News

  • UP scientists home in on gene that could play pivotal role in diet-induced obesity

    Posted on May 12, 2025

    Researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) may have identified the gene that is responsible for diet-related obesity. By exploring the role of the novel gene Slc7a8, they have made a potential breakthrough in current knowledge about the cellular mechanisms that drive fat accumulation. This...

  • RE.SEARCH 11: Digital Worlds

    Posted on April 17, 2025

    The latest issue of the University of Pretoria’s award-winning RE.SEARCH magazine is available now and reflects a shift towards both a fresher design and outlook. This edition is curated under the theme ‘Digital’, and offers a glimpse into some of the fascinating research...

  • RE.SEARCH 10: Make today matter

    Posted on November 22, 2024

    The articles in this edition showcase work from all nine of our faculties, and underscore our University’s slogan ‘Make today matter’. RE.SEARCH has been named South Africa's top corporate publication as the winner of the 2024 SA Publication's Forum Awards. It is a runner up and...

  • RE.SEARCH 9: What if? 

    Posted on August 26, 2024

    RE.SEARCH 9 is our most novel edition yet. In it, we have featured research that encourages us to think afresh, and is doing so, we’ve highlighted new ways of looking at research. You can expect to read about research that has potential and promise for the future but which is still nascent...

  • UP scientist issues urgent call for clean-up of toxic Krugersdorp mine dumps

    Posted on July 04, 2024

    Young children in Krugersdorp are breathing in uranium, arsenic and mercury fumes wafting over from abandoned legacy mines, while pollutants are seeping into the groundwater and nearby dams and lakes, cautions Dr Alseno Kagiso Mosai, a water remediation expert at the University of...

  • UP experts contribute to discovery of new ‘superpowers’ in mole rats, which could inform human health interventions

    Posted on June 04, 2024

    University of Pretoria (UP) scientists have contributed to discovering how the naked mole rat is able to withstand heart attacks and fend off bowel cancer, two of the most fatal human ailments in the developed world. Their findings were published recently in two Nature Communications papers.

  • RE.SEARCH 8: Connect

    Posted on May 07, 2024

    In a world in which there is an ever-encroaching digital footprint and high-tech solutions, it is vital that we reconnect with an outlook of compassion, care and communication. We do this through connection and connectivity. The theme of our latest issue, ‘Connect’, highlights how UP...

  • UP researchers close in on the secret to aging

    Posted on October 23, 2023

    The quest for immortality has long fascinated humans, and inspired countless tales – now, in two new studies published in the journals Nature and Science, University of Pretoria (UP) researchers, along with a team of global experts known as the Mammalian Methylation Consortium, are a step...

  • UP-UKZN study investigates likelihood of farmers choosing compost made of human poop

    Posted on August 24, 2023

    University of Pretoria (UP) researchers lent their expertise to a recent study led by the University of KwaZulu-Natal and found that rural farmers in KwaZulu-Natal are open to buying and using compost made from human sewage as long as they can be sure that it is safe, affordable and works as well...

  • RE.SEARCH 6: Open

    Posted on July 26, 2023

    This issue features research from all of the University of Pretoria's nine faculties and our business school, the Gordan Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and shows how our research is opening a new world and a better future.

  • RE.SEARCH Issue 5: Impact

    Posted on April 17, 2023

    This issue of RE.SEARCH looks at the impact of the University of Pretoria's research from early childhood interventions and the use of traditional medicines for holistic nursing to the role of women in peacekeeping efforts. The issue also provides insight into the critical question of coal power...

  • Moo-nlight Sonata: UP study finds that cows soothed by classical music produce more milk

    Posted on March 15, 2023

    A University of Pretoria (UP) study has shown that playing soothing classical music to dairy cows lowers their stress levels and increases their milk production.

  • UP-led study finds aloe plant could impede life cycle of malaria-carrying parasite

    Posted on February 09, 2023

    Experts at the University of Pretoria (UP) are a step closer to finding a drug that could prevent transmission of the malaria-carrying parasite Plasmodium falciparum by thwarting its life cycle.

  • UP hydrogeologists use isotopes to pinpoint root of Hartbeespoort Dam’s water hyacinth problem

    Posted on November 21, 2022

    For years now, invasive water hyacinth plants have clogged up the North West’s Hartbeespoort Dam, which lies downstream from Pretoria and Johannesburg. In new research, hydrogeologists from the University of Pretoria (UP) have used the internal workings of the plants themselves to reiterate...

  • Flour power: UP researchers boost nutritive benefits of sweet potato with novel drying technology

    Posted on September 20, 2022

    Researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) have found a way to make orange-fleshed sweet potato last longer in an effort to benefit from this smart crop and address micronutrient deficiencies among young children and pregnant women.

  • Research on genetic health of forest fig trees

    Posted on December 21, 2021

    Ficus trees are an essential source of food in forests because they produce fruit year-round. However, South African forests have been fragmented into tiny pieces since before the ice ages.

  • Better prediction of tiny bloodsuckers to protect livestock

    Posted on December 20, 2021

    Most South Africans love eating meat, but animal diseases regularly threaten a constant, affordable supply.

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