Science Journalist, Scribbler, Question-asker, Audio-wrangler, Note-taker, Tea-drinker, and (Occasional) Author
One benefit of being plugged into a diverse scientific network is that a number of bursaries, scholarship and postgrad opportunities flit across my screen. So here is a list. Please get hold of me (sarah@wildonscience.com) if you know of more and I’ll add them to the list. There are a number of openings at the Desmond … Read more
South Africa’s great white shark may be under threat, and while that may be music to the ears of anyone terrified by the movie Jaws, this actually may have dire consequences for the balance of the local ecosystem. More than 90% of South Africa’s great white sharks share the same genetic sequence, threatening their genetic diversity and the … Read more
This article first appeared on AfricaCheck. Researched by Sarah Wild Africa as a continent will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, or so the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been saying since 2001. Some scientists even think it will be the continent hardest hit by climate change. As we discussed in … Read more
Researched by Sarah Wild This was first published by AfricaCheck. The world’s leading climate scientists will meet this month in Paris at the Congress of the Parties 21 (COP21) to hammer out an international agreement to attempt to keep global warming below 2° C compared to pre-industrial levels. The 2° C target was chosen because … Read more
“We’re already on course for a world that is different to the one experienced by humanity since its evolution,” climate scientist Bob Scholes told the Science Forum on Tuesday. This month, the world’s leading climate scientists and policy makers met in Paris to hammer out an international agreement in an attempt to constrain global temperature … Read more
“Africa cannot advance without investing in science,” science and technology minister Naledi Pandor told the opening session of the Science Forum. Investment in research and development (R&D) is considered an important metric in economic competitiveness, growth and job creation. However, while Pandor flags the need to invest more in science and technology, South Africa is … Read more
It is education at the press of a button. Anyone with an internet connection can access some of the best teachers the world has to offer. Since they began in 2008, more than 25-million people have enrolled in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), in courses that range from Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (taught by Stanford … Read more
African cities are seeing the world’s fastest urban growth, but this is happening in a haphazard fashion which is exacerbating poverty and inequality among citizens. According to the United Nations’ unit for human settlements, it is expected that some African cities will account for up to 85% of the population by 2025. Can science help … Read more
COMMENT South Africans have been shouting at each other for a decade about whether we should “frack” the Karoo. Everyone has an opinion about hydraulically fracturing (fracking) in this area to liberate natural gas from shale rock, despite a dearth of information and facts – such as whether the gas is there in the first … Read more