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Wamkelekile, Welkom
Wamkelekile, Welkom
Invite: The three theses of decolonisation and the school curriculum – UCT Mafeje-Jordan Seminar Series
At the third instalment of the University of Cape Town (UCT) Mafeje-Jordan Seminar Series 2021, Edwin Etieyibo, professor of philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand and adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Alberta, Canada, will present on why decolonising the school curriculum is important.
31 May 2021
The origin of African jackals revealed – new study
New research published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society has found the origin of some of the most emblematic groups of African carnivorous mammals: jackals. The international group of researchers describe a new species of canid (current family that includes foxes, wolves, and jackals) named Eucyon khoikhoi , providing vital information about the origin of the group outside of North America – where the canidae family originated from more than 35 million years ago.
31 May 2021
UCT professor elected as Fellow of South African Academy of Engineering
Harro von Blottnitz, professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has been elected a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE). His election places him among an elite group of 213 fellows who straddle the worlds of academia and industry, and who are considered thought leaders in their fields.
28 May 2021
Response by UCT and the Faculty of Health Sciences to email smears against the university’s academic in relation to the proposed River Club development
The University of Cape Town (UCT) and its Faculty of Health Sciences notes with great concern the email smears against academic, Professor Leslie London, regarding his activities with the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) in relation to the highly contentious proposed River Club development. Professor London is an accomplished and highly respected UCT academic, with a substantial history of engaged scholarship, specifically in the area of human rights advocacy and activism.
27 May 2021
Orchid sexually exploits male beetles – a world first from Africa
Dr Callan Cohen, a research associate of the University of Cape Town's (UCT) FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology , has discovered a world pollination first: an orchid that sexually exploits longhorn beetles. The near-extinct Disa forficaria , known from a single remaining plant in the mountains near Cape Town, mimics a female beetle so convincingly that the male beetle mates with the flower, thus pollinating it.
27 May 2021
Decolonising ecology? How to adopt practices that make science more equitable
Knowledge systems outside of those sanctioned by Western universities have often been marginalised or simply not engaged with in many science disciplines, but there are multiple examples where Western scientists have claimed discoveries for knowledge that resident experts already knew and shared. This demonstrates not a lack of knowledge itself but rather that, for many scientists raised in Western society, little education concerning histories of systemic oppression has been by design. Western scientific knowledge has also been used to justify social and environmental control, including dispossessing colonised people of their land and ways of life and discounting existing knowledge systems.
24 May 2021
Africa has higher death rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients than any other world region, study suggests
Death rates among adults in the 30 days after being admitted to critical care with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection appear considerably higher in Africa than globally, according to a prospective observational study from 64 hospitals in 10 African countries published in The Lancet .
21 May 2021
Experts call for urgent action to reduce global burden of cardiovascular disease in women by 2030 – The Lancet
In the first-ever global report on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women, researchers call for urgent action to improve care and prevention, fill knowledge gaps, and increase awareness to tackle the worldwide leading cause of death among women.
19 May 2021
Ground-breaking XACT Model project set to revolutionise TB diagnosis and treatment
The ground-breaking XACT Model project, which seeks to advance community-based active case finding (ACF) of tuberculosis (TB) using point-of-care molecular technology, has now entered a critical multilayer phase in four sub-Saharan African countries, including South Africa. The project is set to revolutionise TB diagnosis and treatment and take diagnostic tests out of the laboratory and into the community.
19 May 2021
UCT alum presented with prestigious Whitley Award
South African conservationist and University of Cape Town (UCT) alum Lucy Kemp has received a prestigious Whitley Award worth over R790 000 to align traditional beliefs with new conservation action that will protect the Southern Ground-hornbill and its habitat.
18 May 2021
Statement by the UCT executive on the Israeli-Palestine conflict
We are deeply disturbed by the escalating situation in the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Our experience with the democratic transition in South Africa is a lesson about the power of empathy, negotiation and compromise. The escalating situation in Israel and Palestine thus serves as a reminder that intractable conflicts can only be solved through peaceful negotiation.
18 May 2021
UCT professor elected as Fellow of the Royal Society
William Bond, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town’s Department of Biological Sciences, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy. Bond is the seventh South African to be accorded the honour and will join the ranks of other icons of science, including Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking, when he is inducted as a Fellow later this year.
18 May 2021
South Africa’s longest-running public arts festival is back to (Un)Infect the City
In partnership with the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Institute for the Creative Arts (ICA), Infecting the City (ITC) – South Africa’s longest-running public arts festival – is back for its 12th edition. It started on 8 May and runs until 30 June 2021 throughout Cape Town’s city centre, in locations across the Cape Flats, and online.
13 May 2021
UCT celebrates the extraordinary role nurses play in society
“Nursing is not just a profession, it’s a skill and an attitude. It’s about developing a close relationship with your patients. It’s the ability to make a difference in the world – one patient at a time. The compassion and passion that nurses bring to the profession are two of the most highly regarded and valued aspects of their role – not just in South Africa, but also in the world.”
12 May 2021
Simulated satellite camera to aid vegetation monitoring in South Africa
A master’s student from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) SpaceLab, whose dissertation focuses on how a simulated satellite can aid vegetation monitoring in South Africa, was handpicked to present his paper at the 2021 SpaceOps Conference, the 16th International Conference on Space Operations held virtually last week.
12 May 2021
UCT scientists scoop Human Frontier Science Program Award to study the genetics of floral asymmetry in South African plants
A research team of international scientists including University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Professor Nicola Illing of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, have been awarded a prestigious Research Grant from the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization.
11 May 2021
The surprising evolutionary history of our oral bacteria
A new study by a multidisciplinary international research team, including University of Cape Town (UCT) biological anthropologist Associate Professor Victoria Gibbon has discovered unexpected clues about human evolution and health after reconstructing the oral microbiomes of Neanderthals, primates, and humans, including the oldest oral microbiome ever sequenced from a 100 000-year-old Neanderthal.
11 May 2021