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...

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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.

  • University of Pretoria researchers give the voiceless a voice

    Posted on June 26, 2023

    How do people who cannot speak consult with their doctor and tell them what is wrong? To answer this, researchers at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) in the Faculty of Humanities conducted a study that involved designing a...

  • 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...

  • RE.SEARCH Issue 4: Transdisciplinary

    Posted on November 28, 2022

    Our latest issue of RE.SEARCH is out and focuses on how the University of Pretoria (UP) is implementing transdisciplinary research to co-create new knowledge to develop solutions and design new futures for us all.

  • 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...

  • Breast cancer awareness in the genomic landscape

    Posted on October 10, 2022

    Researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) are making today matter by battling aggressive breast cancer through identifying genes that make African women more susceptible to certain forms of breast cancer. However, this is no easy task as very little genomic information is known about African...

  • 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.

  • Ancestral heritage linked to aggressive prostate cancer, study finds

    Posted on August 31, 2022

    Two pioneering studies published simultaneously today in Nature and Genome Medicine have identified genetic signatures explaining ethnic differences in the severity of prostate cancer, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • RE.SEARCH Issue 3: Renew

    Posted on August 05, 2022

    Welcome to the third issue of, RE.SEARCH. The first two issues looked at ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Innovation’. Issue 3 looks at how we can ‘Renew’ our ways of thinking and grow possibilities. This edition features research that should excite everyone from the...

  • Limit children’s exposure to microplastics as a precaution – UP researcher

    Posted on July 20, 2022

    Until we know more about the risks, we should try to limit our exposure to microplastics found in products and in the environment, and the toxic chemicals associated with them. This is according to Professor Halina Röllin of UP’s School of Health Systems and Public Health, who was part of...

  • UP researchers use low-cost device to detect foetal growth restriction

    Posted on April 04, 2022

    Researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) have shown that a low-cost, easy-to-use screening device can detect foetal growth restriction in pregnant women, which, if not diagnosed, can lead to stillbirth, neonatal death or suboptimal childhood growth.

  • UP-led behavioural study explores patterns of compliance to COVID-19 regulations

    Posted on March 22, 2022

    A study led by researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) has found that people who believe that others are complying with COVID-19 regulations are more likely to comply as well.

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