Science

Western Cape floods: Is climate change to blame?

It’s hard to blame global warming for a single weather event, but storms like last week’s are becoming more likely

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Science | 5 October 2023

Is our food becoming less nutritious? Probably

But solutions are not at all simple

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Science | 21 April 2023

Cape Town’s water crisis worsened by the rich, study finds

Wealthy households use more than half the city’s water, say authors of article published in leading scientific journal

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Science | 12 April 2023

The maths that helped South Africa tackle HIV

UCT epidemiologist Leigh Johnson delivered GroundUp and Bertha House’s third Science for the People seminar

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Science | 29 March 2023

Much ado about magic mushrooms

Careful examination reveals there is not enough data

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Science | 12 October 2022

Where have all the chameleons gone?

And what you can do to encourage them to live in your garden

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Science | 23 September 2022

South Africa does need some gas in the energy mix – just not the kind Gwede Mantashe wants

Biodigestion is a cheap, low-tech way for communities to produce some of their power

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Science | 6 September 2022

Cape Town is letting the flowers grow

Decision not to mow in some city parks is an important boost for biodiversity

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Science | 26 August 2022

Plastic pollution: We’re getting it wrong. Here’s what needs to happen

The focus on single-use plastics is diverting attention from a much more serious problem. It’s also causing bad practices.

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Science | 19 August 2022

Hydrogen as fuel: we should be selective about how we make and use it

Hydrogen is a useful substitute for fossil fuels, but new research shows leakages can be very damaging to the environment

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Science | 3 August 2022

South African engineers are trying to solve the global water crisis

But better politics as much as good engineering may be key

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Science | 11 July 2022

Scientists sound alarm on badly run medical studies

More than half of clinical trials analysed showed a high risk of bias. It was especially bad for drug and alcohol studies.

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Science | 13 June 2022

Ivermectin sent back to the worms by medicines regulator

Programme allowing the import and store of controversial drug for use against Covid brought to an end

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Science | 30 May 2022

Nearly everyone in South Africa has Covid antibodies, study shows

Survey of blood donors in March finds 98% of adults are either vaccinated, previously infected or both

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Science | 27 May 2022

Dirty air is invisible, but a real threat to health

Here’s how we can keep the air healthy at home, at work and on public transport

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Science | 18 May 2022

Two years into the Covid disaster, where do we stand?

Far fewer people are dying but the disease remains extremely serious

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Science | 12 May 2022