The latest edition of the University of Pretoria’s (UP) digital publication RE.SEARCH is now available on Research Matters.

RE.SEARCH 9 is our most novel edition yet. In it, we have featured research that encourages us to think afresh, and in 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 or represents an educated guess. This edition also features a range of multimedia that you can immerse yourself in.

These new possibilities and probabilities are spurred on by enquiry that is rooted in a desire to unpack real-life issues and solve problems for the betterment of our world.

The cover design for this edition highlights how high-tech solutions are establishing our global footprint while enabling networks with global impact for UP. The design elements in the question mark on the cover relate back to the articles within the magazine, while the question mark itself highlights the theme.

We know that what we do today has an impact on our future. This is in line with our motto, an imperative that inspires us to ‘Make today matter’. Incidentally, this is the theme for Issue 10 of RE.SEARCH which will be available later this year. Thank you to all those who timeously heeded the call for submissions.

Most of UP’s faculties are represented in RE.SEARCH 9, in which we ask a series of questions around the idea ‘What if?’, and explore the possibility, probability and importance of such questions.

We ask the following questions:

• What if we could experience clothing brands without leaving home? (page 2)
• What if we had language without borders? (page 4)
• What if the solution to health pollution is in outer space? (page 6)
• What if we could see underground water from space? (page 8)
• What if we could build stronger, safer low-cost housing? (page 10)
• What if South Africa was a leader in developing green talent? (page 12)
• What if we lived in a world where albinism was better understood? (page 14)
• What if spirituality served as a therapeutic drug? (page 16)
• What if we could anticipate construction problems before building our homes? (page 18)
• What if Gen Z could help us achieve equality? (page 20)
• What if nature could reduce the impact of bovine mastitis? (page 22)
• What if we could agree on ways to manage conservation efforts? (Page 24)
• What if democracy worked? (page 26)
• What if empowering young minds with coding and robotics could transform the world? (page 28)
• What if food literacy could be addressed with gamification? (page 30)

As you can tell, we have something that will be of interest to everyone.

Please be assured that if your submission has not appeared in this edition, we are holding on to it for another, when it may be more suitable. We welcome your feedback, ideas for other themes or anything else that may help us make our research more accessible to the readers of this magazine, which include donors, funders, members of the media, diplomatic corps and other influential stakeholders of UP.

Remember to change your email signature banner (attached) to the one below for this edition. The banner image should hyperlink directly to the landing page of the magazine ie www.up.ac.za/research-matters/magazine.

Happy reading!