by Michelle Galloway Chemistry professor Nicole Sampson is working on the development of a rapid, cheaper diagnostic test for TB infection. Her research group at Stony Brook University in the US is collaborating with clinicians at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University. “An estimated 9 million people have active tuberculosis (TB) globally…
Elsabe Brits van Die Burger het onlangs berig oor ‘n nuwe toestel wat babasterftes kan verminder. Lees hieronder meer oor die WNNR en die MNR se UmbiFlow. ‘n Toestel wat die bloedvloei in die naelstring van ongebore babas toets, het die potensiaal om die aantal babas wat dood gebore word, te verminder. Navorsing wat…
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in South African Asian Indians is becoming a considerable health concern. It’s not only confined to older adults either. Worryingly, this lifestyle disease was identified in 6.9% of the young adults tested between the ages of 15 and 24 years. This is the results from the most up-to-date study available on the…
So what happens to former elite athletes once they become too old to chase their Olympic dreams, or have to retire because of forced injuries? Many of those who develop injuries such as osteoarthritis don’t take it well. This can lead them to feel distress and suffer from sleep disorders and alcohol problems. This is…
Over seven million South Africans live with HIV, and we’re looking at the virus following last week’s International AIDS conference. We visit the country’s first automatic pharmaceutical dispensing unit with Belinda Strydom from Right ePharmacy. You’ll hear about people who seem to cope with HIV, without antiretrovirals from Professor Thumbi Ndung’u, from UKZN. In our weekly…
Kenneth Hammond-Aryee takes stock of the risks that toxoplasmosis holds for unborn babies, immune-compromised people such as those living with HIV/Aids, and people receiving organ transplants. This disease is linked to cats, and is caused by parasites, “Say cheeeese.” Click, click, click goes the camera, as Kabaso* snaps picture after picture of the heavily pregnant…
So how much do South African youngsters know about abortion legislation, and what it all entails? Most know that it is legal to get an abortion, but their knowledge about the actual details are quite limited. That was some of the findings in a study by Devashnee Ramiyad and Cynthia Patel of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.…
Kusukela kwababhema ama-habli kuze kufikwe kunonzungezilanga omkhulukazi, nansi isayensi yeviki; Shisa Sayensi! Baningi abafundi ababhema ipayipi lamanzi Ukubhenywa kwepayipi lamanzi (hubbly) sekubonakala kwanda emiphakathini wezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme kwisifundazwe se-Western Cape. Lokhu kutholakale kucwaningo obelenziwa eNyuvesi yeKapa. Abacwaningi bathole ukuthi lokhu kubhema kwande ngenxa yokuthi lelipayipi libhenywa uma abantu behlangene njengabangani uma bexheketha. Bayaxwayisa kodwa abacwaningi…
Dr Helen Bayne, Head Biomechanist at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre tells SciBraai why sprinters like Usain Bolt and our very own Akani Simbine are so prone to hamstring injuries. This comes after news this week that hamstring strains threaten the chances of Bolt and Sally Pearson, both reigning Olympic champions, at Rio…
Is waterpipe smoking a “passing fad” among young people, and especially students, or is it the start of a different strain of the tobacco epidemic? The literature is divided on this issue, says Lara Kruger of the University of Cape Town’s School of Economics. “Some researchers argue that it is too early to comment, whereas…