News

  • RE.SEARCH 13: One Health

    Posted on November 21, 2025

    This edition is curated around the concept of One Health, in which the University of Pretoria plays a leading role globally, and is based on our research expertise in the various disciplines across healthcare for people, the environment and animals.

  • Better brain health: UP neurosurgeon develops non-invasive, eye-based method to measure intracranial pressure

    Posted on November 19, 2025

    Paediatric neurosurgeon Professor Llewellyn Padayachy, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Steve Biko Academic Hospital, is redefining how brain-related diseases are diagnosed and treated, especially in low-resource settings. He’s at the...

  • From ancient wisdom flows modern water solutions

    Posted on November 12, 2025

    Highly sophisticated water management techniques of ancient civilisations demonstrate the ingenuity of inhabitants who lived with limited water. It appears we need to look to the past to ensure a stable water supply in the future.

  • Filling the gaps of placental insufficiency

    Posted on October 23, 2025

    What do stillbirths, child stunting and impaired cognitive development have in common? It could be that all these problems start in the womb, with a placenta that doesn’t function as it should. Researchers at the University of Pretoria’s Research (UP) Centre for Maternal, Fetal,...

  • Food security starts with biodiversity

    Posted on October 16, 2025

    The world is five years away from the 2030 deadline to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we are no closer to ending hunger and food insecurity (SDG 2). Yet food security is just part of the battle – we also need to fight to keep indigenous biodiversity...

  • AI can prevent crying over spilled milk

    Posted on September 17, 2025

    Supply chains are the backbone of global commerce, ensuring that goods flow seamlessly from manufacturers to consumers. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of these systems, especially in South Africa’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Disruptions from border closures,...

  • RE.SEARCH 12: Global

    Posted on August 25, 2025

    The theme of this edition, ‘Global’, illustrates how the University of Pretoria (UP) serves as a globally engaged, continental hub that is driving impactful research through innovation, creativity and sustainability. The research in this issue demonstrates how the research we do today...

  • Weasel watch: UP PhD candidate calls on public to share sightings of elusive African striped weasel

    Posted on August 12, 2025

    University of Pretoria (UP) doctoral candidate Kyle Smith is on a mission to find out all about one of Southern Africa’s most elusive small carnivores: the African striped weasel – and he needs your help. Smith is calling on members of the public and citizen scientists to help him by...

  • Green bytes

    Posted on August 07, 2025

    Our quest for knowledge has led to an alarming insight: it is harming the environment. According to the World Economic Forum, since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, investment in artificial intelligence (AI) has grown eight-fold. This investment has seen the increase in the physical...

  • Is there a digital afterlife?

    Posted on July 23, 2025

    What happens when you die? Some believe in the eternal reincarnation of the spirit until deliverance arrives and the spirit unites with the cosmic energy field. Others believe in the soul residing in either a wonderful spiritual place or a place of damnation. Then there are those that believe...

  • Keep ChatGPT out of court

    Posted on July 02, 2025

    The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into legal systems is transforming the practice of law, offering unprecedented efficiency, accessibility and innovation. However, the recent case Mavundla v MEC: Department of Co-Operative Government and Traditional Affairs KwaZulu-Natal and Others...

  • Ransom notes - Fighting ransomware with data-driven innovation and collaboration

    Posted on June 25, 2025

    Ransomware has emerged as one of the most devastating cyber threats, wreaking havoc on businesses. Ransomware attacks, once indiscriminate and opportunistic, have evolved into sophisticated, targeted campaigns. The advent of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) has lowered barriers to entry for...

  • Seeing is (dis)believing

    Posted on June 05, 2025

    Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is changing how we work, play and relax. Whether you use ChatGPT to write a brief, Midjourney to generate visuals or MuseNet to create unique soundtracks, these technologies have opened up opportunities for richer content.

  • Green, deep learning

    Posted on May 29, 2025

    A single query to ChatGPT uses as much electricity as burning a light bulb for about 20 minutes. Multiply that by the millions of requests that this artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot receives each day, and the environmental impact is ominous.

  • 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 study reveals impact of office gossip on black gay and lesbian individuals in workplaces

    Posted on June 14, 2024

    A study by University of Pretoria (UP) researchers that investigated the effects of office gossip on black gay and lesbian South Africans has revealed the significant challenges faced by these individuals in South African workplaces.

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