Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
21 June 2018 Photo BackpagePix
KC the countrys best netballer
The impressive Khanyisa Chawane in action as the centre player of the Free State Crinums.
Khanyisa Chawane, centre player for the Free State Crinums and Kovsies netball teams, is officially the best netball player in the country. She was named Player of the Tournament at the conclusion of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League (BFNPL) on Sunday (17 June 2018). It is the premier competition on the South African netball calendar. She also earned the award of Best Centre Court Player.

Khanyisa, or simply KC as she is known, was a consistent performer for the Crinums   earning three Player of the Match awards. Although she is the shortest player in the team she impressed with her speed and handling skills on the court.
 
The Free State Crinums, packed with Kovsie players, finished the competition in fourth position. 

The Crinums is a ‘de facto’ Kovsie sports team, with all 15 squad members currently completing a course at the university. All of them will be available to play in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament that is taking place in the first week of July 2018 in Bloemfontein. 

The Crinums, who ended fifth last year after losing a number of key players from the 2016 team, were officially the youngest participating team with an average age of 21 years and five months by the start of the league last month.

News Archive

UFS celebrates establishment of a new department
2008-09-26

 

 At the celebration of the establishment of the Department of Genetics are, from the left: Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, Prof. Johan Spies, head of the Department of Genetics at the UFS, Prof. Chris Viljoen, associate professor at the UFS Department of Haematology and Cell Biology and previously associated with the Department of Genetics; seated: Prof. Paul Grobler, associate professor at the UFS Department of Genetics.
Photo: Stephen Collett

UFS celebrates establishment of a new department

The establishment of the Department of Genetics in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (FS) was recently celebrated on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The department, which formed part of the Department of Plant Sciences, is the only of its kind in the country that conducts research in behavioural genetics. “With behavioural genetics we try to determine if certain human behaviour is hereditary or if it is as a result of the environment. Although this is the fastest growing field of specialty in the United States of America, it is still an unknown field in South Africa,” says Prof. Johan Spies, head of the Department of Genetics.

The other specialty fields of the department are forensic genetics and conservation genetics. “Forensic genetics looks at the compilation of the DNA of animals. Because of our academics’ expertise, the department is regularly requested by the South African Police Service to assist them with establishing the origin of animals – especially in the case of game poaching. We recently completed a research project on cheetahs where we had to establish if they were acquired illegally of part of the farmer’s game. The research showed that the cheetahs were part of the farmer’s own breed,” says Prof. Spies.

Another specialty field of the department is conservation genetics where the genetic variance of animals is researched. A lot of research is done on vervet monkeys to determine from which area in the country they originate. The study must be completed before the 3000 vervet monkeys currently in rehabilitation centres are set free. The behaviour of monkeys in rehabilitation is also being researched.

Prof. Spies says: “Student figures in Genetics show an annual increase of 8% per year for the past five years. The first group of master’s degree students in Genetics will start their studies next year.” The department is also regarded as a leader on Clivia research.


Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
25 September 2008
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept