Givemore Munhenga, Medical Scientist, National Institute for Communicable Diseases South Africa is one of four southern African countries aiming to eliminate malaria transmission by 2023. Indoor residual spraying using DDT and pyrethroid insecticides constitutes the backbone of South Africa’s malaria control programmes. Effective vector control by indoor residual spraying has been key in the reduction […]

Sant-Rayn Pasricha, Laboratory Head, Population Health and Immunity/ Infection and Immunity, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ever since humans first evolved from our primitive ancestors, we have been locked in a battle with our greatest infectious foe – malaria. This life-threatening disease, caused by the Plasmodium parasite and transmitted through mosquito bites, kills one child […]

by Carol Dwyer, E-Learning Manger and Russell Chisango, Open Learning Centre Co-ordinator: False Bay TVET College Illiteracy is one of the major challenges that African countries grapple with and South Africa is no exception. In 2016 South Africa was ranked last in the International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) survey. The study found that 78% of […]

Vasudha Narayanan, Professor of Religion, University of Florida In the Freddie Mercury biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” there’s a scene in which a family member scolds Mercury. “So now the family name is not good enough for you?” “I changed it legally,” Mercury responds. “No looking back.” It might come as a surprise to some that Freddie […]

Miguel Herrero, Senior Scientist (CSIC), CIAL-CSIC Research Institute in Food Sciences It’s almost a tradition. Every so often a new food appears whose existence little or nothing was known so far, which is related to so many nutritional and health benefits that it is difficult to understand why we had not been consuming them all our lives. These miracle foods […]

  John Nudds, Senior Lecturer in Palaeontology, University of Manchester Perhaps one of the world’s best known fossils is Archaeopteryx. With its beautifully preserved feathers, it has long been regarded as the first bird in the fossil record, and is often called “the icon of evolution”. Only a handful of specimens have ever been found, […]

Adam Frew, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University More than half the world’s plant-derived energy intake comes from just three crops: rice, wheat and maize. These crops, like most land plants, live in an evolutionarily ancient partnership with a certain type of fungus, called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi penetrate plants’ roots, even entering the […]

Eddie Cross, Nyanga – 20th October 2018 Zimbabwe is a crazy place to live in, but at times like these we need to keep our perspective. Fuel queues, empty shelves, the constant stream of social media messages complaining about everything and claiming that tomorrow is Armageddon. Sometimes you simply have to get away from it all. […]

 Plants are constantly under attack. They face threats ranging from microscopic fungi to small herbivores like caterpillars, up to large herbivores like elephants. But plants are ready, with a whole series of internal and external defenses that make them a less appealing meal — or even a deadly one. Valentin Hammoudi explains some of […]

Sudeshni Naidoo, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of the W.Cape Crystal methamphetamine is the most widely used synthetic drug in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It’s an extremely addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is widely used in South Africa, with particular […]