The study surveys rapid progress in techniques capable of creating, manipulating and detecting quantum structured light. These include on-chip integrated photonics, nonlinear optics, and multiplane light conversion, which now form a modern and increasingly powerful toolkit. 

In one of the largest African ancient-DNA studies to date, geneticists from Uppsala University, Sweden, and an archaeologist from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, analysed the DNA of 28 people who lived in southern Africa between 1200 and just a few hundred years ago. It contributes further evidence that southern African hunter-gatherers were the earliest known human group with a unique Homo sapiens genetic ancestry tracing back to about 300 000 years ago.

Eggshell calcite gives us a new way to date fossil sites where volcanic layers are missing, a challenge that has limited paleontology for decades.

In patients with Long COVID, a new study has revealed structural association between circulating microclots and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This finding suggests the existence of underlying physiological interactions between microclots and NETS that, when dysregulated, may become pathogenic.

Misinformation and disinformation remain the top-ranked global risks for 2025, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report. As the world continues to face extreme weather disasters, geopolitical tensions, and societal fragmentation. This alarming trend amplifies other crises and threatens public trust in science and democratic governance. Against this backdrop, the 13^th  World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) 2025, to be held in Africa for the first time, will focus on combating misinformation and fake news, a critical and escalating challenge globally undermining science communication and public health. The conference will be at the CSIR in Pretoria, South Africa, and will run from 1 - 5 December 2025.