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Michèle Ramsay

Director of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Professor in the Division of Human Genetics , University of the Witwatersrand

Director of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB), Professor in the Division of Human Genetics and South African Research Chair (Genomics and Bioinformatics of African Populations) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research interests include African population genetic and epigenetic diversity and their role in diseases exacerbated by adverse lifestyle choices, including obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. She collaborates on genetic research into eye and skin disorders and autoimmune diseases in African populations and studies epigenetic changes in a mouse model for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Michele plays a leadership role in the Southern African Human Genome Programme (SAHGP), the Human Heredity and Health in Africa Consortium (H3Africa) as immediate past chair of the H3Africa Steering Committee and as President of the African Society for Human Genetics. She is the principal investigator of an H3Africa NIH funded Collaborative Centre, AWI-Gen, which is a Wits-INDEPTH partnership to investigate genomic and environmental risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in Africans, and of an NRF funded program on Personalised Medicine in African populations.

Global genetic study involving different populations sheds light on glaucoma

Aug 03, 2017 16:25 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science Health

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eyes optic nerve and results in vision loss and irreversible blindness in some people. The diseases usually occur on their own but when they are caused by other conditions...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

The Mattei Plan: why Giorgia Meloni is looking to Africa

Since coming to power, Giorgia Melonis government has been remarkably orthodox in its foreign policy. Unwavering support for Ukraine, loyalty to the Atlantic Alliance and full participation in the European Union - these...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Military conscription is returning to Europe, but is it really a more equal way of mobilising? What history tells us

The idea that conscription, defined as the compulsory enlistment of citizens for military service, can increase equality and instil a sense of solidarity that transcends traditional societal divides has echoed throughout...

The 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Across Portugal, a number of photography exhibitions are currently on display that commemorate the ousting of the Estado Novo, the dictatorial, authoritarian and corporatist political regime that had ruled the country...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

Google Axes 200 ‘Core’ Workers, Transfers Jobs to India and Mexico Amid Restructuring

Google LLC is reducing its workforce again in its latest restructuring efforts. The tech company announced it would axe at least 200 staff from its core teams. According to CNBC, this core unit is responsible for...

Analyst Sees Shiba Inu Hitting $0.00007 Despite Major Token Dump

A Shiba Inu whale recently dumped massive SHIB tokens on Coinbase, one of the worlds top cryptocurrency exchanges. The enormous volume of SHIB offloaded quickly sparked a gloomy feeling among crypto market aficionados...

Casio Joins NFT Trend with Astar zkEVM, Unveils Anniversary Collection

Casio, one of the worlds leading watch companies, has joined the battle for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Astars zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine. The Casio watch NFTs will go online on May...

Tron's Justin Sun Boosts Dogecoin, Shiba Inu at Token 2049 Conference

At the Token 2049 conference, Tron founder Justin Sun endorsed popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, emphasizing their pivotal distinction from traditional finance and celebrating their community-driven...

Bitcoin Dips 11% Post-Halving: Unexpected Decline Shocks Investors

Bitcoins price has unexpectedly fallen by 11% since the halving on April 20, stirring concerns among investors hoping for a post-halving surge. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin dropped below $57,000 on May...