Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Boitumelo Kgobotlo

Creator

Boitumelo Kgobotlo

Lithium mines in Zimbabwe’s communal areas deprive people of their land rights, grazing land and water. Photo: Madelene Cronjé

The invention to detect foot-and-mouth disease in one hour

New technology helps manage the disease that spells gloom for economies and livestock

Overload? South Africans eat more salt than is considered healthy. (Getty Images)

Study finds too much salt can damage immune cell function

The study investigated how sodium intake affects human cells by giving participants 6g of salt in tablet form each day for 14 days, while they continued with their normal diets.

At risk: Cave art on an island in
Indonesia is deteriorating. Photo:
Ratno Sardi/Griffith University/AFP

Human history on the verge of being wiped out by climate change

Cave drawings dating back more than 45 000 years are slowly eroding as temperatures and humidity fluctuate

Hunter: Shuvuuia deserti had the same hearing ability as today’s barn owl. Photo: Julius T Csotonyi/ Leemage/AFP

Tiny dinosaur with big eyes and ‘ears’ hunted in the dark

A tiny theropod, Shuvuuia, the name of which derives from the Mongolian word for bird, is part of a group known as the alvarezsaurus, had both extraordinary hearing and night…

Noise pollution affects plants and their pollinators

A study of piñon and juniper show that regular exposure to loud sounds affect plants’ growth while birds dispersing seeds move away

Your smartphone is probably spying on you

The spy in your pocket: Granting microphone and camera permission to certain apps does not mean they are only active during use

Mice to the rescue in schizophrenia research

A new study has shown that similarities between human brains and those of mice can make them useful for studying mental illness, something previously believed impossible

Why handwriting is still important in the age of tech

Your brain remembers differently when using tech or simply pen and paper

Anteosaurus: Savage pre-mammalian hunter was no slowcoach

Evolutionary studies find that the Anteosaurus, previously assumed to be a sluggish animal, was actually a savage hunter

In many regions, human–water systems are already in a post-crisis state of failure. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

A South African solution for better drinking water

Solar-powered purifier removes bad taste and smells from wastewater

A Gauteng firm is using bioplastics to limit microplastics

Humans eat, drink and breathe in tens of thousands of micro- and nanoplastics, but research into the effects on health is limited

Turn off your Zoom video and help the planet

The pandemic has forced us indoors and using more data than ever before, putting more strain on the environment

What works and doesn’t once you have Covid-19

Myths abound about what works and doesn’t once you have contracted the virus. As the second wave engulfs the country here is what specialists have to say

An undertaker wearing personal protective equipment applies a sticker to a casket at the Avbob funeral house in Soweto earlier this week. (Photo: Marco Longari/AFP)

Excess deaths rise, starting in Covid hotspot Eastern Cape

As the pandemic’s second wave spreads through the country, the number of excess deaths increases too

Dead serious: South Africa has the highest numbers of diagnosed infections in Africa and ranks sixteenth in the world, with fears of a second wave as infections are increasing. (Photo: Michele Spatari/AFP)

Covid-19 info lags as cases shoot up

Vital information apps and websites are outdated as cases begin to mushroom, especially near the coast, just in time for the December holidays