5. Inaugural Lectures

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10539/37775

Browse

Browsing 5. Inaugural Lectures by Faculty "Faculty of Health Sciences"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Bones of Contention: Shifting Paradigms in Human Evolution with the Skeletons of Australopithecus sediba
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2013) Berger, Lee R.
    In summary, at first glance Australopithecus sediba appears to add despairing complexity to our present understanding of the emergence of early Homo by adding yet another species, this time with an unexpected mosaic of primitive and derived characters, to what we thought we knew of the experiments occurring between the last australopiths and the first definitive members of the genus Homo somewhere around 2 million years ago. Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis both appear to show a trend in encephalization without the frontal complexity seen in Australopithecus sediba, as well as a retention of the general megadentia seen in many late australopiths, as well as, at least in the case of Homo habilis, retention of more primitive australopith aspects in its post-cranial anatomy, surprisingly more primitive in some areas than that observed in sediba.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evolution of therapies in inherited bleeding disorders: a remakable journey from blood to gene therapy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017-04) Mahlangu, Johnny
    Not available
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Potential of Gene Therapy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2011-06) Arbuthnot, Patrick
    Science of course has a lot to offer the public and effectively communicating the usefulness of science is very important. Scientists researching topics in the health-related fields have valuable practical benefits as a result of creation of interventions, methods, or strategies to treat disease. Moreover, the scientific method has a social function that is useful to nurture an ethic that encourages critical and creative thinking. This presentation is therefore primarily aimed at conveying insights about gene therapy to people who do not have a background in biology or medicine. The topic of gene therapy is rather technical in nature and I am therefore obliged to simplify some of the complex concepts. Also, parts of the talk will necessarily be of a didactic nature, which is important to provide the framework for discussing general issues of the significance of gene therapy in South Africa. The content of this presentation will be divided into 5 main parts, which are: Why genes are important in normal and disease biology; What is gene therapy?; Using silencing techniques to counter hepatitis B virus infection; The Challenges and Relevance of gene therapy research.