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In the Fabric of Time and Space. On the 3rd of October, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the recipients of the Nobel Prize for physics. The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2017 was divided among three recipients: one half was awarded to Rainer Weiss, and the other half was split between Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne for "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.”  All three scientists contributed key findings that led to the detection of gravitational waves within the fabric of time and space. The discoveries were made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, more commonly known as LIGO. LIGO consists of twin ‘L-Shaped’ observatories based in Washington and Louisiana, as [...]

World Car-Free Day 2017: Taking Back The Streets The 22nd of September has become a day largely internationally recognised as World Car-Free Day. The first ‘car-free-days’ were held in Reykjavik, in Iceland, Bath in the United Kingdom and La Rochelle in France. However, the first national car-free campaign was initiated and inaugurated by Britain in 1997, followed by France in 1998. It became a European-wide initiative by the European Commission in 2000. It has subsequently spread to 1500 cities in 40 countries. The aim of the day, according to the Washington Post, is to “promote [the] improvement of mass transit, cycling and walking, and the development of communities where jobs are closer to home and where shopping is within walking distance”. Though realistically, [...]

Major Hurricane Irma responsible for massive damage Hurricane Irma, as the storm system is now known came into existence on the 30th of August 2017 off the coast of the Cape Verde Islands. Within 24 hours of hurricane Irma’s development, the storm was characterised as a Category 2 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale has a one to five rating system based on the hurricane’s sustained wind speeds. According to the National Hurricane Center, the scale is used to determine “potential property damage”. Hurricanes that are classified as a Category 3 or higher qualify as ‘major hurricanes’ because of their increased potential to cause major damage to property and significant loss of life. Within 24 hours of being [...]

Winds of change: The renewable energy programme that may not be renewed Although South Africa has been playing catch-up to the rest of the ‘first-world’ with regard to its renewable energy endeavours, it seems as if the country may have just caught up. With a renewable energy programme in place that focuses largely on harnessing and converting wind to electrical power being “lauded as one of the most successful internationally”, South Africa has been making waves both at home and overseas. The renewable energy programme has attracted billions of Rands worth of foreign investment since its inception. Wind farms have become an increasingly popular alternative source of electrical energy due to a global rise in energy prices. Their appeal is fundamentally founded on [...]

LinkedIn - The Millennial Matchmaker LinkedIn, the online networking giant is looking to evolve yet again. The site has undergone several updates since being bought out by Microsoft last year. The latest addition to the site’s services has been defined as LinkedIn ‘matchmaking’ and has also been likened to social media-based dating App; Tinder. This new feature will allow its members not only to manage their online work profiles and strategic network connections but will also permit them to connect with others in a Mentor-Mentee capacity. Suzi Owens, the Group Manager of Consumer Products and Corporate Communications wants it to be thought of as “a new form of mentorship that’s virtual, lightweight, and that fits into today’s changing workplace.” LinkedIn foresees the feature [...]

Senamile Masango: A First in South African Science The fashion industry’s influence extends far beyond the realm of its social and economic impact. With fast-fashion producers and retailers such as Zara and H&M on the rise, the mass-consumption of widely produced garments calls into question the environmental sustainability of the apparel industry and reveals the darker side of retail. As population growth stretches our natural resources to capacity, the Global Fashion Agenda predicts that with the “current trajectories of production and consumption, pressures on natural resources and social conditions will intensify by 2030 to the point of threatening industry growth itself” (May 2017). However, this hasn’t stopped a number of determined individuals and retailers from attempting to find alternative solutions — viable sustainability [...]