University of California – Berkeley – 29 April 2021 Archaeologists have learned a lot about our ancestors by rummaging through their garbage piles, which contain evidence of their diet and population levels as the local flora and fauna changed over time. One common kitchen scrap in Africa – shells of ostrich eggs – is now […]
New malaria vaccine proves highly effective
Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford – 24 April 2021 Coronavirus vaccines have been developed and deployed in record time, but as global rollout has progressed, too few doses have been made available in low-income countries. It’s a stark reminder that when it comes to infectious diseases, the world’s poorest often […]
MARS: how Ingenuity helicopter made the first flight on another planet
Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University 19 April 2021 Imagine that you are flying a model helicopter or a drone. You are there with the auto controls. You switch them on. The rotors start to turn, gradually increasing their spin. You watch, then push the control for lift. Your helicopter […]
New study reveals the secrets of an ancient, extinct super predator
Julien Benoit, Senior Researcher in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand – 9 March 2021 Some 260 million to 265 million years ago, a huge creature called Anteosaurus roamed what is today the African continent. This period was known as the middle Permian – and Anteosaurus was one of its most ferocious carnivores. It had […]
Lab-grown ‘mini brains’ suggest a mutation may have rewired the human mind
Itzia Ferrer, Postgraduate researcher in Translational Neurogenetics, Lund University and Per Brattås, Postgraduate Researcher in Clinical Genomics, Lund University 26 February 2021 How we humans became what we are today is a question that scientists have been trying to answer for a long time. How did we evolve such advanced cognitive abilities, giving rise to […]
South African astronomy has a long, rich history of discovery – and promising future
Ian Glass, Associate Research Astronomer, South African Astronomical Observatory January 2021 The South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town is the oldest permanent observatory in the southern hemisphere: it turned 200 in 2020. This observatory is a fundamental part of South Africa’s long history of astronomical research, which began when French academic Nicolas-Louis de La […]
Discovery of two new giant radio galaxies offers fresh insights into the universe
Jacinta Delhaize, SARAO Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape Town Two giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa’s powerful MeerKAT telescope, located in the Karoo region, a semi-arid area in the south west of the country. Radio galaxies get their name from the fact that they release huge beams, or ‘jets’, of radio […]
Mars colony: how to make breathable air and fuel from brine
David Rothery, Prof. of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University – 1 December 2020 NASA is planning to land a crew on the Moon by 2024, and then onward to Mars, possibly in the 2030s. One day, we will have permanently crewed bases on both worlds. Unlike the initial short-stay visits, long-term bases will have to […]
HIV study shows new injection is more effective than daily HIV pill for women
Early unblinding of the of long-acting cabotegravir (CAB LA) is a milestone for prevention of HIV among women in sub Saharan Africa. University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) – 10 November 2020 Researchers from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) announced today that data from the clinical trial of the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimen of long-acting […]
New fossil tracks belonging to human ancestors found in South Africa
Charles Helm, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University – 23 October 2020 Around a hundred thousand years ago, South Africa’s Cape south coast was a busy place. Giraffes, crocodiles, hatchling sea turtles and large bird species populated the landscape. Early humans were there, too. We know all of this because of […]