Posted on February 09, 2022
A groundbreaking study undertaken by researchers from the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Faculty of Veterinary Science has revealed that the heart operates with declining energy efficiency as body size increases among mammals.
Posted on February 09, 2022
When wild lions sneak up on a herd of cattle to grab an easy meal, the dice seem to be loaded more heavily against certain herd members, which are more likely than the others to be killed and eaten, according to a new study conducted by scientists from the University of Pretoria (UP).
Posted on January 18, 2022
A team of UP scientists has published the only study from Africa that entailed genomic One Health investigations to reveal that Delta variants of COVID-19 were transmitted from humans to animals.
Posted on December 21, 2021
Ficus trees are an essential source of food in forests because they produce fruit year-round. However, South African forests have been fragmented into tiny pieces since before the ice ages.
Posted on December 20, 2021
Most South Africans love eating meat, but animal diseases regularly threaten a constant, affordable supply.
Posted on December 19, 2021
Ané Kritzinger, a master’s student in the Department of Chemistry, is bridging the fields of chemistry and physics to develop an ultra-sensitive instrument for pollutant detection.
Posted on December 16, 2021
Water is a vital resource for mammals. This is especially true for African elephants that generally drink every day but can go two to three days between drinks. As they have an exceptional sense of smell, it has been suggested that elephants may locate water using olfactory cues. However, there...
Posted on December 06, 2021
A scientist from the University of Pretoria (UP) has found that commercial, off-the-shelf hand sanitisers used by the public in Gauteng and Tshwane do not contain the recommended alcohol content, and are mostly incorrectly labelled according to local and international standards.
Posted on December 02, 2021
There is a common misconception that most lightning victims are struck directly by a “bolt” of lightning from the sky. But according to Professor Ryan Blumenthal, a senior specialist forensic pathologist at the University of Pretoria, less than 5% of victims are struck by the...
Posted on November 29, 2021
The Southern African Prostate Cancer Study, of which UP’s Prof Riana Bornman is clinical leader, uses a ‘grassroots to cloud’ approach to track the cause of prostate cancer in Southern African black men.
Posted on November 15, 2021
Prof Zander Myburg of UP’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute is part of an international team that will embark on a large-scale genome sequencing of 2 000 eucalyptus trees.
Posted on November 01, 2021
Research Matters shows how the University of Pretoria creates a world of answers by highlighting some of our most impactful and innovative research, all of which addresses society’s most pressing concerns in order to transform lives and communities.
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.
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...
Posted on September 20, 2021
A study by a PhD student at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology reveals that South Africa is experiencing more maximum temperature records than expected and that this trend seems to be accelerating.
Posted on August 16, 2021
South Africans have been found to tend towards flocking instead of taking flight as a resilience response. This is according to Professor Liesel Ebersöhn, a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria (UP) and Director of the University’s Centre for...
Posted on August 13, 2021
Southern Africa’s Nguni, Afrikaner, Drakensberger and Bonsmara cattle are unique and well suited to the climate of southern Africa. University of Pretoria researchers are using the history and favourable genetics of these breeds to increase productivity and food security.
Posted on July 06, 2021
A study led by a University of Pretoria (UP) master’s student using South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope has led to the discovery of a group of 20 galaxies.
Posted on July 01, 2021
A study co-authored by Dr Bernard Coetzee, a senior lecturer in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria (UP), has detailed how chance events could alter the Living Planet Index (LPI), a measure of the world’s biological diversity based on population trends.
Posted on June 15, 2021
Climate change in South Africa has major health risks associated with it, such as new vector-borne diseases emerging from heavy rainfall, malnutrition from poor food security caused by drought, and respiratory diseases caused by dust storms and air pollution.
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