Featured Research: Science

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UP scientist issues urgent call for clean-up of toxic Krugersdorp mine dumps

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 Pretoria’s (UP) Department of Chemistry.

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The legacy of acid mine dumps

The mining companies responsible for the pollution are often nowhere to be seen, but many Acid Mine Drainage clean-up technologies do exist. Clean-ups should take place in order to protect the right of citizens to a healthy environment and clean water.

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Biomedical researchers are tapping into mole rats' unique adaptations

Mole rat biology could inform human health interventions like cancer therapies, heart attack prevention, maternal health and birth control, mental health approaches, anti-ageing drugs, neurodegenerative disease treatment, and pain management.

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UP experts contribute to discovery of new ‘superpowers’ in mole rats, which could inform human health interventions

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.

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UP researchers close in on the secret to aging

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 closer to unmasking the secret of aging in mammals, thus raising important questions – and answers.

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The pan-mammalian clock

Aging has long been thought to be the result of random cellular damage or degradation over time, but this latest research shows that the epigenetic aspects of aging in fact follow a predetermined “programme”.