Research Archives

Researcher aims to ARVs child-friendly

Research Western Cape Jun 17, 2019

With over 1.8 million children living with HIV, treatment is vital – but there’s a severe lack of child-friendly treatment formulations. UWC’s Dr Marique Aucamp hopes to change that, and ensure ARV drugs are palatable, low-cost, and effective. For the millions of children living with HIV, affordable and child-friendly... Read more

Researcher looks at ticks, fleas that bug African penguins

Research Stellenbosch University Jun 17, 2019

Dr Marcela Espinaze from Stellenbosch University (SU) knows more than the average person about the ticks and fleas that are naturally part of an African penguin’s life. It’s because penguin parasites have been part and parcel of the 36-year old Chilean veterinarian’s life for the past four years. She... Read more

SPU academic explores Karoo human pasts

Research Apr 12, 2019

Before the Anthropocene: Human pasts in Karoo landscapes Published recently in the African Journal of Range and Forage Science, Professor David Morris has researched the fascinating subject of early human settlements in the so-called “untouched, pristine and wide open” typically characterised Karoo landscapes. “The human footprint is relatively diffuse... Read more

SPU’s Dr Marga Stander tackles plagiarism

Research Sol Plaatje University Apr 9, 2019

Dr Marga Stander of the Department of English in the School of Humanities at Sol Plaatje University has recently had a research article published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education. Entitled, “Strategies to help university students avoid plagiarism: a focus on translation as an intervention strategy” the... Read more

HSRC partners with SPU for research programme

University of Cape Town: Pioneering ‘new science’ in Masiphumelele

Research University of Cape Town Feb 25, 2019

At the age of five, 20% of children in Masiphumelele are already infected with tuberculosis (TB). When these children enter high school, about half are infected with TB. By the time they become young adults, the infection rate has increased to roughly 80%. That’s the reality for the community... Read more

University of Cape Town: New award for urine recycling researcher

Archives Research University of Cape Town Feb 22, 2019

Dr Dyllon Randall of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Civil Engineering and Future Water Institute has won the prestigious Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Warner Prize. This is awarded biennially to people who show “exceptional promise” in sustainable chemical process technology, nuclear technology or in making chemical... Read more

Genetic blueprint for extraordinary wood-munching fungus from the Northern Cape

Archives Research Stellenbosch University Feb 19, 2019

A relatively unknown fungus, accidentally found growing on an Acacia tree in the Northern Cape, has emerged as a voracious wood-munching organism with enormous potential in industries based on renewable resources. The first time someone took note of Coniochaeta pulveracea was more than two hundred years ago, when the... Read more

Successful treatment of MDR-TB in DRC

Must-Read Research Stellenbosch University Feb 18, 2019

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB that is resistant to at least two of the most potent antibiotics used to treat TB (isoniazid and rifampicin). Compared to drug-susceptible TB, MDR-TB treatment takes longer (2 years versus 6 months), is less effective (only about 50% of patients are... Read more

Rhodes University Geography department instrumental in publishing permafrost paper

Research Rhodes University Feb 14, 2019

Rhodes University staff and students from the department of Geography have contributed to a Nature Communicationsjournal synopsis about global permafrost temperatures. This was made possible through the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded project on Landscape Processes in Antarctic Ecosystems. “The effects of permafrost have been studied since the International Polar... Read more