The lasting effect of a traumatic ordeal not only plays mind games with people who subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — a trauma-induced, often debilitating mental disorder that counts prolonged flashbacks, nightmares, and severe panic attacks among its many symptoms. It also leaves physical ‘fingerprints’ in the body that can be so permanent that it predisposes the individual to chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart conditions.
Imagine a world in which drug development is faster, more precise, and more affordable. As a scientific start-up company, Nanosene (Pty) Ltd is committed to reshaping the foundations of drug discovery and development to ensure just that.
Despite important nutrition-related policy and programme improvements in South Africa, the rates of stunting among the country’s young children remain unacceptably high — much higher than in several other low- and middle-income nations. But stunting is not the only condition that points to a larger nutrition crisis. There are also rising numbers of children presenting as underweight or suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Infant mental health remains a low priority for the country's health agenda, but researchers and health scientists at Stellenbosch University (SU) are advocating louder for change, designing different interventions and not shying away from exploring new approaches either.
Long-term cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers in the fields of cell physiology and electronic engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU) is leading to new insights into cellular processes, specifically within the context of neurodegenerative diseases.
Tuberculosis (TB) is often thought of as a disease that affects only humans when, in fact, it is a multi-host disease [that affects many species]. A team of researchers, based in Stellenbosch University's Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, are determined to understand exactly how the transmission of TB occurs between wildlife, livestock, and people.
“As a society, we need to understand how fires spread if we are to prevent them from becoming total disasters,” says Prof Richard Walls, who heads up the fire engineering team at Stellenbosch University (SU). “Urban fires can be incredibly dangerous, particularly in informal settlements.” Established in SU’s Department of Civil Engineering, this group of researchers is helping train the next generation of fire safety experts.
The question as to why certain disarmament programmes work while others don’t is the focus of DISARM, a project on the effect of disarmament on conflict recurrence. The project is a pivotal collaboration between Stellenbosch University and the Peace Research Institute Oslo. The project is the first systematic global study to look at what causes conflict recurrence after disarmament has taken place.
The burden of heart disease in South Africa is a ticking time bomb. Scientists know that it’s exacerbated by HIV and stress, but understanding exactly how and why is imperative to pushing back the clock. Researchers are looking at the deep local context as a critical key to unlocking solutions.
An investigator tracking the path of COVID-19, a scientist deciphering the body’s own armour against antimicrobial resistance, and an immunologist studying the placentas of pregnant women for clues that can explain preterm births. These are but three of the scientists at Stellenbosch University who are contributing to research for impact in Africa, and the world at large.