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Support and funding for research, innovation and entrepreneurship should work in concert. Photo: File

Advance academic excellence through transformation and internationalisation at SA universities

The brain circulation among academics is an international phenomenon that must be celebrated instead of being despised

NWU’s population and health expertise is guiding South Africa to a more equitable future

The Population and Health Research Entity at the North-West University (NWU) brings together both budding and veteran researchers with a singular mission: to illuminate and…

So many on the African continent are affected by TB, which hits the young and vibrant the hardest in our region and in the world. (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Africans can solve TB, the disease that haunts us. Here’s how

Africans need to be fully involved in drug discovery and development research for tuberculosis on the continent

Research suggests certain peptides may lead to fat tissue loss

It seems that several peptide groups may promote weight reduction

An outreach programme aimed at boosting participation in STEM subjects in Limpopo has highlighted the concerns and dreams of the next generation

Collaboration key to solving Africa’s science problems

An outreach programme aimed at boosting participation in STEM subjects in Limpopo has highlighted the concerns and dreams of the next generation

Most companies are using or plan to embrace the implementation of AI in their business to improve productivity and turnover, a new study reveals. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

A practical guide to ethical use of ChatGPT in essay writing

Artificial intelligence language models can be so much more than just another plagiarism plague

There is much variation in cancer and scientists are increasingly convinced that a more effective treatment option for cancer is the other Holy Grail. Photo: Supplied

Breakthrough cancer research in South Africa stymied by poor funding and scientists working in silos

Multidisciplinary research is exponentially effective in addressing cancer and other health problems, but funding is a key concern

Roma children make their homeworks after the class on March 20, 2018 at a school in the Romanian village of Boldesti-Scaieni. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)

It’s time to take African researchers seriously

The need for home-grown, evidence-informed education programmes has never been more pressing

A technician wearing a full body protection suit works inside a fume cabinet in a biosafety level 3 Covid-19 research laboratory at the African Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

At the intersection: How recognising multiple identities can improve science

World Science Forum panel of gender experts will explain why intersectionality is key to producing relevant, equitable and just science

Research shows that starting sex education at a young age can decrease the number of gender-based violence cases and teenage pregnancies. (Oupa Nkosi)

Gender-based violence: Private sector the missing link

A new report, with the input of survivors of GBV and business executives, suggests the private sector is crucial to combat the crime

A miner carries a load of ore at Manzou Farm, owned by Grace Mugabe, wife of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in Mazowe, Zimbabwe. (JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Zimbabwe’s youth caught between patronage and plunder

It is estimated that gold worth $1.5 billion is smuggled annually out of Zimbabwe but this is only the tip of what has led to chronic poverty

Graphic: John McCann

OPINION| How can innovation and technology address social exclusion, equity and poverty?

The need for more research and teaching on innovation and not just research and teaching in innovation is gaining traction

Women working in the advanced animal health laboratories of ILRI, in Nairobi, Kenya. Copyright: ILRI/David White, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Why science ‘needs to listen to African voices’

New research projects should focus on building stronger bridges between scientists in the Global South, says Connie Nshemereirwe

Photographer Pierre Pistorius holds a sooty albatross for deployment of a tracking device on Marion Island.
(Ross Wanless)

Study highlights need for Southern Ocean marine conservation areas

The largest ever seabird and marine mammal tracking project says the world urgently needs to declare marine conservation areas

Clear mandate: Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus

WHO director-general gives African public health conference thumbs up

Ghebreyesus says Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of nurturing strong science and research on the continent.

Pale males: Michael Bloomberg and other leaders attend the Climate Action Summit at the UN in 2019. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)

Most climate science is written by white men

In deciding how the world responds to the climate crisis, policymakers rely on research that tends to be written predominantly by men in the Global North

Potted history: Sian Tiley-Nel (right), chief curator of the Mapungubwe collection and assistant Helma Steenkamp. Photo: Stefan Heunis/AFP

Pottery dating reveals the origins of Venda

Dating techniques have traced the origins of the Venda language and culture to Mapungubwe, where two distinct cultures merged at initiation schools.

The universities in the South must stop pandering to complacency. They must restore their commitment to academic excellence and welcome the best minds and those who carry with them the potential to be the best regardless of origin. (Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Research outputs do not make a university ranking

The recent department of higher education and training report on universities’ research productivity is interesting but it is only part of the picture

By using a more transformative approach, research in communities can contribute to socioeconomic upliftment (John McCann/M&G)

Universities should transform their methodology

By using a more transformative approach, research in communities can contribute to socioeconomic upliftment

‘Kanuri’, undated. (Photographer unknown)

Extract from ‘The Journey’: Responses to the archive

This sequence of texts was written in response to various photographs of Nigeria made between 1920 and 1929 that form part of the Colonial Office photographic collection