Science

20 shacks ignited in five minutes in experiment

University fire engineering research shows that fire-resistant paint does not work

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Science | 12 October 2020

UCT professor’s research offers hope of treatment for sickle cell anaemia

80% of babies born with the disease are in sub-Saharan Africa

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Science | 2 September 2020

Covid-19: How a Cape Town project saved many lives

By getting high-risk people into care immediately, even if they are not feeling ill, many deaths can be prevented

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Science | 31 August 2020

Plants are being given Zulu names. Here’s why it’s important

Naming invasive species will help to destroy them, says conservationist

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Science | 24 August 2020

Why the Covid ‘Recovery Rate’ is a lousy measure of how we’re doing

It is much more sensible to compare how many people have tested positive this week to last week

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Science | 20 August 2020

Cloud computing to help save Cape’s unique fynbos

SA team won a Google Earth grant to protect precious floral kingdom

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Science | 28 July 2020

Covid-19: Companies sell unnecessary “deep cleans” with exaggerated claims

Regular cleaning with standard household products is sufficient

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Science | 6 July 2020

Do poorer communities have fewer plant and animal species?

A new study confirms that the “luxury effect” is real

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Science | 23 June 2020

Covid-19: Making sense of “R”

It’s a useful but much misunderstood concept for explaining the course of the epidemic

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Science | 19 May 2020

Enjoy the fresh air while it lasts! Lockdown causes drop in SA air pollution

This may be little comfort to people facing hunger or crippling job losses because of the lockdown, but air pollution is nevertheless a major global killer

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Science | 8 May 2020

Tim Noakes interview is dangerously misleading

And it contains elementary errors

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Science | 13 April 2020

Covid-19: Come on South Africa, let’s make masks

Home-made masks can help protect us from the virus

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Science | 10 April 2020

Covid-19: What do South Africa’s numbers mean?

We explain confirmed cases, death rates and more

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Science | 8 April 2020

Beware these fake claims about Covid-19

We debunk nonsense being spread about the pandemic

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Science | 6 April 2020

How many people could die of Covid-19 in South Africa?

Researchers estimate deaths based on Chinese and Italian data. But we can take action to stop the worst outcomes

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Science | 29 March 2020

Covid-19: Why testing takes time and what to expect

There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes in the testing labs than most patients realise

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Science | 25 March 2020