Is there one thing that all morally wrong actions have in common? Western philosophers have searched for an answer to that question for nearly 400 years, and have focused on the features of causing harm, on the one hand, and degrading autonomy,on the other. Prof Metz considers how we could answer the question by appealing to the southern African ethic of ubuntu, and argues that its implications for how to understand the nature of wrongdoing are attractive, compared to those of the dominant Western philosophies.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) identified disease X as the next pandemic threat, a year before the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, which sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. The true impact of the pandemic over the past two years far exceeded our expectations, with >18 million excess deaths worldwide, as well as extensive pressure on healthcare systems and the global economy. Although the world is finally opening up again, the pandemic is not yet over, and further variants and waves can likely be expected. This will also not be the last pandemic that we experience in our lifetime. In this Expert Lecture we will delve into how novel viruses with pandemic potential emerge, the evolution of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, and look at the potential causes of emergence of new variants. We argue that a One Health approach of genomic surveillance in humans and animals is needed, to detect novel viruses and variants, and to allow us to be more prepared for future events.

Our society is facing a myriad of challenges, many of which have been exacerbated and highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. These include, among many others, the scourge of poverty, and environmental issues such as anthropogenic climate change. Academic literature has observed that the rise in populism has eroded the ability of international law to play a positive role in addressing many of the world’s current challenges. The point of departure of this lecture is that for international law to address contemporary global challenges, it needs to be based on solidarity. The lecture seeks to assess the system of international law against this background of solidarity.

Hydrogen is considered a fuel of the future due to it emitting zero emissions. This infographic explains the impact of this discovery as well as some interesting facts about hydrogen and the different forms of it.

University of Pretoria researchers find that the common ancestor of the approximately 100 species of Protea found in South Africa and Australia’s related macadamia nut trees (such as Macadamia integrifolia) and waratah (Telopea speciosissima) dates back to when dinosaurs went extinct.