Latest news with #CradleofHumankind
eNCA
27-07-2025
- General
- eNCA
Cycling for life-changing education projects
JOHANNESBURG - The Legacy Ride4Hope is one of several initiatives mandated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, aimed at driving meaningful social impact. This year, nearly 100 cyclists took part in the event, riding 45 kilometres through the Cradle of Humankind in celebration of Nelson Mandela Day. The ride was not just symbolic it was held to raise funds for life-changing education projects across the country.
IOL News
24-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- IOL News
Global unity celebrated at Maropeng on International Yoga Day
IN a powerful fusion of ancient tradition and human heritage, thousands gathered at the Cradle of Humankind last Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga. Image: Supplied IN a powerful fusion of ancient tradition and human heritage, thousands gathered at the Cradle of Humankind last Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) under the theme 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'. The event, hosted by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, took place at Maropeng, the UNESCO World Heritage Site that holds the fossils of humanity's earliest ancestors — a symbolic backdrop for a practice that bridges millennia. This year's theme underscored the urgent connection between personal well-being and planetary health, echoing the site's message of shared human ancestry. 'Yoga is not just exercise — it's a discipline that unites mind, body, and environment,' said a Consulate spokesperson. 'Where better to celebrate this than at the birthplace of humanity itself?' Maropeng, meaning 'returning to the place of origin' in Setswana, is home to fossils dating back millions of years. By hosting the event here, organisers aim to merge India's 5 000-year-old yogic tradition with Africa's narrative of human evolution — a bold statement on unity in a fractured world. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The mass yoga session, led by expert instructors, will be open to all, regardless of age or experience. But the day goes beyond physical postures. 'This is about reconnecting with ourselves, each other, and the Earth,' said one organiser. Amid rising global tensions and environmental crises, the event pushes yoga as a tool for inner peace, social cohesion, and ecological consciousness. The choice of Maropeng is no coincidence. As climate disasters escalate and conflicts divide nations, the IDY celebration positions yoga as an antidote to modern fragmentation. 'We're all from the same origin,' said a local participant. 'Yoga reminds us of that bond.' The Consulate has called on community groups, wellness advocates, and the public to take part in what promises to be a historic gathering. As the sun rises over the Cradle of Humankind, attendees will stretch, breathe, and meditate — not just as individuals, but as part of a collective journey toward healing, balance, and a healthier planet.
Deccan Herald
20-06-2025
- Science
- Deccan Herald
Thousands of enthusiasts to mark Yoga Day at UNESCO World Heritage site in South Africa
The events will culminate this weekend, marking the day at venues including the Cradle of Humankind, where the first human remains were found, the Union Building, seat of the South African government, and the Royal Natal National Park in the Drakensberg mountains.
SowetanLIVE
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- SowetanLIVE
Luyanda Zuma: The new It-girl
'When she steps into the story, she steps in as a very naive girl, but very strong as well,' Zuma offers, without giving away spoilers. 'She is not interested in marriage because she sees herself as the Mkabayi [Dawn Thandeka King] of her generation. She goes through so much that South Africa will just feel for her. Her story brings in a different element of Shaka. She changes the narrative about what we have always read, that Shaka is this strong soldier, unbreakable and dehumanised. Liyana's character comes in to bring out his human side and vulnerability.' Zuma sees being on the show as a full-circle moment. She remembers taking a tour of the Shaka iLembe set during a visit to the Cradle of Humankind when she was a Miss SA finalist in 2022. She felt like she was home. Zuma has again entered Miss SA this year. 'I was in a bad space in 2022; I was coming from a heavy relationship. People would watch Crown Chasers [Miss SA reality TV show] and be concerned about me because I was always crying,' she says. 'Mentally, I was not there. I was in a space [where I] needed comfort more than competition. I learnt that you need to block out the noise and chase your dream. The one thing that was constantly on my mind cost me my dream.' She credits Miss SA Teen 2011 Celeste Khumalo as her biggest inspiration for entering beauty pageants. 'My brother was going crazy over her the night she won. I looked at her and thought we looked similar; she's just as skinny as me,' Zuma says. 'Then, when I started researching Miss SA and what it stood for with all its pillars, I realised I was the right fit.' While she's one of the most beautiful women in the world right now, growing up in Pietermaritzburg she didn't fit in or connect with her feminine side. 'I was a tomboy and that energy came from the fact that I didn't feel beautiful,' she says. 'I looked like my dad and puberty had not kicked in yet, so I had very masculine features. I wasn't deemed feminine enough because puberty hit later and all my friends started to get their boobs; I didn't get that until later in high school.' In grade 9 she fell in love with drama. She later studied live performance at Afda and never looked back. 'In my second year, my lecturer wanted to kick me out of my live-performance class because she felt I had a director's eye,' she says. 'But I insisted that I wanted to learn performance. I respect the craft so much — I would like others to respect us for studying it too.'
IOL News
02-06-2025
- Science
- IOL News
Groundbreaking study reveals biological sex and genetic diversity in Paranthropus robustus
Dr Palesa Madupe, Dr Claire Koenig and Dr Ioannis Patramanis. Image: Victor Yan Kin Lee Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of Copenhagen have achieved a scientific first by using 2-million-year-old protein traces to determine the biological sex and uncover previously hidden genetic variation in Paranthropus robustus, an extinct close relative of modern humans. Published in the journal Science, the research analysed ancient proteins extracted from fossilised teeth discovered in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind. The remarkable discovery represents some of the oldest human genetic data ever recovered from Africa and challenges established understandings of this early hominin. The study's co-lead, Dr Palesa Madupe, a research associate at UCT's Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen's Globe Institute, is part of a powerful African cohort transforming palaeoanthropology from within. "Because we can sample multiple African Pleistocene hominin individuals classified within the same group, we're now able to observe not just biological sex, but for the first time genetic differences that might have existed among them," said Madupe. UCT's HERI played a central role in the research, with co-director Professor Rebecca Ackermann as a senior author, and contributions from co-director Robyn Pickering and multiple HERI research associates. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The team used cutting-edge palaeoproteomic techniques and mass spectrometry to identify sex-specific variants of amelogenin, a protein found in tooth enamel. Two of the ancient individuals were conclusively male; the others, inferred through novel quantitative methods, were female. Paper co-lead and postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Claire Koenig, explained: 'Enamel is extremely valuable because it provides information about both biological sex and evolutionary relationships. However, since identifying females relies on the absence of specific protein variants, it is crucial to rigorously control our methods to ensure confident results.' The university explained that unexpectedly, another enamel protein – enamelin, revealed genetic diversity among the four individuals. Two shared a particular variant, a third had a distinct one, and a fourth displayed both. Co-lead and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Copenhagen's Globe Institute Ioannis Patramanis said while studying proteins, specific mutations are thought to be characteristic of a species. 'We were thus quite surprised to discover that what we initially thought was a mutation uniquely describing Paranthropus robustus was actually variable within that group,' said Patramanis. The university added that this revelation forces a rethink of how ancient hominin species are identified, showing genetic variation, not just skeletal traits, must be considered in understanding their complexity. According to the researchers, Paranthropus lived in Africa between 2.8 and 1.2 million years ago, walking upright and likely coexisting with early members of Homo. Though on a different evolutionary path, its story remains central to understanding human origins. Madupe added that this study not only advances palaeoproteomics in Africa, but also highlights the vital role of African scholars in rewriting human history. 'As a young African researcher, I'm honoured to have significantly contributed to such a high-impact publication as its co-lead. But it's not lost on me that people of colour have a long journey to go before it becomes commonplace more of us need to be leading research like this,' said Madupe. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Ackermann detailed that HERI was actively leading that shift and the institute launched programmes introducing palaeoproteomic techniques to a new generation of African scientists and is expanding training across the continent. 'We are excited about the capacity building that has come out of this collaboration. The future of African-led palaeoanthropology research is bright,' Ackerman said. Cape Argus
