Conserving genetic heritage in endemic species of Southern Africa

by Dr Paulette Bloomer
Department of Genetics
University of Pretoria
Monday, 3 March 2003

Diversity within species is recognised in the International Convention on Biological Diversity as one of three fundamental levels of biodiversity. In comparison to species or ecosystems, however, patterns of genetic diversity are poorly understood and are inadequately addressed in conservation strategies. We are working towards redressing this by focusing on, amongst others, endemics of the Afrotemperate bioregion and the southwest arid zone. Examples will be discussed to emphasize that South Africa's endemics represent a rich genetic heritage that should be conserved.

The focus of the talk will be on endemic mammals, birds and freshwater fish, but new projects on frogs, lizards and insects will also be discussed.

Discovering paleolithic mathematics: A journey into the past

by Prof. CJH Schutte
Departments of Chemistry
University of Pretoria and University of South Africa
National Bioinformatics Network
Monday, 7 April 2003

It is well-known that "mathematics" in some form or another was extensively used in ancient times in Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere. I asked myself the question: Was this rather astounding empirical knowledge developed by these ancient civilisations, or did it originate in an even more ancient form of "practical" mathematics that was part of the cultural heritage of mankind in the preceding phases of Paleolithic times?

Since no written records of these times exist, I tried to answer the question with my knowledge of modern mathematics by examining Paleolithic objects, such as "works of art" and decorations on objects, as well as artefacts, etc. and then tried to extrapolate backwards in such a way as not to over interpret my results.

My journey of discovery into the past became a great adventure, delving into mankind's common cultural past, a past we all share. This lecture describes my "mathematical" journey into the Paleolithic past and presents some of the astounding results, using many illustrations.

Climate change and the return of Hurst's Ghost

by Prof. WJR Alexander
Professor emeritus
Department of Civil and Biosystems Engineering
University of Pretoria
Monday, 5 May 2003

Professor Alexander will take us on a guided tour of the structures in ancient Egypt that were used for measuring the water levels in the Nile River. In 1950 Hurst studied these records as well as those of other geophysical processes. He found anomalies that were the subject of much debate, but remained unexplained. These were labelled 'Hurst's Ghost'.

Last year Prof. Alexander assembled and studied 11 804 years of hydrometeorological data. The purpose was to search for characteristics in the data that could possibly be linked to climatic perturbations. Using graphical analyses he found some new insights and others that are contrary to widely held beliefs. He concluded that Hurst's Ghost will continue to haunt those who intend developing models for the determination of the effects of climate change scenarios on environmental processes.

Are all computer scientists computer literate?

by Prof Lucas Venter
Department of Computer Science and Information Systems
University of South Africa
Monday, 2 June 2003, 17:15

Computer Scientists in university departments are often accused of being computer-illiterate. In particular, the computer science lecturer is expected to know every small detail of the latest software as soon as it becomes available. Obviously, this is a very unfair assumption, particularly since lecturers cannot afford to buy a fraction of the software they would like to have.

In this talk we show that computer science is a very old concept, with a clear definition, even though it was not always known by this name. However, this term no longer describes the full scope of the activities in a typical Computer Science department. Hence we also define the modern term Computing, and show that this is the science studied by modern Computer Scientists. We give a very brief overview of this study field from its earliest roots to the modern subject as studied at tertiary level.

We trace the evolution of the term computer literacy from its inception in 1976 to the present. It is interesting to note that the meaning of this phrase has apparently changed substantially over this period. In order to understand this change, we then look at general views of literacy. We note that there are two generally accepted views of literacy, namely an instrumental notion and a view that literacy is a mediational process. This second view leads us to a definition of computer literacy that encompasses both the early and current meanings of the phrase.

We conclude our discussion by giving a motivated answer to the question in our title.

Complex systems, pattern recognition and evidence based medicine

by Dr Paul Swart
University of South Africa
Monday, 4 August 2003, 17:15

Reductionism has rescued medicine from the so-called expert opinion and changed it into a science. We now decide on therapies on the basis of prospective randomized blinded statistically analyzed data published in peer-reviewed journals. Problem is that reductionism has severe limitations in a complex system. By explaining what a complex system is and explaining the pattern recognition decision making model as opposed to digital analysis, one can understand why there still is so much uncertainty in medical science.

Nanotechnology - the next "big" wave

by Manfred Scriba
Manufacturing and Materials Technology
CSIR
Monday, 1 September 2003, 17:15

The talk will give an overview of the status of nanotechnology presently. It will show that nanotechnology is definitely a growing technology field internationally. Scientists and engineers are using knowledge of matter at its most fundamental level to develop better and cheaper fuel cells, solar cells, membranes for water purification, advanced catalysts, new plastics that are stronger, lighter and less permeable, faster and more powerful computers, innovative drug delivery systems, on-chip bio detectors and sensors and many more applications. In many of the above examples, the material properties changes dramatically as soon as it is constructed from particles that are less than 100nm in size. This area of science is called nanotechnology. With the development and invention of modern instruments and the availability of techniques and expertise to manufacture and modify nanoparticles, molecules and other nanoscale devices, many new and advanced materials and applications are being researched and developed internationally. Nanotechnology is being accepted as the next "big" technology wave. The research spending patterns of Europe ($1.3b over four years), USA (up to $800m in 2003) and Japan (up to $1b in 2003) confirm this statement. It is anticipated that that impact of nanotechnology will be very big.

Early detection of Tuberculosis

by Dr Gilbert Siko
Department of Biochemistry
University of Pretoria
Monday, 5 October 2003, 17:15

Wax isolated and purified from bacteria that cause tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has protective properties towards tuberculosis infection and can be used for early detection of tuberculosis in infected patients.

Newton, forgive me.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) U. S. physicist, born in Germany.