📢 We invite Commentaries for a Discussion Series on hidden contributors to research. Submission deadline: 30 April 2026 More information: buff.ly/vGfTePD

🔔 Herewith a reminder that submission of abstracts for this Special Issue on ‘The human diversity dilemma: Navigating the intersection of microbiomes, ethics and society in Africa’ will be closing on Monday, don’t miss the opportunity to contribute!

📣 Students who love #data, it's your time to shine with the ICPSR Data Communication Scholarship! Apply by Feb. 23: https://myumi.ch/Xeo1y#data #Scholarship #HigherEd

Love Data Week (9–13 February) has just started, and this year’s theme is “Where’s the Data?” – encouraging people to think about data’s journey from collection through storage and preservation. View all events and activities happening around the world: buff.ly/SwtTibQ

Hlengwa and Chiliza review ‘Izimpabanga Zomhlaba’: Xaba’s terminology choices demonstrate a deep understanding of both the source text & the Zulu language, enhancing cultural validity while preserving the original intellectual depth. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Freeman reviews ‘Mental Health Policy in South Africa’: The main contribution lies in showing how analytical frameworks from outside the health sector – such as political science and governance – can yield new insights into policy. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Langeveldt reviews ‘Digital Capitalism and its Limits’: The contributors demonstrate that, with adequate analytical tools and effective political strategies, technological futures remain open to contestation and democratic shaping. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Swartz reviews ‘Darker Shade of Pale’: A gripping, artful and elegantly written book, with a deep scholarly reach that directs the interested reader beyond its pages to a wealth of knowledge, both academic and biographical. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Gurney reviews ‘Restless Infections’: An index of cutting-edge contemporary art practice and theoretical framings. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Soodyall reviews ‘Our Science, Ourselves’: An opportunity to reflect on where we have come from, the challenges of today, and how we can build a future based on respect, tolerance, collegiality and equality. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Higgins pays tribute to Lis Lange (1961–2025): A formidable presence in South African higher education. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Razwinani pays tribute to Shirley ‘Keo’ Motaung: A pioneering biomedical scientist, academic leader and entrepreneur and dedicated mentor. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Mpofu et al. explored the fluid and flow properties of a nanofluid with microbial and exoprotein effects. They are among the first to explore the effect of microbial growth in heat and mass transfer systems. #SDG2 #SDG4 #SDG9 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Cretaceous dinosaur tracks recently identified by Helm and colleagues near Knysna in the Western Cape are probably about 132 million years old. They are the youngest dinosaur tracks reported so far from southern Africa. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Ozsahin and colleagues used deep-learning AI to identify if prostate tissue was cancerous. Their method can boost doctors' confidence in making clinical decisions. #SDG3 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Recognising the concept of joint programmes could help South Africa’s internationalisation policy and quality assurance frameworks move beyond outdated prescriptions for joint and double degrees. #SDG4 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Interdisciplinary conversations about how climate research is produced are crucial, so that researchers and activists can consider knowledge from multiple angles. This Structured Conversation offers a start. #SDG13 #SDG17 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Laban and colleagues show that the impacts of atmospheric ozone on two cultivars of sugarcane – a major food crop in South Africa – is limited, with sugarcane being less sensitive to ozone than other crops in this region. #SDG2 #SDG15 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Using meteorological station records, Ndlela et al. examined rainfall and temperature trends in Eswatini, highlighting seasonal shifts and differences across the country’s physiographic regions. #SDG3 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Untargeted metabolomics revealed distinct profiles and potential novel metabolites in two South African holothurians, Holothuria cinerascens and Pseudocnella sykion, despite close geographic proximity. #SDG2 #SDG3 #SDG14 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Knowledge is contested, relational and provisional. There are deep and continuing inequalities in who is allowed to know what about what subject and who has the confidence to voice their views. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Conservation leadership requires that right brain–centred styles (e.g. compassionate leadership) have ascendancy over those of the left brain (e.g. corporate leadership), while acknowledging the latter’s utility. #SDG13 #SDG14 #SDG15 #SDG16 #SDG17 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Boughey asks if ‘regulation time’ for doctoral degrees is a discursively constituted concept. #SDG4 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

As caseloads soar and staff dwindle, the centuries-old forensic autopsy model may no longer be sustainable, risking burnout, backlogs and the integrity of justice. #SDG3 #SDG4 #SDG% #SDG8 #SDG9 #SDG10 #SDG11 #SDG16 #SDG17

Integrating vehicle-to-grid technology with rooftop solar will support the uptake of battery electric vehicles by lowering the cost of vehicle ownership and optimising domestic energy use. #SDG7 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

By refusing to pay for bidirectional metering, Eskom and local authorities are foregoing a major opportunity to profit from energy presently unused in rooftop solar systems. doi.org/10.17159/saj... #SDG7

Healthy estuaries save millions in water treatment, protecting jobs and local growth. Estuary rehabilitation is smarter, cheaper and greener than expanding wastewater infrastructure. #SDG6 #SDG11 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

South Africa’s glass exports shift waste problems onto its neighbours. A fair Deposit Return System must include exported bottles to protect people and environments across southern Africa. #SDG8 #SDG11 #SDG12 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

The first issue of 2026 offers a variety of interesting papers: AI-assisted diagnosis of cancer, cretaceous dinosaur tracks, outdated policies on doctoral degrees, rethinking both forensic autopsies and climate action, and more… sajs.co.za/issue/view/1...

📢 Special Issue: Call for papers The human diversity dilemma: Navigating the intersection of microbiomes, ethics and society in Africa Abstracts due: 16 Feb 2026 For more information visit: www.sajs.co.za/call-human-d...

Parle reviews ‘A Widening Idea of Health and Health Research’: A subtly insightful analysis of the intertwined fates of the modern South African state, medical science research, the hard realities of paying for it, and contests over health policy. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

McKenna reviews ‘Audit Culture’: A compelling argument for an addendum to Goodhart’s Law: when a measure becomes a target, unintended consequences antithetical to what was being measured in the first place will always emerge. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Gevers reviews ‘On Discovery’: A very readable and significant book for all who are willing to widen their view, consiliently, to discover the world and its inhabitants and constituents in all their glory and complexity. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Bekker reviews ‘Artificial Intelligence’: A book on harnessing artificial intelligence for the development of the Global South could hardly be more relevant. The book attempts to serve as both a primer on AI applications and a development manifesto. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Yeni reviews ‘No Last Place to Rest’: In the context of South Africa’s dominant land debates, Skosana expands the terrain of the land question in ways that are as urgent as they are overdue. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Röntsch reviews ‘Life Writing and the Southern Hemisphere’: This edited volume provides interesting and thoughtful additions to the growing discourse on Southern epistemologies and ways of being. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Nyamnjoh reviews ‘The Work of Repair’: An essential text for scholars and for anyone interested in how people survive, care and imagine alternative possibilities in the face of systemic injustice. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Slabbert pays tribute to Bob Pullen (1939–2025): His passing leaves a legacy of institutional leadership, technical excellence and dedicated service to the built environment and the communities it supports. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Ancient stone tools offer clues to how early humans shared ideas, learned together, and built the roots of today’s societies. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Wingfield & Wingfield underscore the urgency of rethinking how artificial intelligence systems and publishing models intersect and call attention to structural inequities that shape who is visible in the scholarly record. #SDG10 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Ralphs proposes a directionality-sensitive innovation indicator framework for the cultural and creative industries that can be used and adapted for future policy monitoring efforts. #SDG1 #SDG3 #SDG4 #SDG8 #SDG9 #SDG13 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Yende-Zuma & Reddy present key considerations for study designs, data requirements and statistical modelling suitable for vaccine effectiveness studies in a resource-limited setting. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Connell et al. highlight the need for site-specific, multi-species environmental monitoring, emphasising the important relationships between organism size and exposure level and physiological stress. #SDG3 #SDG6 #SDG13 #SDG14 #SDG15 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Nitrogen isotopes in tooth enamel indicate that Australopithecus in C3 (savanna woodland) habitats at Sterkfontein did not consume meat, but carnivory may have occurred in C4 savanna grassland. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Early bow-hunting in southern Africa, fossil skull morphology and Homo sapiens specific gene variants provide clues to the evolution of human thinking more than 60 000 years ago. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Atmospheric conditions on Mars vary significantly more than on Earth. Nevertheless, typical values given for temperature, pressure and air density should be consistent with the ideal gas law. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Azeez et al. use a hybrid random forest Bayesian ARIMA model that integrates the benefits of both models to improve prediction accuracy and quantify uncertainty in forecasting TB cases among children in SA. #SDG3 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Saner offers guidance on using generative AI tools responsibly, balancing efficiency and trust in research. Ethical principles can minimise potential harms to scholarly integrity. @paula-saner.bsky.social doi.org/10.17159/saj...

New insights into the brown hyena’s (Parahyaena brunnea) spatial and temporal ecology in the Fish River Canyon reveal the key role of topography and highlight the species’ adaptability within a reduced carnivore guild. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

The Cape Colony experienced severe income and wealth concentration in the 17th, 18th & early 19th centuries, suggesting that severe inequality is not a modern phenomenon but has historical foundations. #SDG10 doi.org/10.17159/saj...