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Brenda Wingfield

Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DST-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor of Genetics, University of Pretoria
Brenda Wingfield holds the DST-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics and is a Professor of Genetics at the University of Pretoria. She served as Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UP for seven years and was acting dean for seven months during that time. Her research over the past 20 years focused on the global movement and evolution of fungal pathogens and recently she expanded her research focus to study fungi at the population level. She has supervised and continues to advise a large number of postgraduate students working on plant pathogens. As programme leader at the Centre for Tree Health Biotechnology (one of South Africa’s first six centres of excellence identified by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation) during the first five years of its existence she played a leading role in the centre’s development. She is also one of the founding members of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and has played an active role in building the reputation and global footprint of this institute since its establishment. She received the Achiever award for Excellence of the University of Pretoria for ten consecutive years. She has received numerous other significant awards, the most recent being the Christiaan Hendrik Persoon medal, awarded by the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) in recognition of her scientific accomplishments, the highest award that the SASPP can make to a member.

Investing in research is South Africa's best insurance policy against crises

Apr 09, 2020 04:37 am UTC| Investing Economy

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads around the world, causing the disease COVID-19, it is becoming ever clearer that the solutions to this pandemic will all be based on research. In some cases these solutions will be based...

How to read and learn from scientific literature, even if you're not an expert

Oct 29, 2018 19:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

Reading scientific literature is not for the faint-hearted. Its dense, and very often full of foreign terms and ideas. It also assumes a basic understanding of the discipline in question. I cant imagine that many people...

Economy

Bessent: Global Oil Market Well Supplied as U.S. Eyes Hormuz Navigation Control

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reassured markets on Monday that the global oil supply remains stable, pointing to increased vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as a key indicator of improving conditions....

Aluminum Prices Surge Toward Four-Year Highs After Gulf Smelter Strikes

Global aluminum prices shot up sharply on Monday, approaching levels not seen in nearly four years after Iranian missile and drone attacks caused significant damage to major smelting facilities across the Gulf region. The...

Goldman Sachs Sees Value in European Real Estate Stocks Despite Sharp Selloff

European real estate stocks have taken a significant hit since late February, tumbling roughly 14% as rising bond yields and widening credit spreads weigh heavily on the sector. According to Goldman Sachs, valuations have...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady Amid U.S.-Israel-Iran Tensions and BOJ Signals

Asian currencies traded within a narrow range Monday as geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continued to weigh on regional sentiment. Most currencies in the region remained under...

Asian Stocks Drop Amid Iran War Fears and BOJ Rate Hike Signals

Asian equity markets declined sharply on Monday as investors reacted to mounting geopolitical tensions surrounding the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, while hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan added further pressure on...

Politics

Trump Warns of Iran Strikes as Nuclear Deal Talks Intensify

President Donald Trump signaled cautious optimism Monday over ongoing negotiations with Iran, while simultaneously issuing stark warnings about potential military escalation if a deal fails to materialize. In a Truth...

Ukrainian Drones and the #MadeByHousewives Movement: Kyiv Fires Back at Rheinmetall CEO

Ukraines drone program has become a global flashpoint after Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger sparked widespread backlash by dismissing Ukrainian defense innovation as amateur work carried out by women with 3D printers at...

U.S.-Iran War Talks Emerge Amid Ongoing Strikes and Economic Fallout

Diplomatic efforts to end the month-long U.S.-Iran war are gaining momentum, even as military operations intensify across the Middle East. President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that the United States and Iran have...

Myanmar's Military Chief Steps Down to Pursue Presidency After Controversial Election

Myanmars military leader Min Aung Hlaing resigned as commander-in-chief on Monday to pursue the countrys presidency, marking a significant political shift following the nations first elections since the 2021 military coup...

UNIFIL Peacekeeper Killed in Southern Lebanon as Tensions Escalate

A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and several others were wounded after a projectile struck a UNIFIL position near the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr on Sunday. Indonesias foreign ministry confirmed...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Technology

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...