UP-led astronomy research team explores formation of giant radio galaxies

Posted on February 10, 2025

Enabled by supercomputing, University of Pretoria (UP) researchers have led an international team of astronomers that has provided deeper insight into the entire life cycle (birth, growth and death) of giant radio galaxies, which resemble “cosmic fountains” – jets of superheated...

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-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...

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...

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.

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...

Making light work: UP chemists pave the way towards an ultra-sensitive analytical instrument that can detect water pollutants

Posted on June 27, 2022

A UP-led team is using the momentum of light to trap particles. This optical trap has been used with collaborators to demonstrate a hidden property in light that remains unchanged even when it passes through turbulence.

UP part of global research team to present the first image of Sagittarius-A

Posted on May 12, 2022

Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy. The announcement was made at simultaneous press conferences around the world. Professor Roger Deane, an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria and Director for the...

Re.Search Issue 2: Innovation

Posted on April 26, 2022

Innovation is the next step forward. The innovations highlighted in this edition show us that the knowledge we create today is a step forward to future.

Dangerous air pollution detected with machine learning

Posted on April 11, 2022

Researchers found high levels of air pollution in areas of Mpumalanga and Gauteng. UP’s Rebecca Garland helped create an artificial intelligence tool to monitor and predict daily air pollution against national air quality standards.

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 vet team gives macaw new lease of life with 3D-printed beak

Posted on October 27, 2021

Many people get prosthetic titanium limbs as a result of illness or injury. Now, thanks to a University of Pretoria (UP) team led by Professor Gerhard Steenkamp, a veterinary specialist in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, a macaw has been given a new lease...

West Africa should prepare for strong earthquakes, UP scientists warn

Posted on October 27, 2021

Research by UP’s Natural Hazard Centre has helped settle an old debate about the seismicity of West Africa, with the results showing that the region should expect strong earthquakes from time to time.