Featured Research: Science

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UmbiflowTM: A low cost device that could save a baby's life

The UmbiflowTM is a portable, continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound device that was developed in South Africa and costs about one-tenth of a conventional ultrasound device. All healthcare workers, including nurses, can be trained relatively quickly to operate it.

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Learn more about stillbirths and how the UmbiflowTM can help prevent them

There are 2 million stillbirths a year, globally. UP researchers have developed the UmbiflowTM which can help to alleviate this problem by detecting early on if the growth of the foetus is being restricted by measuring the wave pattern of the umbilical artery which indicates the blood flow between the baby and the placenta.

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UP researchers use low-cost device to detect foetal growth restriction

Researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) have shown that a low-cost, easy-to-use screening device can detect foetal growth restriction in pregnant women, which, if not diagnosed, can lead to stillbirth, neonatal death or suboptimal childhood growth.

Talking Point

Unpacking a mystery of physics: Why processes in nature operate only in one direction

Why do processes in nature only work in one direction? For example, why can’t we heat up a cup of coffee in the fridge or prevent a drop of ink from spreading spontaneously in water?

Talking Point

Fig wasp sex ratios show that not all of nature is by design

In his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, British naturalist Charles Darwin put forward his theory of natural selection. This, he argued, was the mechanism of biological evolution: like an animal or plant breeder selects for certain characteristics, individuals with better survival ability leave more offspring.

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MSc student bridges the fields of chemistry and physics

Ané Kritzinger, a master’s student in the Department of Chemistry, is bridging the fields of chemistry and physics to develop an ultra-sensitive instrument for pollutant detection.