On a different buzz: why we need flies

Posted on April 29, 2019

For many people, the idea of flies buzzing about isn’t very appealing, as they’re typically associated with dirt and disease. But before you swat the next fly you see, know that out of the thousands of flies that are known, only a few are harmful – the rest play positive roles...

Master’s student in Animal Science wins Koos van der Merwe Award

Posted on April 16, 2019

Ms Micaela Sinclair-Black, an MSc (Agric) student in Animal Science at the University of Pretoria, recently received the Koos van der Merwe Award at the Animal Feed Manufacturers’ Association (AFMA) symposium.

SANUM 2019 - 27 to 29 March

Posted on April 15, 2019

The Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics hosted the annual South African Symposium on Numerical and Applied Mathematics (SANUM) from 27 to 29 March 2019. The conference was officially opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UP), Prof Jean Lubuma.

Physics postgraduate student selected to attend Nobel Laureate Meeting

Posted on April 12, 2019

Mr Justin Harrison, a recent MSc graduate from the Department of Physics at the University of Pretoria (UP), is one of only 20 top young scientists from South Africa to attend the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to physics later this year in Lindau, Germany. The Academy of Science of...

Astronomers capture first image of a black hole

Posted on April 10, 2019

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration — was designed to capture images of a black hole. Today, (10 April) in coordinated press conferences across the globe, EHT researchers reveal that...

In celebration of forests

Posted on March 27, 2019

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012. The day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests.

Two NAS researchers elected to SCAR

Posted on March 20, 2019

Two researchers from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) at the University of Pretoria, Dr Thulani Makhalanyane and Dr Christel Hansen, have been elected to the South African National Committee (SANC) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), an...

PhD’s video steals the limelight in SAASTA competition

Posted on March 20, 2019

Mr Darryl Herron, a PhD student in Microbiology at the University of Pretoria (UP), won the video category of the South Africa Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) Young Science Communicators Competition. He also won third place in the Department of Plant and Soil...