimed at reducing the trans fats South Africans consume.
Researcher studies monkeys in Africa to better understand virus evolution
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 07, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite the importance of AIDS in human health, scientists still know very little about the diversity and ecology of AIDS-like viruses in nature.
