According to a new report from Toward Freedom, the PlayStation 2's requirement of a metal called Tantalum helped fuel a war that caused the deaths of several million in the Congo. This event was labeled as the PlayStation War. Story in the full article.

It's common knowledge that the human race is made up of one species. Scientists have said, however, that our line was nearly split in two at some point in our history. The cause may have had something to do with living conditions in Africa. More splits occur in the full article after the jump.

Stars and clouds of gas often form breathtaking patterns in space. Scientists at NASA have grown fond over the years of giving creative names to these celestial bodies. In a new photo that the agency is showing off, the Running Chicken Nebula is displayed in crimson glory. You can check it out by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Green is in. Thanks to the introduction of eco-friendly technology, cell phone base stations in Africa will soon cut their use of diesel fuel by 80%. Good news for the environmentally conscious. More details in the full article.

It would seem that there's a lot left to learn about this great big world of ours -  new mammals, included.  The latest in a series of discoveries of bizarre creatures involves an unusually large sengi (also known as an elephant shrew) in Tanzania. More about this furry creature after the jump.

Fans of large, long snakes listen up! A recent study has discovered a new giant species of spitting cobra in Kenya called the Naja Ashei. It is a whopping 2.6 metres long and carries  enough venom to kill up to 20 people in one bite.

From all indications, the Naja Ashei is known to be a very aggressive snake. Want to find out more about this new species? More details in the full article via the "read more" link below.

Someone finally found a practical use for heat-scorched deserts: use them to gather solar power. That's Europe's plan right now, and it's willing to spend GBP 5 billion (US$ 10 billion) to build enough solar power stations in Africa and the Middle East to provide the continent with a sixth of its power. Read more in the full article.

Due to the lack of fossil evidences in Africa, it is a common belief among experts that the common ancestors of great apes and humans left the region for Europe and Asia around seven to 13 million years ago. A recent finding, however, suggests otherwise. A 10 million year old jawbone of a great ape has just been found in the Nakali region of Kenya.

The team believe that the jawbone belongs to an entirely new species of the great ape. Click the "read more" link for the full story.

An excavation of the third largest lake in Africa, Lake Malawi, has revealed evidence suggesting that early humans were driven out of the continent because of megadroughts. This gives strength to the hypothesis of how all modern day humans can trace their ancestry back to just a few people in Africa.

Extracted samples of sediments from the bottom of Lake Malawi contain information on vegetation and lake conditions during a specific period in time. With that information scientists were able to determine that a major drought (ergo a megadrought) happened around 100,000 years ago.

The exodus from Africa hypothesis is a critical moment in human history, helping us understand how our species evolved to become so diverse and whether we can trace our ancestry to only a small group of people. Previous research reveals that other regions in Africa suffered droughts but it's only now was it connected to human history.

The findings suggest that the megadrought brought down human populations during that time. Evidence also suggests that 30,000 years later, the land became wetter again. Human populations rose but migrations also started to happen; people were heading north, leaving Africa behind.

The research only looked back 150,000 years into the lake's past but researchers aren't through yet. The samples they have taken from Lake Malawi represents about 1.5 million years worth of history. Who knows what more they'll find?

Evolution isn't always for our benefit: studies show that the avian flu virus - otherwise known as H5N1, the bird flu - has evolved to be able to infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals. This evolution may become the means for the virus to become a human epidemic.

The virus first occurs among birds, but humans in close contact with infected animals may become infected as well. While human infections are special cases, virologists believe that the virus may soon evolve to allow human-to-human infection and cause a pandemic. The process may take time, maybe years, but it is a possibility.

The evolution that researchers have observed is only a small change, but it is enough to see where the process is ultimately headed for. By evolving to be able to infect the upper respiratory system, the virus can more easily spread among mammals, which of course includes us.

The head of the research team, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, explains:

The viruses that are in circulation now are much more mammalian-like than the ones circulating in 1997. [The change] may provide a platform for the adaptation of avian H5N1 viruses to humans and for efficient person-to-person virus transmission. [...] This change is needed, but not sufficient. There are other viral factors needed to cause a viral pandemic.