South Africa’s flagship telescope at 20: an eye on the sky and on the community

South Africa’s flagship telescope at 20: an eye on the sky and on the community

South Africa’s flagship telescope at 20: an eye on the sky and on the community

Vanessa McBride, International Science Council; University of Cape Town

Access to water has a long racial history in Durban: I followed the story in the city’s archives

Kristin Brig, Washington University in St. Louis

Old illustration of industrial operations alongside a river, with oxen pulling carts and people bent over washtubs

Old illustration of industrial operations alongside a river, with oxen pulling carts and people bent over washtubs

AI in the courtroom: the dangers of using ChatGTP in legal practice in South Africa

Jacques Matthee, University of the Free State and Grey Stopforth, University of the Free State

Gavel and computer graphic

Gavel and computer graphic

Ancient antelope teeth offer surprise insights into how early humans lived

Megan Malherbe, University of Zurich

Animals with horns, standing and lying in a savannah landscape

Animals with horns, standing and lying in a savannah landscape

Some animals are more equal than others: the dark side of researching popular species

Laura Tensen, University of Greifswald

Lion

Lion

Large herd of animals crossing a river

Large herd of animals crossing a river

The great wildebeest migration, seen from space: satellites and AI are helping count Africa’s wildlife

Isla C. Duporge, Princeton University; Daniel Rubenstein, Princeton University; David Macdonald, University of Oxford, and Tiejun Wang, University of Twente

A black and white photo of a smiling elderly woman with hands painting neon green patterns around her.

A black and white photo of a smiling elderly woman with hands painting neon green patterns around her.

Creativity is good for the brain and might even slow down its ageing – new study

Carlos Coronel, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and Agustín Ibáñez, Trinity College

View from above of a man walking along a beach, carrying plastic bottles

View from above of a man walking along a beach, carrying plastic bottles

We tested if a specialised magnetic powder could remove microplastics from drinking water: the answer is yes

Riona Indhur, Durban University of Technology and Sheena Kumari, Durban University of Technology

AI-generated image of an ancient human lying on ground with leopard eating from its torso

AI-generated image of an ancient human lying on ground with leopard eating from its torso

AI reveals which predators chewed ancient humans’ bones – challenging ideas on which Homo species was the first tool-using hunter

Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Rice University

Toxic pollution builds up in snake scales: what we learnt from black mambas

Cormac Price, North-West University; University of KwaZulu-Natal

Greyish snake on a sandy surface, with its head raised

Greyish snake on a sandy surface, with its head raised

Who’s got the power? Studies of male and female primates show it’s not simple

Nikos Smit, University of Turku and Élise Huchard, Université de Montpellier

Two black primates, one sitting on its haunches, the larger one standing on all fours

Two black primates, one sitting on its haunches, the larger one standing on all fours

AI in Africa: 5 issues that must be tackled for digital equality

Rachel Adams, University of Cape Town

A brightly coloured mural which can be viewed in any direction. It has several scenes within it: people in front of computers seeming stressed, a number of faces overlaid over each other, squashed emojis, miners digging in front of a huge mountain representing mineral resources, a hand holding a lump of coal or carbon, hands manipulating stock charts and error messages, as well as some women performing tasks on computers, men in suits around a table, someone in a data centre, big hands controlling the scenes and holding a phone, people in a production line. Motifs such as network diagrams and melting emojis are placed throughout the busy vignettes.

A brightly coloured mural which can be viewed in any direction. It has several scenes within it: people in front of computers seeming stressed, a number of faces overlaid over each other, squashed emojis, miners digging in front of a huge mountain representing mineral resources, a hand holding a lump of coal or carbon, hands manipulating stock charts and error messages, as well as some women performing tasks on computers, men in suits around a table, someone in a data centre, big hands controlling the scenes and holding a phone, people in a production line. Motifs such as network diagrams and melting emojis are placed throughout the busy vignettes.

Our ancient planet

Illustration of people looking for food in a tidal pool

Illustration of people looking for food in a tidal pool

Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

Alan Whitfield, National Research Foundation; Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University; Francis Thackeray, University of the Witwatersrand; Renee Rust, Nelson Mandela University, and Willo Stear, Nelson Mandela University

We decoded the oldest genetic data from an Egyptian, a man buried around 4,500 years ago – what it told us

Adeline Morez Jacobs, University of Padua

Black and white photo of pottery tomb

Black and white photo of pottery tomb

Supernova theory links an exploding star to global cooling and human evolution

Francis Thackeray, University of the Witwatersrand

Supernova theory links an exploding star to global cooling and human evolution

Supernova theory links an exploding star to global cooling and human evolution

We detected deep pulses beneath Africa – what we learned could help us understand volcanic activity

Emma Watts, Swansea University; Derek Keir, University of Southampton, and Thomas Gernon, University of Southampton

Lava spilling out of volcanic rock.

Lava spilling out of volcanic rock.

Africans survived 10,000 years of climate changes by adapting food systems – study offers lessons for modern times

Leanne N. Phelps, Columbia University and Kristina Guild Douglass, Columbia University

Man herding cattle

Man herding cattle

The Conversation Africa is powered by facts. And you.

Creature features

Two chimpanzees sitting together with playful expressions

Two chimpanzees sitting together with playful expressions

Chimpanzees ingest more than the equivalent of one alcoholic drink a day – new research

Stefano Kaburu, Nottingham Trent University

Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it too

Kayla Kolff, Osnabrück University and Simone Pika, Osnabrück University

One chimpanzee touching another

One chimpanzee touching another

We studied more than 500 giraffe skulls from all over Africa – and confirmed there are 4 distinct species

Nikolaos Kargopoulos, University of Cape Town and Julian Fennessy, University College Dublin

A lone giraffe in the wild looks off to one side

A lone giraffe in the wild looks off to one side

War, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution in cities

Elizabeth Carlen, Washington University in St. Louis

Man standing on boat releasing fish from a net into the water

Man standing on boat releasing fish from a net into the water

Humans and animals can both think logically − but testing what kind of logic they’re using is tricky

Olga Lazareva, Drake University

Rodent climbing the rungs of a small, colorful abacus

Rodent climbing the rungs of a small, colorful abacus

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Talking tech

Genetic tests for cancer can give uncertain results: new science is making the picture clearer to guide treatment

Claudia Christowitz, Stellenbosch University

Scientist hand holding test tube with blood in laboratory

Scientist hand holding test tube with blood in laboratory

Smart cities start with people, not technology: lessons from Westbury, Johannesburg

Rennie Naidoo, University of the Witwatersrand

People standing on a damaged and blocked road

People standing on a damaged and blocked road

3D printed food: yuck or yes? Researchers ask South African consumers

Oluwafemi Adebo, University of Johannesburg and Nicole Cunningham, University of Johannesburg

Layers of circular shapes underneath a nozzle

Layers of circular shapes underneath a nozzle

Ageing bridges around the world are at risk of collapse. But there’s a simple way to safeguard them

Andy Nguyen, University of Southern Queensland

A steel bridge crossing a river with a city skyline in the background.

A steel bridge crossing a river with a city skyline in the background.

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