The Monthly Beam

News letter

July 2015

P A G E 2

“The Hawaiian goose was once a commonly found

bird, with approximately 25,000 of them living in

Hawaii when Captain James Cook arrived in

1778,” says Phillip Beukes.

Meet the nѐnѐ, the world’s rarest goose found at the

dam area on the iThemba LABS premises. This bird is

endemic to the islands of Hawaii, the place where it

got its name due to the soft calling which the bird

makes. The nѐnѐ has undergone various

morphological changes due to it being

geographically isolated for thousands of years,

although it is believed that this specie shares a

common ancestor with the Canadian goose.

The nѐnѐ was once a commonly found

bird, with approximately 25,000 of them

living in Hawaii when Captain James

Cook arrived in 1778, a British explorer

and cartographer who made 3 voyages

to the Pacific ocean including the

Hawaiian Island. The IUCN (International

Union for the Conservation of Nature)

has given a ‘vulnerable’ status

classification to the nѐnѐ, indicating that

this species has a high risk of

endangerment.

By 1952, the population of this species

had significantly reduced to a total of 30

due to hunters and predators that came

to settle on the island. However, by 2004

this species had made an impressive

comeback. As a result of major

conservation efforts, an estimation of 800

birds was found in the wild as well as

1000 in wildfowl collections and zoos.

John Faure, a neighbouring waterfowl

P A G E 3

expert from Vergenoegd Estate (Somerset West), generously offered us a pair of these rare geese which he recently acquired from a breeder. We hope that these beautiful animals adapt well on site, along with the activ-ities done by the Environmental Club to preserve them, which includes sup-plementing a herbivore diet with maize and cereal, providing a safe and shel-tered breeding environment and ensuring that they are examined annually by a veterinarian. If any colleagues are keen to assist us, contact MEDRAD Ra-diographer and Environmental Club secretary Melina Loubser (ext. 1297/1124 or melina@tlabs.ac.za) to sign up!

Did you know? Hawaii is generally known for

its warm tropical climate, oceanic surroundings

and active volcanoes, making it a popular

destination for tourists, surfers, biologists and

volcanologists. This island has also been a

treasure trove for natural biodiversity. Unlike

mainland locations, the natural selection

pressure (food, climate, shelter, predators) of a

geographically isolated location has a direct

influence on the differentiation of species.

However, this type of differentiation often

leads to the survival of the species being

threatened because it restricts the progress of

the species to the isolated areas only, making it

impossible for the species to live in any other

locale.

P A G E 4

Celebrating Mandela Day – Creating Global Transformation

67 minutes at a time!

Mandela Day (18th July) is an annual international day that honours the legacy of the late Former SA President Nelson Mandela on his birthday. Mandela Day also serves as a global call-to-action that promotes the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world by demonstrating leadership and giving back to the community. The annual Mandela Day campaign message is: "Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes.” In keeping with the spirit of Mandela

Day, the NRF (National Research

Foundation) partnered up with the

D e p a r t m e n t o f S c i e n c e a n d

Technology to provide community

service to the youth at Saulridge

Secondary School and the Child Welfare

Centre in Atteridgeville, Pretoria. The

event turned out to be a huge success,

P A G E 5

Daphney Gets Science Inspired at Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting

Dr Thifhelimbilu Daphney Bucher, an AIMS (African Institute for Mathematical

Sciences) Alumni and Research Scientist at iThemba LABS Nuclear Physics

department, recently attended the 65th Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting at the

Lindau Island in Germany. Daphne was nominated to attend the meeting by the

Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a leading European science foundation that funds

AIMS. Introduced with the theme Educate Inspire and Connect, the Lindau

Nobel Laureate program was hosted for 650 young scientists from 88 countries

to engage in a series of lectures and discussions with 65 Nobel Laureates in the

field of Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Biology and Physics.

Daphney’s 5-day program of activities included an Africa Outreach Breakfast

meeting hosted by Prof. Horst Kohler (former German President) and Prof.

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi (2008 Nobel Laureate). She also attended lectures and

discussions given by Nobel Laureates such as George F. Smoot, Eric Betzig,

Stefan Hell, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Francois Englert, Brian P. Schmid,

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Wole Soyinka (1986 Nobel Prize winner in

Literature) from Nigeria. Daphney also conducted a one-to-one interview with

Prof. Francois Englert organised by the Nature Outlook magazine, which will be

published in October 2015.

P A G E 6

Along with other young scientists at the meeting, Daphney met with Dr

Thomas Auf der Heyde (SA Director General of Research and Development) on

his one day visit to Germany. The young scientists enjoyed good dialogue with

him, which lead to an agreement that the Department of Science &

Technology will facilitate the nomination of young scientists to represent South

Africa at Lindau Nobel Laureate programs in future.

Daphney relates the positive motivation which she received from her mentors

at the program. “Being a part of the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting was a

fruitful experience,” she says. “I got the opportunity to learn from scientists

across all fields, and many of them are excited to collaborate with our

laboratory in future. Thank you to iThemba LABS and AIMS for supporting me

in this endeavour, as well as to my host family in Germany for making my stay

there as comfortable as possible.”

Did you know?

In 2010, Dr Thifhelimbilu Daphney Bucher represented AIMS Alumni

at a TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Los

Angeles USA, a global and prestigious conference where scientific,

cultural and academic topics are shared with audiences worldwide.

At the TED conference, Daphney presented a talk on the role that

AIMS played in helping her attain her PhD in Nuclear Physics, as well

as the motivation which she received from her mother when she was

told, “Education is the husband who will never leave you.” Daphne’s

standing-ovation talk gave rise to Google donating $1 million to

AIMS! Watch Daphne’s tell her life story at an AIMS event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teGH6A4grc4

P A G E 7

Mind Your Meal

The egg verdict is out

Eggs stood as the face of cholesterol for many years, labelled as bad for your health. Since the 1970’s, people have been warned not to eat too many eggs due to its high cholesterol content (± 200/300mg per 100g egg) and saturated fat content (± 3g per 100g egg). However, scientists now know that cholesterol serum levels are not affected much by the

cholesterol we ingest from eggs or other food sources like animal fat, milk fat

and seafood, but many other factors instead.

The Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC)

has stated that “cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern” and the

40-year-old recommendation to reduce cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg

per day has become outdated. However, saturated fat did not receive the same

pardon and remains a nutrient of concern for over-consumption. The DGAC still

recommends that saturated fat intake should be limited to no more than 15 to

24 grams per day, which is roughly 3 to 5 teaspoons of animal fat found in fatty

meat, eggs, butter, milk, cheese, cream and yogurt.

You should now eat an egg a day as part of a healthy, balanced diet. In fact,

eggs contain many nutrients essential for health. Some egg nutrients hold

antioxidant activity and can protect humans from many diseases such as heart

disease and cancer.

Eggs are especially important in the diets of those at risk of malnutrition such as

the elderly, pregnant women and children. Additionally, eggs are inexpensive

and easy to prepare. It can be consumed worldwide, since there isn’t any

religious restriction on its consumption.

P A G E 8

The NRF (National Research Foundation), in partnership with the Wits

Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS), recently hosted a seminar for iThemba

LABS colleagues to engage in discussion on the topic of Diversity &

Transformation. The seminar was facilitated by Prof. Melissa Steyn and

Rѐjane Williams from Wits University in Johannesburg, as part of a 3-year

case study that aims to build the NRF’s capacity to strengthen diversity

within our organization. “As part of our developing democracy, we still live

in a context where issues of race, gender, sexuality, religion and language

creates a barrier for everyone as they attempt to give service to their

organization,” says Rѐjane. “The NRF has therefore undertaken the project

for this purpose, so that we can build a culture that provides a true sense of

belonging for everyone to make their best contribution in the workplace.”

Rejane further relates the personal objectives which this project hopes to

fulfill in the long-term future. “We hope to communicate that every one of

us has a role to play in creating a welcoming environment for everyone

despite our differences. The transformation project may be affirming for

some and threatening for others. But in order to renew our nation in SA,

we have to stay engaged with both our comforts and discomforts. This will

involve renegotiating our identities and expectations so that all people can

feel at ease within the workplace as they play their role in maintaining

sustainable levels of excellence at the NRF and the country as a whole.”

Read about the information sessions which were hosted for

iThemba LABS colleagues over the past few weeks!

As discussed at the seminar, Rѐjane

outlines the 4 major stages which

the NRF will pursue in this

transformation project, which

includes:

∙ A diagnostic phase, which is a

review of existing NRF literature

pertaining to transformation, along

with interviews and focus groups

with staff members

∙ An organizational briefing and

contracting phase, where staff

members are informed on the

P A G E 9

shape and form which the project will

take during this intervention.

∙ A workshop implementation phase,

which entails workshops with the

executive team, managers and staff.

∙ Plans for 2016 and 2017, where the

research obtained in the first 3 phases

outlined above will be rolled out

practically to the organization.

An information session was

recently given by the EIT

(Electronics and Information

Technology) department, where

colleagues received a basic

introduction into IT policies that

outlined the acceptable and

unacceptable uses of internet,

e-mailing, downloading as well as

network monitoring and the

importance of creating strong

passwords that will ensure

maximum privacy and security.

These sessions will be further

conducted in detail by Melanie

Robertson and Neels Rabe in

future.

Basic Fire Fighting training sessions were recently introduced to staff members by the SHE (Safety Health and Environment) department. These sessions were facilitated by Andy Brodner from Cape Fire Services, and included a practical demonstration for colleagues on how to use a fire extinguisher in the event of a fire emergency on site. The SHE department will soon roll out this course to the rest of the company.

P A G E 1 0

CIT News!

The CIT (Community Interaction & Training) department has continued to

connect and participate with various communities in promotion of Science

advancement. CIT colleagues have been immersed with various National

Science Week (1st – 7

th August) activities, which included a public lecture

hosted for Matric learners by Department of Science & Technology, SAASTA

(South African Agency for Science & Technology Advancement), UWC

Science Faculty and iThemba LABS at the UWC Life Science Auditorium as

well as a 7-day Science exhibition for learners of all ages at AIMS (African

Institute for Mathematical Sciences) in Muizenberg. The CIT department is

also currently collaborating with colleagues from the Accelerator &

Engineering department as they facilitate science workshops and

motivational talks to learners and teachers in the Limpopo and Northern

Cape provinces.

Additionally, the iThemba LABS facility has also been visited by learners and

teachers from Parklands College (Table View, Cape Town) and UCT 1st year

students studying Engineering. These visitors all received lectures and

guided tours from the MRD, MEDRAD, Radionuclide Production and

Accelerator departments so that they may learn how the discipline of

Science is applied at our company.

P A G E 1 1

iThemba LABS in the media!

In promotion of the trip to Limpopo, Thulani Baloyi (Accelerator & Engineering) was interviewed by Giyani Community Radio (GCR FM) on 28

th and 30

th July 2015. “It

was such great exposure for me to interact with the learners and educators in the Mopani District,” said Thulani on air to Radio Presenter Ndalama Mabasa (known as ‘Ndalie bee’). “When I looked at their responses, I could feel that I have made a positive

Our CIT activities have also been

advertised during National Science

Week in Die Ghaap, a local Afrikaans

newspaper based in Postmasburg

that reaches out to various

communities in the Northern Cape.

Keep a lookout in the next Monthly

Beam edition for news on solar

power and vanadium, compiled by

Leandra Taylor for the Science Stars

magazine!

impact on most of the 2500 learners that I interacted with during those few days.” Thulani later reiterates that the iThemba LABS team got positive feedback from the educators, and the radio listeners kept phoning in while he was on air to express that they want this program to be hosted at their schools on an annual basis.

P A G E 1 2

Happy birthday to all staff

members who celebrated their

birthdays in July!

Wayne Kearns

Aurelia Pakati

Joele Mira

Pierre Louw

Ambrose Yaga

Tamsyn Rippon

Luyolo Sabsana

Carlos Pineda

Wilhelmina Zaal

∙ Tasneem Daniels,

CIT Communications Intern:

tasneem@tlabs.ac.za OR

ext. 1012

∙ Ambrose Yaga,

CIT Manager:

yaga@tlabs.ac.za

OR ext. 1012

Remember the Monthly Beam is YOUR staff newsletter — feel free to

reach out to us!

Our Monthly Beam editions are getting better and better each

month! Thank you to everyone who has generously shared their

news for the latest newsletter. You have really contributed to making

this edition a success! If you have some more news you’d like to

share in the upcoming edition, send your FULL details (photos and

information) to:

P A G E 1 3

‘IThemba LABS Cape’

Have YOU visited our online platforms?

Not only has our Facebook community

increased by 100 likes, ‘iThemba LABS

Cape’ is also now followed by the NRF

Science for Society, Science Stars magazine,

AIMS South Africa, Brandblocks Marketing

and The People’s University.

Come and see what you’re missing!

‘Like’ our page here:

https://www.facebook.com/iThembaLABS

Cape?ref=hl

Visit our website: http://tlabs.ac.za/