Covid-19 pandemic has further weakened South Africa’s fragile peace

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the exclusion of even more South African residents from economic activity has further weakened the country’s already fragile peace.

This is one of the conclusions drawn by North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Gideon van Riet, who recently published an article based on three years of research in…

Cyberattacks likely to increase as connectivity grows

Cyberattacks are occurring thick and fast as the world becomes more connected and the rewards greater. According to a North-West University (NWU) academic, the possible rewards for cyberattackers will continue to increase, as more aspects of our everyday lives become interwoven and reliant on online interaction.

Prof Wian Erlank from…

Conserving African biodiversity through genomics has a food security link

Using genomics to understand and protect the African continent’s biodiversity could improve the resilience of plants, animals and other life forms to climate change, with a knock-on effect on food security, says North-West University (NWU) researcher Dr Roksana Majewska.

She and fellow researchers at the African BioGenome Project (…

NWU researchers help map the way forward for hydrogen in South Africa

The Earth is in trouble. It is suffocating under clouds of carbon dioxide emissions from the use of coal and other environmentally damaging resources to generate energy. These emissions are the primary cause of global warming, and if humanity wants to avoid the worst consequences of global warming*, we have to find alternatives for our energy…

Anja sets her sights on early detection of kidney disease in young South Africans

The earlier kidney disease is detected, the more effectively it can be treated. Anja Degenaar, a master’s student in physiology at the North-West University (NWU), has set out to identify the biomarkers which will indicate deteriorating kidney function in young South Africans, ensuring early detection and treatment.

“The global…

NWU student rakes in awards nominations

Phenyo Mokgothu

North-West University (NWU) student and Setswana writer Lesego Motlhankana has taken the world by storm.

Not only has he been nominated for the 2022 Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) Multilingualism awards, but he has also been nominated for the National Institute for the…

Historical collection sheds light on life in German internment camp

Willie du Plessis

Taken prisoner, isolated from loved ones and incarcerated with thousands of others in lice-infested camps.

This was the reality for many German men living in South Africa and South West Africa during the Second World War, when the government of former Prime Minister Jan Smuts held them…

NWU to host Hockey World Cup in April at last

Bertie Jacobs

It is no joke. From 1 April, the North-West University (NWU) will host the 2022 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup at the Astroturf fields in Potchefstroom.

This is the ninth time the event has been presented, and it would have taken place in December, but the Omicron variant of the Covid-…

Susan Cilliers: Documenting the demons 

They were the twin murders that enraged a community and shocked a nation. On Saturday, 26 May 2018, 19-year-old Xander Bylsma murdered Sharnelle Hough (17) and Marna Engelbrecht (16) in their hostel in the small town of Stella.

The tight-knit farming community in North West was left…

NWU master’s student’s passion leads to book about wetlands

Kirsty Kyle, a master’s student at the North-West University (NWU), has recently published an educational children’s book and, after receiving sponsorship for the printing, donated the books to under-privileged schools.

The book, Discovering Wetlands with Piffy, Zenzi and Lucky, is…