Ancient DNA changes everything we know about the evolution of elephants
ArchivesLatest newsUniversity of the Witwatersrand April 13, 2018
For a long time, zoologists assumed that there were only two species of elephant: one Asian and one African. Then genetic analyses suggested that the African Elephant could be divided into two distinct species, the African Forest and African Savannah elephants. Now a new elephant has been added to the... Read more
The influenza virus circulates every year and has the potential to turn into global epidemics. Flu virus infections affect people from all age groups and causes mild to severe illness. But newborns and babies younger than six months are at particular risk for serious disease. Pregnant women are also... Read more
Wits – in the champion’s league of archaeology – hosted the first African Conference on Experimental Archaeology. Bill Schindler gave a demonstration of experimental archaeology when he screened an episode of National Geographic’s The Great Human Race at the Wits Club as part of the first African Conference on Experimental Archaeology (ACE). About 60... Read more
Research collaboration to embrace resilience of deaf youth in SA
Latest newsResearchUniversity of the Witwatersrand March 28, 2018
Wits University partners with the University of Manchester for an innovative research collaboration to embrace the resilience of deaf youth in SA. A research project by the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Manchester (UK) will use community based film methods to explore issues of vulnerability and resilience that deaf youth... Read more
Female South African pythons are the first ever egg-laying snake shown to care for their babies – at great cost to themselves. Reptiles are usually thought of as cold-blooded (an outdated term), simple animals that certainly don’t care for their young. Behaviours such as family living and parental care... Read more
New study reveals the secret of magmas that produce South Africa’s national treasures
ResearchUniversity of the Witwatersrand March 5, 2018
Study conducted by the School of Geosciences reveals how platinum-bearing chromite layers form in the crust of the Earth. South Africa’s history and economy has been built on its rich natural treasures of a number of precious metals, stones and minerals. The country’s mineral deposits have been created over... Read more
Print a 200-million-year-old dinosaur fossil in your own home
ResearchUniversity of the Witwatersrand January 18, 2018
CT-scan study of Wits PHD student makes it possible to 3D print the skull of the dinosaur species Massospondylus that roamed South Africa 200 million years ago. The digital reconstruction of the skull of a 200-million-year-old South African dinosaur, Massospondylus, has made it possible for researchers to make 3D prints... Read more
Lee Berger named SA’s ‘most visible’ scientist
AchieversMust-ReadUniversity of the Witwatersrand January 8, 2018
Wits palaeoanthropologist tops 25 300 others in a new study on highly visible scientists. Renowned for the discovery of two species of human ancestors, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, Professor Lee Berger from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits University has been identified as the most ‘publicly visible scientist’... Read more
Wits University scientists highly cited worldwide
AchieversUniversity of the Witwatersrand December 4, 2017
Two scientists from Wits University are on the list of Highly Cited Researchers in the world. Paleoanthropologist Professor Lee Berger makes his debut on the list, while microbiologist Professor Lynn Morris retains her listing. Berger and Morris are two of just five individuals who have a South African institution... Read more
Pravin Gordhan joins Wits School of Governance
Latest newsMust-ReadUniversity of the Witwatersrand December 2, 2017
The former Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan has been appointed as a Visiting Professor in the Wits School of Governance as from 1 December 2017. “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Pravin Gordhan to Wits. He has played an integral role in South Africa’s history and we believe... Read more
