Using his sleeve to wipe tear gas from his burning eyes, 25-year-old Mugdho weaves through the crowd, handing out bottles of water to the protesters whose demands for reform would soon topple Bangladesh’s leader. Fifteen minutes later, the university student would become a martyr of the protest movement, when a bullet pierced his forehead as he paused to rest during the searing afternoon heat in the capital Dhaka. Mugdho – whose full name was Mir Mahfuzur Rahman – was rushed to hospital by his friend and fellow protesters, but it was too late, his twin Snigdho – Mir Mahbubur Rahman…

Sepsis occurs when one's immune system has an extreme response to an infection. It's a life-threatening condition: globally, it accounts for about 11 million deaths—20% of all deaths per year. And it doesn't just affect adults. In 2020, 2.4 million newborn babies died of sepsis in the first month of their lives. Most of these deaths happened in sub-Saharan Africa. The main treatment for sepsis is antibiotics. However, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human medicine and agriculture has led to antimicrobial resistance—a process in which bacteria, fungi and parasites have developed the ability to resist the action of…

A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of aging. Many Western countries are facing what the World Bank calls a “profound demographic crisis”: The twin perils of an aging population and record-low fertility rates are predicted to send their populations plunging in the coming decades. The worst consequences of this demographic shift, per the World Bank, are economic. Soon, the shrinking working population in the U.S., Canada, or Germany won’t be able to meet their own constant demands for high-quality goods and services. These rich, elderly countries will have to make a hard choice for economic survival: force people…

A few African nations have been designated as hunger hotspots by international organizations and media sources in recent years. While identifying regions that are vulnerable to hunger is crucial for coordinating assistance and support, designating a region as a "hunger hotspot" has serious and frequently negative consequences for the affected nations. These countries can are considered hunger hotspots for key reasons, the most prominent of which is conflict. Conflicts typically exasperate hunger as the constant fighting deters the production of food. Additionally, food sent as relief aid is usually controlled by those at the forefront of the fighting, leaving the…