Hofmeyr reviews ‘Johannesburg from the Riverbanks’: This collection offers a rich set of methods and approaches for understanding rivers in a multi-scalar way. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Phalafala reviews ‘Guerrillas and Combative Mothers’: Magadla’s work invites us to deepen the politics and poetics of care, of tending as methodology, into scholarship. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Dowling reviews ‘Ulibambe Lingashoni!’: This book fills an important gap in SA historiography, as it brings to light a rare chronicle of the lives of Zulu people during more than a century of South Africa’s turbulent history. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Rontsch reviews ‘Johnny Clegg: Critical Reflections on his Music and Influence’: An important piece of scholarship. This book includes not only the voices of scholars, but also those of Clegg’s friends and musical compatriots. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Dan J. Stein (1962–2025) was a towering global scholar, collaborator, colleague, mentor and friend. He will continue to be with us through his pioneering work, the people he mentored, and the countless lives he touched. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

This study provides a contextual analysis of Engaged Research in SA, highlighting areas that are of unique value in the SA context & reinforcing the relevance of community-based participatory research in an African context. #SDG4 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

This study introduces a novel method that employs an algorithm that mimics the behaviour of whales to create a model for predicting the settling of soft soil subgrade to ensure highway safety. #SDG9 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

This study explores how environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings drive corporate green innovation in South Africa. #SDG9 #SDG12 #SDG13 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

The findings of this study provide insights into optimal climate conditions for the sustainable production of vitamin E in higher plants. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

An interdisciplinary conversation among experts on sexual and reproductive health care on how health research is produced, offering researchers and activists opportunities to consider knowledge from different research traditions. #SDG10 #SDG13 #SDG16 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

When engineering and arachnology meet... The structure and aerodynamics of the slingshot spider and its web are studied using classical results first developed in the 19th century in connection with the drag on clock pendula. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

South African Tier 2 carbon dioxide emission factors for solid fuel use are reported for the first time, as required by South Africa’s commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. #SDG13 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

AI and statistics are combined to better predict extreme oil price changes, improving how financial risk is measured and managed. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Physical Education should not be a marginal subject. To support healthier learners and more equitable education systems in South Africa, renewed policy attention, teacher development and cross-sector partnerships are essential. #SDG3 #SDG4 #SDG10 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Sterkfontein’s technicians have played a crucial role in revealing South Africa’s unique and long-standing contribution to human origins research and they remain essential to the team’s diverse research and science communication programmes. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Public trust in scientists in SA is relatively high, but there are concerns regarding transparency, ethical accountability and the equitable distribution of the benefits of science. #SDG10 #SDG16 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

7 in 10 SA scientists are multilingual – using those languages could bring science to life for everyone. #SDG3 #SDG4 #SDG5 #SDG8 #SDG10

This study on water temperatures in the Olifants River shows an increase of 3.7°C by 2100, illustrating the global crisis of rising water temperatures that threatens freshwater ecosystems and local species with extinction. #SDG6 #SDG13 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

The growing global burden of mental health conditions requires a scientific population-based approach to policy and practice. This commentary introduces the nascent field of public mental health, its methods and aspirations. #SDG1 #SDG2 #SDG3 #SDG4 #SDG5 #SDG6 #SDG7 #SDG8 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

The March/April issue is live…Public mental health, public trust in scientists, multilingual SciComm, corporate green innovation, energy price forecasting, and many more interesting reads. sajs.co.za/issue/view/1...

📢 Call for papers for a special issue: Employment and work in South Africa’s just transition Submission of Abstracts to Guest Editors – 17 April 2026 Submission of full papers to SAJS – 31 July 2026 For more information, please visit: buff.ly/ImFpnkw

The SAJS Outstanding Reviewer Award for 2025, was awarded to Dr Michele Toucher. Congratulations! Visit this page to view all nominees and learn more about the awards: sajs.co.za/annual-awards

The SAJS Outstanding Article Award for 2025, was awarded to Madupe et al. for their article ‘Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites’ doi.org/10.17159/saj....

📢 Call for Commentaries for a Discussion Series that seeks to provide a platform for critical conversations about Africanising and/or decolonising methodologies across the sciences as broadly understood. Submission deadline: 01 June 2026 More information: buff.ly/2U8lZwV

📢 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