Long Pilgrimages Revealed in Ancient Sudan Art

Excavations of a series of medieval churches in central Sudan have revealed a treasure trove of art, including a European-influenced work, along with evidence of journeys undertaken by travelers from western Europe that were equivalent to the distance between New York City and the Grand Canyon.  A visit by a Catalonian man named Benesec is recorded in one of the churches, along with visits from other pilgrims of the Middle Ages, according to lead researcher Bogdan Zurawski of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences.  The discoveries were made at Banganarti and Selib, two sites along the Nile that were part of Makuria, a Christian kingdom ruled by a dynasty of kings throughout the Middle Ages.  The art there tells stories of kings, saints, pilgrims and even a female demon, said Zurawski, who presented his findings recently at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Kenya rated among top three science publishers

Kenya is ranked third in the production of new scientific knowledge on the continent.  However, this is not enough to propel the country into a knowledge-based economy or out of poverty, says the 2010 Science Report to be launched in Nairobi on Friday morning.   Kenya was among the top three publishers of scientific publications from sub-Saharan Africa between 2005-09.

Nile deal deadline passes with three countries yet to sign up

Egypt and Sudan have refused to put in place an agreement that would secure the future of the Nile river, which is the backbone of agriculture for nine north African countries, leaving the river's future in limbo.  But there are signs that the new government in Egypt could adopt a more co-operative stance and open the way for countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya to further their economic development using Nile water.  The deadline for the signing of the proposed Nile Basin agreement passed without the signatures of Egypt, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 Genetic variation and population structure among Sudanese populations as indicated by the 15 Identifiler STR loci

There is substantial ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity among the people living in east Africa, Sudan and the Nile Valley. The region around the Nile Valley has a long history of succession of different groups, coupled with demographic and migration events, potentially leading to genetic structure among humans in the region.  Results: We report the genotypes of the 15 Identifiler microsatellite markers for 498 individuals from 18 Sudanese populations representing different ethnic and linguistic groups.  The combined power of exclusion (PE) was 0.9999981, and the combined match probability was 1 in 7.4 1017. The genotype data from the Sudanese populations was combined with previously published genotype data from Egypt, Somalia and the Karamoja population from Uganda.