By STEVEN LANG Science might not have all the answers but it surely has some interesting brainteasers. Here are some of the most thought-provoking questions that will be posed and maybe answered in next week’s Scifest Africa lecture programme. Can tiny thread worms be used instead of chemical pesticides to control insects that ruthlessly damage our crops? It sounds unlikely because after all, are we not replacing one bug with another? Dr Tiisetso Lephoto believes that specific types of worms known as nematodes are capable of revolutionising the agriculture sector. The tiny worm carries a bacteria that just happens to…
Author: Steven Lang
Read More
Traffic lights are not a problem at all because I know they are red, amber and white. You go on the green and I go on the white. When people learn that you are colour-blind they usually feel compelled to ask a set of fairly predictable questions. “What colour is this?”; “What colours can’t you see?”; “What does blue look like to you?”; “So, is everything … like black and white?” and so on. Sometimes the answers cause amusement or fascination and sometimes sympathy: “Ag shame, that must be so weird”. Actually, it’s not weird at all – after 63…
“No one is dumb who is curious,” said rock-star astrophysicist, Neil de Grasse Tyson and the slogan for our municipality is: Makana – a great place to be. Join them together and we find that Makana is a great place to be curious. Curious people naturally gravitate towards the sciences, even those who happen to be studying in the humanities, and in Grahamstown there is plenty to whet the appetites of the sci-curious. You do not have to be enrolled at the Science Faculty to enjoy science in Grahamstown. Scifest Africa is the biggest single science festival in Africa and…
“We’re gonna put fire under their bums”, said Ron Weissenberg, Chairman of the Concerned Citizens Committee to Save Makana, CCCSM. Addressing a protest meeting of about 200 people in Church Square on Thursday, Weissenberg said it was very hot but that it was going to get even hotter for Mayor Nomhle Gaga and the Makana Municipal leadership. The Grahamstown Residents Association, GRA, called the meeting out of concern for the lack of leadership at Makana Municipality. It says this situation is costing jobs, causing danger and health hazards as well as damaging the environment. Weissenberg said the Mayor thinks she…
By Steven Lang While most of us would be proud if we could only read two books in a a week, Prof Mike Bruton launched two books in quick succession in Grahamstown last week. Bruton launched The Annotated Old Fourlegs – The updated story of the Coelacanth on Thursday and then the very next day he unveiled his What a Great Idea – Awesome South African Inventions. He rather appropriately launched The Annotated Fourlegs at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) where a preserved coelacanth guards the reception area. The coelacanth is a rare fish that until 1938…
Prof. Mike Bruton launched his latest book, The Annotated Old Fourlegs – The updated story of the Coelacanth at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) last night. About sixty people attended the launch and lecture at the institute that Bruton once headed. The coelacanth is a rare fish that until 1938 was believed to be extinct since it was only known from fossils, many of which are considerably older than the dinosaurs. The legendary fish scientist, Prof JLB Smith published the original Old Fourlegs book in 1956 almost 18 years after the first living coelacanth was hauled up…
The Southern Cape Old Car Club’s (SCOCC) sixth Liquorland Heritage Tour, left George on 23 September and travelled through the Eastern Cape over five days. The Heritage Tour, supported by Liquorland for the fifth time,and enthusiastic supporters of vintage and classic cars had the opportunity to meet the owners and admire the vehicles along the route. Over 20 vehicles registered to participate. One of the prerequisites for participation is that the vehicle must have been manufactured before 1975. The two oldest vehicles which participated included a 1926 Ford Model T and a 1929 Chev Phaeton. Day 1: 23 September –…
By Steven Lang Two Rhodes University Masters students won the prize for the best prototype at the Innovation Bridge awards held in Midrand recently. The event sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology aims to create a space where young innovators and start-ups can meet with potential investors and other stakeholders who might be interested in helping young entrepreneurs turn good ideas into marketable products. More than 700 innovators, academics, government officials and potential investors gathered at Gallagher Convention Centre to assess the opportunities and challenges for innovation in South Africa. Lucas Lotter and Charles Faul both work at…
Palaeontologist Per Ahlberg from Uppsala University in Sweden is currently doing research with Dr Rob Gess on Devonian transitional tetrapod remains from Waterloo Farm, Grahamstown. Ahlberg is the world leader in this field and has agreed to give a public lecture on the fish tetrapod transition at 5.30pm on Wednesday 27 September in the Rennie wing of the Albany Museum in Grahamstown. He is an engaging speaker presenting on the origin of tetrapods: when, where and how? The origin of tetrapods or land vertebrates, about 400 million years ago, was one of the pivotal events in the history of life:…
Johan Carinus Arts School’s annual exhibition is open to the public Saturday 23 September, 9am-1pm, when you can also enjoy the Grahamstown morning market on the Carinus grounds. Victoria Primary School principal Colette Kayser was the guest speaker at the exhibition opening and award ceremony on Wednesday night 20 September, when pupils who excelled in their chosen disciplines through the year were celebrated along with their work. The exhibition is open until next Friday 29 September. PRIZEWINNERS Victoria primary (gold awards) Gr. 4 A. Kanana Gr. 5 K. Bridger Gr. 6 L. Elie Gr. 7 K. Ncula Victoria…