Featured Research: Science

Talking Point

Unpacking a mystery of physics: Why processes in nature operate only in one direction

Why do processes in nature only work in one direction? For example, why can’t we heat up a cup of coffee in the fridge or prevent a drop of ink from spreading spontaneously in water?

Talking Point

Fig wasp sex ratios show that not all of nature is by design

In his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, British naturalist Charles Darwin put forward his theory of natural selection. This, he argued, was the mechanism of biological evolution: like an animal or plant breeder selects for certain characteristics, individuals with better survival ability leave more offspring.

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MSc student bridges the fields of chemistry and physics

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.

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University of Pretoria study reveals hand sanitisers in Gauteng and Tshwane to be substandard

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.

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UP expert details the true, terrifying nature of lightning

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 lightning flash itself;– most lighting-related deaths and injuries occur as a result of other lightning attachment...

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The hunt for coronavirus variants: how the new one was found and what we know so far

Since early in the COVID pandemic, the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa has been monitoring changes in SARS-CoV-2. This was a valuable tool to understand better how the virus spread. In late 2020, the network detected a new virus lineage, 501Y.V2, which later became known as the beta variant. Now a new SARS-CoV-2 variant has been identified – B.1.1.529. The World Health...