Nestled high in the Eastern Lesotho Highlands, scientists have uncovered fascinating evidence of an ancient mountain lake that flourished thousands of years ago. This discovery, made by Professor Jennifer Fitchett from the University of the Witwatersrand and Prof Anson Mackay from University College London, sheds light on a hidden chapter of Lesotho's natural history, revealing how climate and geography have shaped the region over millennia. Importantly, it provides critical insights into past climate dynamics and helps predict future environmental changes in this sensitive high-altitude region. It was recently published in the Journal of Quaternary Science.

After three years of meticulous study, an international team of researchers has announced the discovery of a fossilised giant basal tetrapod in Namibia's arid heartland in Nature. A basal tetrapod is an early four-legged vertebrate with fingers and toes, which lived during the transition from water to land. These ancient carnivores are among the earliest ancestors of all modern animals. This nearly complete 3-meter-long skeleton of an adult, unearthed in the Ugab River valley in Damaraland, is the largest ever discovered. This discovery is significant because it challenges previous assumptions that these early four-legged vertebrates, which lived during the transition from water to land around 280 million years ago, were only found in the northern hemisphere. The new species, named Gaiasia jennyae, provides crucial insights into the early evolution of land-dwelling animals and shows how important southern continents are in future research on this topic.

The paper also contains information on the traditional use of P. maluti by Basotho traditional healers from the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. According to the researchers, this appears to be the only recorded first-hand report of hallucinogenic mushrooms being used traditionally in Africa.

After three years of meticulous and dedicated hard work, the Rhisotope Project at Wits University has successfully inserted low doses of radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros. The Rhisotope Project’s intention is to use nuclear technology in the form of small, measured quantities of radioisotopes and to insert these into the horns of rhinoceros, which can be picked up by radiation detection portal monitors at international borders, including at harbours, airports and land-crossings. 

The research on motion sickness was done among passengers and crew on the SA Agulhas II, South Africa's polar supply and research vessel. The researher created the Mariner 4.0 system, which equips seafarers with technology that can help them with their tasks, to advance the study of motion sickness among seafarers.

The understanding of the global Zinc cycle in our oceans has important implications in the context of warming oceans. A warmer climate increases erosion, leading to more dust in the atmosphere and consequently more dust being deposited into the oceans. More dust means more scavenging of Zinc particles, leading to less Zinc being available to sustain phytoplankton and other marine life, thereby diminishing the oceans' ability to absorb carbon.

In what is described as an astonishing breakthrough, scientists have discovered the world’s oldest, inhabited termite mounds along the Buffels River in Namaqualand in South Africa. These mounds, dating back a staggering 34,000 years, are rewriting our understanding of prehistoric life, climate and carbon storage. These termite mounds, called "heuweltjies" in Afrikaans, meaning "little hills," are still inhabited by the southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator.