Professor Lee Berger explains the concept of species in palaeoanthropology.
What defines a species? Professor Lee Berger from Wits University explains how species are defined in palaeoanthropology. By using the original fossils that represent the holo- and paratypes of their species, Professor Berger explains the importance of choosing the fossils that represent the Holotypes and Paratypes of their species and the affects that these choices have on the way the field views human evolution, as well as the relationship of different hominid species to the central pattern of human evolution, and to each other.
The context of fossil hominid discoveries in Africa
- Wits University
Professor Lee Berger explains the context of how original fossils are preserved and explores the context of discoveries.
The fossil record of human ancestors in Africa presents a significant proportion of our evidence for human evolution. Discovered primarily around the Great Lakes of East Africa, the Riverine deposits of the Middle Awash and the deep caves of southern Africa, understanding how and where these important fossils are found is critical to using them in interpreting when and how important events happened in human evolution. In this lecture, Lee Berger examines how original hominid fossils are preserved, and explores the context of discoveries, discussing the challenges and hard facts of how and where the fossils of ancient human relatives are found on the continent of Africa.
When were there giants?
- Wits University
Is there any evidence in the fossil record that giants have lived on Earth in the past? Professor Lee Berger explores this question.
Have there ever been giants? News stories speak of whether there have been giants in the past. Prof. Berger has often been at the centre of this discussion based on his studies of hominid fossils from the Late Middle Pleistocene. In this lecture, Prof. Berger uses original fossils to explore the question “Is there any real fossil evidence for there having been giant humans in the past?”, and if so, why do some scientists get so agitated by this discussion?
A matter of time
- Wits University
Professor Lee Berger explores the use of the absolute age of fossils in questions of phylogeny, and where the age of a fossil is important.
Time is often used in palaeoanthropology as a replacement for morphology and anatomy where understanding human evolution is concerned. In this lecture, Prof. Berger explores the use of the absolute age of fossils in questions of phylogeny, and where the age of a fossil is important, and where it is not so important in interpreting and understanding human evolution.
JCSE Listening Circle Series
- Wits University
Join South Africa’s Grand Geek’ and leading digital experts as they explore Africa’s Digital Future.
The weekly series is presented by Professor Barry Dwolatzky, the “Grand Geek” and Director of the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) at Wits University, and in the format of a conversation with a panel of experts and leading figures in South Africa’s digital revolution. Each session is shared on the Facebook page: Optimizing Podcast: Leading Africa’s Digital Future - another podcast series hosted by Dwolatzky earlier this year that aims to develop inter-generational conversations about digital transformation in Africa:
JCSE Listening Circle Session 2: Social activism for digital professionals
JCSE Listening Circle Session 3: Digital technology in support of energy challenges
JCSE Listening Circle Session 4: How to Slay a Werewolf: Reflections on the State of Software Engineering in South Africa
JCSE Listening Circle Session 5: South Africa’s IT industry
A Question of Numbers
- Wits University
Does the fossil sample for Australopithecus africanus only represent one species. Professor Lee Berger takes on this sticky question.
Australopithecus africanus is considered one of the best-known species of hominid ever discovered. It also has one of the most abundant fossil records of any hominid species. It is known from at least four sites – Taung, Sterkfontein, Makapansgat and Gladysvale. Yet, despite it being so well known and used in the scientific literature since 1925, it is also highly controversial, with scientists having debated for almost 80 years if the fossil sample attributed to africanus actually only represents one species, or more than one species. The answer has eluded palaeoanthropologists for decades. Lee Berger takes on this sticky question and tries to examine the original fossil record from these sites in order to understand the complexities of the hominid fossil record attributed to the first species of ancient human relative ever recognised in Africa.
GeneXpert testing platform for TB repurposed to accelerate testing for 网易体育
- Wits University
Efforts to test for 网易体育 in SA have been boosted through repurposing the Cepheid GeneXpert® Systems, originally designed to test for tuberculosis (TB).
The first batch of GeneXpert machines began testing for 网易体育 ahead of Freedom Day on 26 April 2020.
The combined efforts of joint staff in the Division of Haematology and Molecular Medicine at Wits University and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), along with the National Department of Health (NDoH) has enabled the National Priority Programme (NPP) division to now also support 网易体育 testing in record time.
The NPP division enables the NDoH to provide increased access to patient testing and treatment – now also for 网易体育. Professor Wendy Stevens, Head of Haematology and Molecular Medicine in the School of Pathology at Wits leads the NPP division, which aims to provide affordable, accessible HIV and TB diagnostic services that yield accurate, reliable, relevant and timely results.
These services and results align with NDoH strategy and are based on current scientific knowledge and international norms. Through efficiently leveraging existing resources, including the GeneXpert platform, the NPP division can now also respond to the global 网易体育 pandemic.
There is no doubt that the GeneXpert System will make a massive difference in testing capacity, provided that there is constant access to reagents and the appropriate human resources support. The GeneXpert System is simple to run, with the bigger machines accepting up to 80 cartridges at a time.
It is forecasted that if all the 网易体育 testing sites are operational on a 24-hour basis, up to 15 000 additional tests can be conducted daily from these machines alone. The data collected from the testing sites will provide valuable insight into the spread of the virus and hopefully contribute to a greater understanding of it in the South African context.
Xpert diagnostics for 网易体育
The GeneXpert platform has been used extensively in South Africa to test for TB for almost a decade. The initial rollout took 18 months to complete. Now, with the 网易体育 pandemic, the NHLS has utilized its existing TB footprint and condensed the escalation of testing into just one month.
The NHLS has been responsible for the implementation and programmatic monitoring of TB through GeneXpert since 2011. Developed by American-based company Cepheid, these systems are distributed to 166 laboratories in South Africa, with more than 325 machines ranging in size and capacity, the smallest no bigger than a desktop computer. More than 17 million TB tests have been conducted to date – 1.7 million positive cases and more than 100 000 drug-resistant cases have been detected.
Thanks to the GeneXpert’s ability to test an array of assays (including HIV), GeneXpert instruments are now being used to test for the presence of 网易体育. Cepheid released their Xpert? Xpress SARS-CoV-2 cartridge on 21 March 2020, following emergency Federal Drug Administration approval, to support the scale-up of testing. Training material has been distributed to all users.
To detect 网易体育, the machines are loaded with the test cartridges containing a combination of a patient’s specimen (e.g., pharyngeal swab) and chemical reagents, thereby enabling detection of certain genetic material. Once a cartridge is loaded, it produces a result within 45 minutes.
Xpert project management
With experience gained in managing the GeneXpert Programme for TB testing since its inception, Ms Puleng Marokane, the GeneXpert Project Manager within the NPP division of the NHLS, has been tasked with ensuring the smooth rollout of 网易体育 testing nationwide.
Marokane explained that successful implementation of the system was only possible if all the parameters were in place. The system would have to be loaded with 网易体育-specific software, and cartridges validated to ensure they could produce the requisite results. Although laboratory technicians have used GeneXpert Systems before, it was important that they adapted to the new 网易体育 interface.
Online training in this regard focused mainly on the new cartridge, processing and result interpretation, whilst emphasising Good Clinical Laboratory Practice. This was guided by a standard operating procedure (SOP) developed by the NPP and used across all test sites.
“This was not an easy job [in lockdown]. We had to rely on everybody’s experience with GeneXpert to ensure they could load the software themselves. Our task then was to try to cover all nine provinces. We were hoping to implement testing in a phased manner, but because this is an emergency, it is not always possible,” said Marokane.
Once technicians had familiarized themselves with the system, they were able to begin the cartridge verification process. A limited number of reagents were ordered centrally and were sent through to specific sites. Verification panels were developed by SmartSpot?, a manufacturing company co-founded by Professor Stevens and Professor Lesley Scott in the School of Pathology at Wits, to aid with diagnostic testing.
网易体育 sample verification was kept to a minimum due to a shortage of reagents – all that was required was to confirm the system could produce a positive or negative result. To date, eight of the testing sites have passed the verification process and have gone live for testing.
Testing and training in challenging times
Marokane and her team have worked tirelessly to ensure operational stability of the system. However, a project of this scope is not without challenges. South Africa’s national lockdown impedes the shipment of reagents, the vital component required to meet the kind of daily testing numbers the health ministry is hoping to achieve. At the time of writing, an additional 10 000 reagents were received from Cepheid. But with South African borders being closed indefinitely, access remains an issue.
Some staff members have expressed concern about their personal safety during the testing process. The NPP, through the NHLS, is working closely with safety departments: virtual training is being rolled out for NHLS staff; SOP material has been made available to advise laboratories on processing the test method, as well as sample disposal; and the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been provided in line with government regulations.
“All that is left to do at this stage is to monitor the implementation processes. We want to ensure users are comfortable using the tests,” added Marokane.
The impact of Gladysvale
- Wits University
Gladysvale is known for its impact on the dating of cave sites in Africa and has produced some of the most spectacular faunal remains of extinct animals.
When announced in 1992, Gladysvale was the first new early hominid site to be discovered in southern Africa since the site of Swartkrans was discovered in 1948. The two teeth made news worldwide, yet few other hominids were discovered at the site over the next 17 years of work. The site has become known though for its impact on the dating of cave sites in Africa and has produced some of the most spectacular faunal remains of extinct animals of any site. The number and preservation of the fossils from the site is almost unprecedented, and it has even produced a fossil hominid hair which might belong to the species Homo naledi. In this lecture, Lee Berger, who discovered the first hominids at the site almost thirty years ago, explores the more than 70 years of impact on the science of palaeoanthropology this important site has had since Phillip Tobias led his first student expedition to the cave.
Wits students’ research on cover of leading world optics journal
- Wits University
Wits Master’s students create best practice guide for efficient and accurate use of DMDs in structured light laboratories.
A research paper by a group of Master’s students at Wits University features on the cover of the April issue of the prestigious optics journal, Optical Engineering, published by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Digital Library, the world’s largest collection of optics and photonics applied research.
“Our paper is one of the most comprehensive guides published to date for the use of digital micromirror devices (DMDs) in structured light research, and is particularly appealing for optics laboratories in Africa given the high costs of buying equipment overseas for this field of study,” says Stirling.
“To be on the cover of Optical Engineering is both prestigious and useful. It means that the paper is more likely to be read, remembered, and shared. This will help both new researchers planning to use DMDs and existing labs who wish to standardise DMD operation. Being featured on the cover of a leading international journal shows the potency of science in Africa and cements the reputation of Wits as the leading physics institution on the continent,” he adds.
Stirling explains that structured light is a field of physics dedicated to understanding and controlling all of the different properties of light, such as polarization, shape and wavelength.
“By manipulating these properties, we can forge light into a powerful tool for advancing not only our understanding of the Universe, but also our quality of life by revolutionising technologies in everything from the smartphone industry to medical imaging.”
“But while new technologies are constantly being developed, a common approach to create structured light is to use what is called a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM),” says Stirling, adding that a SLM is an electronic screen that displays a ‘hologram’, a carefully designed picture so that when the SLM is illuminated, light with a desired set of properties is produced.
Enter DMDs
Recently, a new type of SLM called a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) has emerged.
DMDs were originally developed for use in digital projectors and are built around a screen made up of millions of microscopic mirrors.
Stirling explains: “These devices have rapidly become widely used thanks to their low cost when compared to other more traditional SLM. However, despite their growing ubiquity there was ambiguity around the proper usage of DMDs in the laboratory environment - this was what our paper set out to tackle.”
Two key factors influence the performance of SLMs:
Optical efficiency – how much of the illuminated light is wasted by the device, rather than being available for the application, and
Accuracy – how closely does the light produced match the desired outcome?
“Our research addressed both of these issues. First, we derived a mathematical model to predict the optical efficiency of the DMD based on how it was illuminated. We then validated our model using measurements taken in the lab. We found that the optimal configuration for illumination yields a 20% improvement in efficiency.
“However, this improvement would not be beneficial if it came at the expense of accuracy. We iteratively adjusted the picture the DMD displayed until we achieved the best possible accuracy, in excess of 96%.”
“Finally, we described some of the subtler aspects of DMD operation to a na?ve user. Our paper is one of the most comprehensive guides to DMD use published to date,” says Stirling.
The long arm and short legs wars
- Wits University
Professor Lee Berger explores the origins of the this great debate and examines the arguments of the terrestrialists and the arborealists.
For decades a war raged within the field of palaeoanthropology. At the center of the battle were some of the most important fossils hominids ever discovered, the fossils from Hadar in Ethiopia, and included the famous Lucy fossil. The question was, did hominids climb, or was their adaptation to bipedalism so complete as to preclude arboreal behaviours. Lee Berger found himself caught up in this war shortly after finishing his Ph.D. in the early 1990’s. In this lecture Berger explores the origins of the this great debate and examines the arguments of the terrestrialists and the arborealists, and we find who won the Long Arm and Short Legs fossil wars.
Dedicated dozen nominated for science oscars
- Wits University
Twelve Wits scientists across disciplines have been nominated for NSTF-South 32 Research Awards, known as the 'Science Oscars', and eight are finalists.
The annual National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards, sponsored by South 32, recognise excellence and outstanding contributions to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation in South Africa. They are the largest, most comprehensive and sought-after national awards of their kind in South Africa.
Previously the awards were made at a glittering gala dinner. However, due to the 网易体育 pandemic, the 2020 awards will take place online on 30 July 2020.
The Wits scientists nominated represent schools and disciplines across the University, including: Biomedical Engineering; Geosciences; Chemical Engineering; Pharmaceutical Chemistry; Physiotherapy; Analytical Chemistry; Public Health; Microbiology; and Evolutionary Studies.
The Wits nominees pictured above left to right clockwise are: Mr Abdul-Khaaliq Mohammed; Prof. Mark Collinson (finalist); Prof. Benita Olivier; Prof. Chrissie Rey (finalist); Prof. Christopher Henshilwood (finalist); Prof. Judith Kinnaird (finalist); Prof. Luke Chimuka (finalist); Prof. Michèle Ramsay (finalist); Prof. Michael Olawale Daramola; Prof. Lisa C Du Toit Lee Shong (finalist); Prof. Raymond Durrheim (finalist); and Prof. Andrew Forbes.
The 12 are nominated in categories including lifetime achievement; researcher and emerging researcher; management; engineering research capacity development; water research; data for research; special annual theme; and communications.
Of the 12, eight have been short-listed as finalists. A finalist is a nominee who, in the opinion of the adjudication panel, is considered eligible for the award. This means that the nominee has made a significantly outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation in South Africa and qualifies to be considered as a potential winner.
Durrheim and Ramsay are finalists in the Lifetime Award category; Chimuka is a finalist in the Innovation Award: Corporate Organisation category; Kinnaird in the Management Award category; Rey is a finalist in two categories: Lifetime Award and the Special Annual Theme Award: Plant Health; Du Toit Lee Shong in the Emerging Researcher category; Collinson in the Data for Research category; and Henshilwood in the Communications category.
Nominations for excellence in science, engineering and technology
Prof. Rayond Durrheim, School of Geosciences; Prof. Andrew Forbes in Physics; Michèle Ramsay, Professor of Human Genetics and Director of the Sidney Brenner Institute of Molecular Bioscience; and Prof. Chrissie Rey, in Microbiology are nominated in the Lifetime category.
Commenting on his nomination, Durrheim said: “The Earth is my laboratory – it is an awesome and beautiful planet, and we need to work even harder to keep it so.”
Forbes said, “For me, it is important to know that what you do makes a difference”, while Ramsay commented, “We did not dream thirty years ago that we would ever be able to sequence whole genomes and at an affordable price”.
Rey, who is also nominated in the 2020 Special Annual Theme Award for research and development and innovation in Plant Health, says: “I would like to thank the NSTF for the recognition of my contribution to plant pathology, in particular efforts to find solutions to combat plant virus diseases through applied biotechnology innovations.”
Prof. Michael Olawale Daramola, formerly in the School of Chemical Engineering at Wits, is nominated in the category TW Kambule and NSTF Award Researcher category and also in the Engineering Research Capacity Development Award. Daramola’s primary research focus is chemical and bioprocess engineering, focusing on nanomaterials and bioresource engineering.
Witsies nominated in the TW Kambule Emerging Researcher category include Associate Professor Lisa C du Toit in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She is a Senior Researcher in the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform Research Unit.
“As an emerging female researcher, it is my goal to proudly represent Wits in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In South Africa and Africa as a whole, there is an urgent need to enhance the drug delivery and tissue engineering market,” says Du Toit.
Benita Olivier, Personal Professor and Research and Postgraduate Coordinator in the Physiotherapy Department in the School of Therapeutic Sciences and the Research Director in the Wits Institute for Sports and Health, is also nominated in this category. She says, “I am shaped through many interactions with and contributions from others who I crossed paths with. Each of us have the ability to change the world … together”.
Associate Professor Judith Kinnaird is nominated for the Management Award. Kinnaird is Director of the Economic Geology Research Unit and Co-Director of the Department of Science and Innovation Centre of Excellence for the Study of Mineral and Energy Deposits in the School of Geosciences.
“I have just tried to do my job to the best of my ability but I am delighted and honoured to be shortlisted for this award,” she says. Kinnaird was named a finalist in this category on 2 June.
Professor and Research Group Leader in Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Luke Chimuka is nominated for the NSTF Water Research Commission Award and also in the Innovation: Corporate Organisation category. “Open mindedness and being focused is an important aspect in research related activities,” says Chimuka, who is a finalist in the Innovation Award: Corporate Organisation category.
Mr Abdul-Khaaliq Mohammed, Lecturer in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering is also nominated in the Innovation Award Corporate Organisation. “I am honoured to be nominated and I hope that this will somehow lead to the successful commercialisation our bionic prosthetic hand so we can assist South African amputees as soon as possible,” says Mohammed.
For their work in the field of researching public health in rural areas using the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network (SAPRIN), co-directors Prof. Mark Collinson and Dr Kobus Herbst are nominated for the Data for Research award.
Collinson says, “Building a national research infrastructure requires a sense of public service in the development of infrastructure and science, hence we are nominated as a team, and doing academic work that uses and advances the infrastructure, and in that sense the research focus is more personal.”
Christopher Henshilwood, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the South African Department of Science and Innovation/National Research Foundation Research Chair Initiative in Modern Human Origins, Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits is nominated for the Communication Award.
“This is a group nomination for an exhibition at the Iziko SA Museum in Cape Town showing the unique archaeological discoveries that have been made at three Middle Stone Age archaeological sites in the southern Cape,” says Henshilwood. “The exhibition, titled Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour: Mother Africa – Welcome Home showcases more than 30 years of archaeological research.”
Dr Robin Drennan, Director: Research Development at Wits, says: “Research-focused universities, more than most organisations, rely entirely on the talent of their members to achieve great things. Thus, when 12 great Witsies are nominated as finalists in as prestigious an award programme as the NSTF, we all feel very proud. Getting to this stage is no simple matter – it represents many years, often a lifetime, of work and scholarly endeavor. We salute all the finalists and particularly those from Wits.”
How to discover your own fossil site
- Wits University
Discovering a fossil site takes a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. Professor Lee Berger describes the clues that led him to the discovery of Malapa.
Have you ever wondered how a fossil site is discovered? Perhaps wondered what it would be like to find one of the rarest fossil finds in history? In this lecture, Lee Berger takes us back to the discovery of Malapa, a site that has been described as one of the most important fossil finds of the early 21st century and led to the discover of a new species of ancient human relative, the two million year old Australopithecus sediba. In 2008, using Google Earth and walking over hundreds of kilometers of rugged landscape, the discovery would ultimately be made by his 10-year-old son Matthew. But not after lots of hard work and a little bit of luck. Lee describes the clues that led him to the discovery of the site, and the way in which technology can assist us in making new discoveries.
