A comprehensive synthesis published in the South African Journal of Geology evaluates 25 years of research on the Karoo Supergroup, an exceptional ~120-million-year rock record spanning the Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic. Integrating multi-proxy sedimentology, U-Pb geochronology, magnetostratigraphy, and palaeontology, the review evaluates long-standing basin models and refines the stratigraphic architecture across southern Gondwana.

The synthesised data challenge simplistic models of linear aridification, revealing non-linear palaeoclimate oscillations – including short-lived pluvial episodes in the Carnian (Late Triassic) and extensive lacustrine-erg interactions in the Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic). Furthermore, it spotlights the improved resolution of the Karoo biozonation, a core of studies on palaeo-ecosystem dynamics, and documents patterns of ecological collapse, persistence, and recovery across four major deep-time biocrises: the end-Capitanian, end-Permian, end-Triassic, and end-Pliensbachian. This synthesis establishes an updated framework to resolve intra-basin heterogeneity and optimise the correlation of Pan-Gondwanan tectonic-climatic events.

Many animals and plants show left-right differences in how their bodies or organs are arranged, but we still know little about how such asymmetries evolve or how genes control them in natural populations. Mirror-image flowers, in which female and male sex organs are deflected to opposite sides in left- and right-handed forms, provide a notable example of such asymmetry. Here, we studied South African butterfly lilies, where individual plants produce only left- or right-handed flowers. Their mirror-image flowers promote outcrossing by depositing pollen from each floral form onto a specific region of a pollinator’s body that matches the stigma position of the opposite form. This suggests that selection for efficient pollen transfer between forms maintains this natural polymorphism.

Our work uncovers a hemizygous supergene that coordinates the left-right orientation of female and male sex organs in mirror-image flowers by linking two independently acting genes for style and stamen handedness in a single, nonrecombining genomic segment. This architecture ensures the coinheritance of a matched pair of organ orientations that is essential for efficient cross-pollination between floral forms. At the developmental level, we show that floral handedness emerges from the interaction between an intrinsic tissue chirality and a gravitropic response that orients the style and median stamen relative to gravity. Together, these findings reveal how a supergene, hormone and microRNA signaling, tissue chirality, and an external physical cue combine to produce and maintain a stable left-right polymorphism in natural plant populations.

By sending quantum information through a storm, researchers at The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, have shown that the information in light can be kept completely intact, even though the light itself was completely warped beyond recognition. 

Researchers at the University of Cape Town have shown that the warm Agulhas Current System supplies the heat and moisture that intensified a cut-off low storm over the Western Cape, driving the province’s most destructive floods. The findings highlight the ocean’s role in extreme rainfall and disaster risk management.

The latests assessment of South Africa’s marine biodiversity has added more than 1,000 marine benthic invertebrate species to the country’s known fauna since 2010, bringing the total known marine diversity to more than 14,000 species. The study highlights the critical role of taxonomy, museum collections, and DNA-based approaches in uncovering hidden biodiversity, while revealing significant gaps in our understanding of South Africa’s marine life.

A new species - and previously unknown genus - of soil bacterium was isolated from soil collected in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, a biodiversity hot spot in the Cape Floristic Region. This is the first genus from the phylum Acidobacteriota to be described from Southern Africa. The finding represents a significant advance in our knowledge of rare species that contribute to nutrient cycles in soil.

Every year, millions of photographs and videos of birds are uploaded to online platforms by birdwatchers, photographers, and tourists across the world. A new study shows that scientists are increasingly harnessing this vast digital archive to conduct ornithological research — and that the approach is now transforming what is possible in the field of ornithology.

Astronomers are drowning in data, and now they can step inside it! A new open-source software suite called iDaVIE (immersive Data Visualisation Interactive Explorer) lets researchers use virtual reality to explore massive 3D astronomical datasets, such as Radio HI data cubes, in a fully immersive environment. Built on the Unity engine and SteamVR, iDaVIE allows scientists to import, render, select, crop, and analyse complex multidimensional data in real time, then export results directly back into their existing analysis pipelines. The tool has already proven useful for verifying radio data from major surveys conducted with the MeerKAT, ASKAP, and APERTIF telescopes, helping researchers refine detection masks and pinpoint new astronomical sources. By making it easier to navigate high-dimensional data intuitively, iDaVIE reduces the mental burden of traditional data inspection, freeing scientists to focus on discovery rather than data wrangling. With the release of Version 1.0, the developers plan further upgrades, including support for larger datasets, enhanced rendering, automated video generation, and collaborative multi-user features, aiming to make immersive visualisation a standard tool for tackling the big-data challenges of modern astronomy and other scientific domains.

Ultra-light GPS tracking devices have revealed that the Pygmy Falcon operates within an exceptionally small home range while breeding.