Faculty of Science

When Dr Colleen O’Ryan, from the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at UCT, embarked on an ambitious project to research the genes associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a cohort of South African chil

The Bearded Vulture is one of the most threatened vultures in Southern Africa, with only around 100 breeding pairs left in the wild. In the past, the species was once far more widespread, occurring in both the Eastern and Western Cape, all the way down

Recent discoveries by scientists at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Iziko Museums of South Africa show how a wolf-sized otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi) and leopard-sized wolverine (Plesiogulo aff. monspesulanus) lived alon

Here’s a different reason for tobacco to be in the news. Cape Bio Pharms, a biotech company with its origins in the Biopharming Research Unit (BRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has joined the global effort to create a fast and affordable

Every year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) selects an elite group of researchers under the age of 40 to participate in their Young Scientists programme. This year, the University of Cape Town (UCT) is represented by two brilliant women scientists.

A team of international researchers has assessed the population history of prehistoric humans that lived in the region around Lake Baikal, Russia, and found the deepest connection to date between the peoples of Siberia and the Americas. The research &n

Scientists have discovered a bed of rhodoliths – free-living, coral-like structures that offer food, shelter and nursery space for marine animals – in the newly proclaimed Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area off South Africa’s eas

Throughout their range leopards are in rapid decline, having disappeared from North Africa, much of the Middle East and Asia. Declines have been so severe that the species is now consi

Four young researchers from the Faculty of Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT), have been selected to form part of the 2020 cohort of Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellows. These fellowships are awarded to talente

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Professor Kelly Chibale, founder and director of Africa’s first integrated drug discovery and development centre, H3D, has been chosen as one of the world’s top 60 inspirational lea