The answer to whether people have malaria or not is written in the palms of their hands. So says University of Pretoria researcher Dr Vinet Coetzee, who is developing a handheld scanner that would one day be able to within seconds detect if someone has contracted this mosquito-borne disease – one that affects up to 216…
In the last four months five cases of rabies in humans have been reported in South Africa, and an additional two cases are probable. The country’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases warns that steps need to be taken to curb the trend. The Conversation Africa’s health and medicine editor Candice Bailey spoke to the institute’s Jacqueline Weyer…
Prof Wieland Gevers: Institution builder of note In 1970, a 32-year-old Wieland Gevers faced a big decision: To stay in North America, taking up a prestigious tenured Associate Professorship at the leading Canadian university, or to return to his native South Africa. The Canadian job involved setting up a research laboratory in…
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on 3 March. This year the spotlight falls on the world’s big cats. New research by South African researchers have shown that the details trapped in a lion’s whiskers provide minute detail about the type of animal that has been on its menu. They were also able to tell at what…
Dr Bernie Fanaroff did his PhD because of his interest in physics – and in the process developed a way to classify very distant radio sources that is still being used today. Since then, much of his efforts have gone into South Africa – among others as a union movement leader, as a civil servant…
South Africa is facing the world’s biggest recorded outbreak of listeriosis. This week’s The Science Inside Radio Show finds out why this food-borne disease is so unique. In Unscience, hear why expensive fake medicine might just work better than cheap placebos. Content hosted by iono.fm This broadcast is made possible through the Wits Radio Academy.…
Prof Jill Farrant’s life merges with water. To be more specific, she’s occupied by the ability of a rare few so-called resurrection plants to seemingly die off when none of this life-giving source is available, only to bounce back within hours once a few drops come their way. She was born in the summer of…
In this article from The Conversation, Alice Gorman of Flinders University weighs in on the symbolism behind South African-born Elon Musk’s red sports car being part of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch – and other items in space. Two controversial objects have recently been launched in space, and their messages couldn’t be more different. One is Elon…
Isilwane esithusayo sasiphila eNingizimu Afrika emandulo Awucabange nje amazinyo afana nemimese, egcwele umlomo wesilwane esingangebhasi, simi phambi kwakho – isilwane esifana nenyoni enemilenze emide nomsila ofana nowengwenya. Ukuba wawuphila ngezikhathi sasemandulo esidlula iminyaka engama-200 izinkulungwane zezinkulungwane (200 000 000), ubungahlangana naso lesi silwane esithusayo. Ososayensi abacwaninga amathambo ezilwane zasemandulo sebethole izinyathelo ezashiwa ilezi zilwane ezibizwa…
Twenty years ago, when the Academy of Science of South Africa was established, Jacobus (Kobus) Nicolaas Eloff, then already in his mid-fifties, was invited, as Director of the National Botanical Gardens, to become a founding member of the Academy. However, once his CV had been reviewed, Eloff’s founding membership was declined on the grounds that…