Mention nuclear power and the response probably won’t be favourable. More than likely, you’ll hear mutterings about corrupt government deals and fears about the hazards of exposure to radiation. So what is the real deal with nuclear power? Prof Jeanne Kriek of Unisa’s Institute for Science and Technology (ISTE)... Read more

The Forestry and Agricultural Biodiversity Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria recently took science to the community of Philippi. FABI doctoral student Joey Hulbert has initiated the Cape Citizen Science project, the aim of which is to get the public engaged in research about the population genetics of Phytophthora cinnamomi and the phylogenetics of... Read more

Renowned UK digital sociologist and social media consultant Mark Carrigan  says academics and researchers should set aside the traditional views of social media and look how they can use to improve how they communicate and connect professionally. Social media for academics , published by Sage , according to the... Read more

Online mathematics assessment (OMA) could help improve the mathematics performance of deaf and hard-of-hearing learners in South Africa. This is one of the key findings of a new study at Stellenbosch University (SU). “OMAs can help deaf and hard-of-hearing learners to understand difficult mathematical concepts and provide them with... Read more

Breastfeeding is the most beneficial feeding option for infants born to HIV-infected women and should be continued until at least 12 months. This 2010 recommendation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), revised in 2013 and again in 2016 and supported in South Africa in the Tshwane Declaration of 2011,... Read more

Members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training have expressed their appreciation for the amount of vaccines research and discoveries at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. “This is the kind of work that South Africans should be aware of about their own universities. The medical discoveries and... Read more

Hepatitis E gets little press compared to its better-known cousins A, B and C, but Stellenbosch University (SU) virologists say we should wake up to how the transmission of this virus is changing. World Hepatitis Day is marked on 28 July. Infection with the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is... Read more

The aardvark will become increasingly rare as the world warms and dries, and the consequences go well beyond a decline in aardvark safari encounters. The aardvark, a highlight for anyone on a game-viewing African safari, will become increasingly rare as the world warms and dries, and the consequences go... Read more

Psychological assessments for employees have been controversial in South Africa because of the country’s troubled past. Cognitive ability and personality tests, for example, were originally developed for white, English speakers, but have been applied to other language groups as determined by Apartheid laws. In response, researchers at the University... Read more