News

  • 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...

  • UP researcher discovers two new dung beetle species which don't roll balls or use dung

    Posted on November 13, 2024

    Over the past two decades, field trips in search of dung beetles have taken University of Pretoria (UP) doctoral student Christian Deschodt across Southern Africa. But it was a well-trodden walk to fetch his kids from school, a mere 1,5km from his home near Hartbeespoort, that saw him stumble...

  • Arid conditions stimulate plant trait diversity – UP part of worldwide study that offers hope for biodiversity conservation

    Posted on September 25, 2024

    The University of Pretoria (UP) has been part of a groundbreaking international study to understand how plants found in drylands have adapted to these extreme habitats. The results of this large-scale study, which involved 120 scientists from 27 countries, were recently published in scientific...

  • 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 researchers discover optimum way to monitor blood oxygen levels in immobilised rhino, boosting efforts to combat poaching

    Posted on August 14, 2024

    New research by scientists at the University of Pretoria (UP) has shown that pulse oximeters, originally designed for humans, can be used more effectively to monitor the blood oxygen levels of rhinoceroses who are under anaesthesia and immobilised – by attaching them at an unusual site: the...

  • 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 researchers find environmental toxins poison epigenetic inheritance

    Posted on February 09, 2024

    In a study that signals potential reproductive and health complications in humans, now and for future generations, researchers at the University of Pretoria and Canada’s McGill University and Université Laval have concluded that toxins in the environment, notably DDT, modify the sperm...

  • RE.SEARCH 7: Just Transitions

    Posted on November 23, 2023

    This edition explores the theme of ‘Just Transitions’ which is generally characterised by ideas of sustainability and the greening of the economy, and supported by the ideas of resistance, rethinking and restructuring society for a better and more equitable future. As one of the most...

  • Research shows there are more warm-bodied sharks than previously thought

    Posted on November 15, 2023

    New research arising from a collaboration between scientists at the University of Pretoria (UP) and Trinity College Dublin has shown there are likely more warm-bodied sharks out there than previously thought.

  • 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-linked study reveals climate-smart water storage strategies adopted by Great Zimbabwe in Middle Ages

    Posted on October 11, 2023

    A study involving the University of Pretoria (UP), along with academics from Great Zimbabwe University, University of Cambridge in the UK and Aarhus University in Denmark, has revealed how Great Zimbabwe – the largest city in Southern Africa during the Middle Ages – stored water in...

  • 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.

  • UP studies show how police-community partnerships can reduce crime in high-risk cities

    Posted on July 20, 2023

    Research by the University of Pretoria (UP) has demonstrated the importance of community policing forums in fighting crime in high-risk environments, such as in Johannesburg.

  • UP researchers decode genome of king protea

    Posted on May 24, 2023

    University of Pretoria (UP) researchers are at the forefront of a very special first for South African plant sciences. They have unravelled the precise genetic make-up of the country’s national flower, the king protea (Protea cynaroides). It is the first plant that’s unique to South...

  • Increasing Rainfall Extremes in SA

    Posted on May 16, 2023

    With climate change said to be affecting the intensity of rainfall, experts at the University of Pretoria (UP) have investigated if there are observable changes in the probability of significant to extreme daily rainfall across South Africa.

  • UP study shows 81% of Grade 4 learners in SA have reading difficulties

    Posted on May 16, 2023

    The South African portion of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 conducted by UP has found that 81% of South African Grade 4 learners are struggling to read for comprehension at age 10.

  • 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.

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