South Africa: Surprise Results in Search for South African Lizard Species That Have Been Missing for Decades

What happens when a species has not been seen by anyone for decades? Environmentalists think of these as "lost species". We do not know if they've gone extinct, or if it's simply… Read more »

South Africa: Learning Statistics Through Story - Students Get Creative With Numbers

Statistics professor Johan Ferreira was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of "screen time" involved in online learning in 2021. He imagined students must be feeling the same way,… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Police Serve the ANC Insiders, Not the People - Here's How It Happened

After South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, there was significant optimism about police reform in the country. Impressive steps were taken to bring the South African… Read more »

South Africa: Johannesburg's Creative Hubs Are Booming - How Artists Are Rejuvenating a Failing Inner City

Johannesburg is weathering a storm of crises. Nowhere is its complex tangle of challenges more visible than in the inner city, where crime, overcrowding, and infrastructure… Read more »

South Africa: South African University Programmes to Support Black Students Aren't Working. What Needs to Be Done

Most universities and colleges have formal and informal programmes and initiatives to support student and staff development. Their goal is to create learning experiences that help… Read more »

South Africa: Nelson Mandela Was a Hard Man Who Played a Hard Game. What If He Was in Ramaphosa's Shoes?

In 2023 South African author Jonny Steinberg published a book on former South African president Nelson Mandela and his tumultuous marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. To mark the… Read more »

South Africa: Bribery in South Africa - Law Now Puts a Duty On Companies to Act

Bribery is one of the most common forms of corruption in South African companies and state institutions. This has a number of harmful outcomes. Read more »

South Africa: Bullying, Violence and Vandalism in Primary School - Study Explores a Growing Crisis in South Africa

South African primary schools are facing a crisis. Every day, learners fight, bully, destroy property, and intimidate other learners and teachers, turning what should be safe… Read more »

Africa: Berg Winds in South Africa - the Winter Weather Pattern That Increases Wildfire Risks

Winter in some parts of South Africa is a time of low (or no) rainfall and high fire danger. Sheldon Strydom studies the relationship between weather and fire, in particular how… Read more »

South Africa: Devil Worship, Muti and Murder - What's Behind the Growth of Occult Gangs in South Africa?

Gang-related crime in South Africa is widespread, but is under-reported outside hotspots such as the Cape Flats in Cape Town or Westbury in Johannesburg. In these areas gangs are… Read more »

South Africa: Sacred Sites in South Africa Can Protect Natural Heritage and Culture - Here's How

Nature isn't confined to officially protected areas. A lot can be done to conserve biodiversity in other places too. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity agreed in… Read more »

South Africa: Tax Season in South Africa - the System Is Designed to Tackle Inequality - How It Falls Short

South Africa's personal income tax system is in the spotlight as the country's tax filing season gets under way. Personal income tax is an important way of redistributing income… Read more »

South Africa: Cape Town's Sewage Treatment Isn't Coping - Scientists Are Worried About What the City Is Telling the Public

Urban water bodies - rivers, lakes and oceans - are in trouble globally. Large sewage volumes damage the open environment, and new chemicals and pharmaceutical compounds don't… Read more »

South Africa: Child Labour Numbers Rise in Homes Where Adults Are Jobless - South African Study

Child labour is a big concern across the world. It is particularly acute in countries in the global south, where it is estimated that about 160 million children are engaged in… Read more »

South Africa: Ruth First and Activist Research - the Legacy of a South African Freedom Fighter

Ruth First, born 100 years ago, was a South African freedom fighter, journalist and scholar who worked against the racist system of apartheid during white minority rule. She was… Read more »

South Africa: Fun With Fossils - South African Kids Learn a Whole Lot More About Human Evolution From Museum Workshops

South Africa has one of the world's richest fossil records of hominins (humans and their fossil ancestors). But many misconceptions still exist regarding human evolution, and… Read more »

South Africa: Eco Labels in South Africa Don't Do the Job - How to Help Customers Make Informed Choices

South Africans want to shop more sustainably, according to research published in the journal Sustainable Development. But most can't tell which products are environmentally… Read more »

South Africa: Decades of South African Research Reveal Key Strategies to Reduce Water Contamination in Fruit and Veg

Water is essential at all stages of food production, from irrigation to food processing to washing fruit and vegetables before we eat them. Crops and livestock need it to grow, but… Read more »

South Africa: Feya Faku As I Knew Him - a Tribute to the Great South African Jazz Trumpeter

Lex Futshane, the South African bass player in the 1992 student band NU Jazz Connection, was the first to tell me that the great South African jazz trumpeter Feya Faku had died… Read more »

South Africa: Jobless Young South Africans Often Lose Hope - New Study Proves the Power of Mentorship

More than a third of young South Africans are not in employment, education or training. This cohort of 3.4 million (37.1% of those aged 15-24) risks long-term joblessness.… Read more »

South Africa: Battery Swapping Stations Powered By Solar and Wind - We Show How This Could Work for Electric Vehicles in South Africa

Petrol and diesel vehicles are being phased out globally and replaced with electric vehicles so that countries can meet their commitments to zero human-caused carbon emissions by… Read more »

South Africa: Women Trapped With Abusers - South Africa's Covid Lockdowns Exposed Serious Protection Gaps

The unintended consequences of measures introduced to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus from 2020 to 2022 have been studied extensively. Research in South Africa shows that… Read more »

South Africa: Migrants in South Africa's Economic Powerhouse Often Go Hungry - the Drivers and What Can Be Done About It

About 281 million people globally have migrated from their country of origin to another country. This movement can be temporary or permanent and can occur for various reasons,… Read more »

South Africa: The Right to Water Is Out of Reach for Many South Africans - Case Study Offers Solutions

South Africa's constitution says "everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water". In reality, however, this right is not enjoyed by all. Many places experience… Read more »

South Africa: Fossil Tracks and Trunk Marks Reveal Signs of Ancient Elephants On South Africa's Coast

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, South Africa's Cape south coast looked very different. Some of the species that roamed this area are now extinct; others evolved over the… Read more »