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Jill Farrant
Jill Farrant, professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is a leading expert on resurrection plants, which 'come back to life' from a desiccated, seemingly dead state when they are rehydrated. Research work Farrant is investigating the ability of certain species of plants which are able to survive without water for long periods of time. As Farrant explains, " l plants have the genes that enable desiccation tolerance, but most use them only when they make seeds. Resurrection plants can also switch these genes on in their leaves and roots whenever drought occurs." The ultimate goal of her research is to find applications that will lead to the development of drought-tolerant crops to nourish populations in arid, drought-prone climates, notably in Africa, and her research may have medicinal applications as well. Farrant believes food crops which can survive long stretches without water "will become more important as climate change (increas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest university in South Africa and the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest university in Sub-Saharan Africa in continuous operation. UCT is organised in 57 departments across six faculties offering Bachelor's degree, bachelor's (Education in South Africa#Higher education and training system, NQF 7) to Doctorate, doctoral degrees (Education in South Africa#Higher education and training system, NQF 10) solely in the English language. Home to 30,000 students, it encompasses six campuses in the Capetonian suburbs of Rondebosch, Hiddingh, Observatory, Cape Town, Observatory, Mowbray, Cape Town, Mowbray, and the Waterfront. It is the only African member of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) within the World Economic Forum, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resurrection Plant
A resurrection plant is any poikilohydric plant that can survive extreme dehydration, even over months or years. Examples include: * ''Asteriscus'' (plant); * '' Dorcoceras hygrometrica'', * '' Craterostigma'', members of the Linderniaceae/Scrophulariaceae with snapdragon-like flowers * '' Haberlea rhodopensis'' * '' Mesembryanthemum'', the plant can revive within a short period of time after a drought * '' Myrothamnus flabellifolius'', a plant species native to Southern Africa * '' Pleopeltis polypodioides'', also known as resurrection fern * '' Ramonda serbica'', a species in the family Gesneriaceae * '' Selaginella lepidophylla'', a plant species native to North America, Central and South America, and sold as a novelty * '' Tillandsia'' * '' Xerophyta'', a monocotyledonous genus of 57 species typically occurring on rock outcrops in Southern African grasslands Certain resurrection plants have long been sold in their dry, "lifeless" form as curiosities. This custom was noted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eragrostis Tef
''Teff'' (), also known as ''Eragrostis tef'', Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual plant, annual Poaceae, grass, a species of lovegrass native to Ethiopia, where it first originated in the Ethiopian Highlands. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as teff. Teff was one of the earliest plants domesticated. It is one of the most important staple crops in Ethiopia. Description ''Eragrostis tef'' is a self pollinated tetraploid annual cereal grass. Teff is a C4 carbon fixation, plant, which allows it to more efficiently fix carbon in drought and high temperatures, and is an intermediate between a tropical and temperate grass. The name teff is thought to originate from the Amharic word ''teffa'', which means "lost". This probably refers to its tiny seeds, which have a diameter smaller than . Teff is a fine-stemmed, tufted grass with large crowns and many tiller (botany), tillers. Its roots are shallow, but develop a massive fibrous rooting system. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN; , ) is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. History The university was formed by the merger of the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville, in 2004. The Council of the University of Natal voted on 31 May 2002 to offer the post of Vice-Chancellor and University Principal to world-renowned medical scientist and former Medical Research Council President – Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, who assumed office on 1 September 2002. He was entrusted with leading the University of Natal into the merger with the University of Durban-Westville. In so doing, he became the last Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal. Professor Makgoba succeeded Professor Brenda Gourley as Vice-Chancellor. Having served a brief stint as the interim Vice-Chancellor in 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is the Port of Durban, busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea, Durban, Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal, Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of and had a population of 4.2million in 2022 South African census, 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. Within the city limits, Durban's population was 595,061 in 2011 South African census, 2011. The city has a humid subtr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Foundation
The Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award is awarded annually by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. It is considered the top award for research on the African continent. In Memory of Harry Oppenheimer The Award was created in 2001, in South Africa, by the Trustees of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, itself established in 1958 by Harry Oppenheimer in memory of his father, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer. The philanthropic vision of the once-richest man in the world is embedded within three foundations: #The Brenthurst Foundation contributes energetically to developing economic empowerment in Africa. #The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust funds and encourages science, the arts and the search for knowledge, through various grants and initiatives, and awards Africa's premier research prize, the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award. #The Brenthurst Library which houses one of the largest collections of rare Africana in the world and the celebrated transcripts of Nelson Mandela's trials. How the Fellowship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of Birth Missing (living People)
A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) are more exact. The modern calendar year, as reckoned according to the Gregorian calendar, approximates the tropical year by using a system of leap years. The term 'year' is also used to indicate other periods of roughly similar duration, such as the lunar year (a roughly 354-day cycle of twelve of the Moon's phasessee lunar calendar), as well as periods loosely associated with the calendar or astronomical year, such as the seasonal year, the fiscal year, the academic year, etc. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by changes in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living People
Purpose: Because living persons may suffer personal harm from inappropriate information, we should watch their articles carefully. By adding an article to this category, it marks them with a notice about sources whenever someone tries to edit them, to remind them of WP:BLP (biographies of living persons) policy that these articles must maintain a neutral point of view, maintain factual accuracy, and be properly sourced. Recent changes to these articles are listed on Special:RecentChangesLinked/Living people. Organization: This category should not be sub-categorized. Entries are generally sorted by family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give .... Maintenance: Individuals of advanced age (over 90), for whom there has been no new documentation in the last ten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
21st-century South African Women Scientists
File:1st century collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Jesus is crucified by Roman authorities in Judaea (17th century painting). Four different men (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) claim the title of Emperor within the span of a year; The Great Fire of Rome (18th-century painting) sees the destruction of two-thirds of the city, precipitating the empire's first persecution against Christians, who are blamed for the disaster; The Roman Colosseum is built and holds its inaugural games; Roman forces besiege Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War (19th-century painting); The Trưng sisters lead a rebellion against the Chinese Han dynasty (anachronistic depiction); Boudica, queen of the British Iceni leads a rebellion against Rome (19th-century statue); Knife-shaped coin of the Xin dynasty., 335px rect 30 30 737 1077 Crucifixion of Jesus rect 767 30 1815 1077 Year of the Four Emperors rect 1846 30 3223 1077 Great Fire of Rome rect 30 1108 1106 2155 Boudican revolt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
