Category: English

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kevin Naidoo, Professor of Scientific Computing and Physical Chemistry, University of Cape Town

In the intricate biology of the human body, organs such as the breast, the colon and the lungs are lined with a defensive barrier known as the epithelium. At the heart of this barrier sits a remarkable protein called Mucin-1 (MUC1). In a healthy body, MUC1 is like a sentinel.

It stands on the cell wall, draped in a complex “armour” of long chains of sugar molecules (carbohydrates), where it serves as a physical shield against bacteria, viruses and toxins. Crucially, it communicates with the immune system, telling our natural defences when the body is under threat.

But in the case of cancer, this guardian exchanges its sugar coat armour for shorter sugar chains and so turns into a traitor. It stops sending danger signals to the immune system and instead binds to the immune cells, creating an anti-inflammatory microenvironment that promotes tumours.

The team I lead at the Scientific Computing Research Unit at the University of Cape Town is home to computer modelling experts and experimental chemical biology research scientists. The molecular details of this MUC1 alteration, which contributes to the transformation of normal cells into tumour cells, were recently published in Nature Communications, and provide a new look at exactly how this process happens.

By developing a novel “test-tube” synthetic biology approach, we modelled and decoded the molecular assembly line reorganisation that allows cancer to “redecorate” MUC1, turning it from a protective shield into a cloak of invisibility. We used our own computational chemistry algorithms to map the exact sugar coating positions that create a tumour-promoting environment.

Understanding the location and nature of the MUC1 sugars that prevent the immune system from detecting tumours provides the foundation for our laboratory and others in the field to develop cancer vaccines, biomarkers and therapeutics.

This South African-led discovery represents a major leap forward in our ability to decode one of cancer’s most effective survival strategies.

The problem: a malignant makeover

In a normal cell, the sugar molecules attached to MUC1 are long and complex. The process of attaching sugars is called glycosylation. In cancer cells, however, this process goes haywire. The sugar molecules are often cut short or altered, creating “aberrant” structures like the Tn and sialyl-Tn (sTn) antigens. These are specific types of sugar-protein combinations that are tags for tumour cells.

These altered sugars do two dangerous things: they allow the tumour to evade detection by the immune system, and they actively trigger the process of turning a normal cell into a cancerous one.

Because MUC1 is found in so many different types of cancer, the US National Cancer Institute has ranked it as the most accesible target.

To stop the cascading effect of the MUC1 changes from normal to tumour cells, scientists first had to understand exactly how the “assembly line” breaks down.

The discovery: relocating the factory

Our research team set out to do something ambitious: recreate the transition from a healthy sugar coating to a cancerous one in a laboratory setting.

In normal cells, the enzymes that build these sugar chains (long molecules) live in a part of the cell called the Golgi apparatus, the cell’s “packaging and delivery centre”. We built an in vitro (test-tube) model to simulate what happens when these conditions change. We discovered that in tumour cells, the enzymes responsible for starting the sugar chains are relocated to another part of the cell, the endoplasmic reticulum, essentially the cell’s “factory floor”.

This relocation changes everything. Here, the enzymes are no longer inhibited by the usual cellular checks and balances. They take over the sugar sites on the MUC1 protein, creating the foundation for the cancerous Tn antigen.

To take the study even further, we used quantum chemistry. We simulated the behaviour of atoms and molecules at the most fundamental level to find out where these changes are most likely to happen. We identified a specific location on the MUC1 protein, known as the T13 site, which cancer enzymes prefer. This specific interaction is what drives the massive increase in the sTn antigen seen in malignant tumours.

Why this matters: from lab to patient

Understanding the “how” and the “where” of these sugar changes is the first step towards stopping them. The research didn’t stop at the test tube; the team is already looking at what this means for patients.

The next phase of the research, as detailed in a recent paper in Glycobiology, involves building a sophisticated “systems biology” computational model. A model can connect the changes in the MUC1 sugar coating to the behaviour of immune cells. For example, scientists found that when these cancerous sugars interact with macrophages (a type of white blood cell), they trigger the release of specific signals that tell the tumour to grow and spread.

We are refining these details for various types of cancer. We are comparing common forms of breast cancer with more aggressive, currently untreatable types to see if the “sugar code” differs between them.

By using this accurate, atomic-level data to build computer models of the entire biological system, we hope to identify new drugs that can block these signals. The goal is to move towards precision medicine: treatments that can strip away cancer’s sugar shield, allowing the patient’s own immune system to finally see and destroy the tumour.

– South African scientists make breakthrough in decoding cancer’s most effective survival strategy
– https://theconversation.com/south-african-scientists-make-breakthrough-in-decoding-cancers-most-effective-survival-strategy-283545

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anné H. Verhoef, Professor in Philosophy, North-West University

Can technology really replace human relationships? As philosophy scholars who focus on human happiness and on artificial intelligence (AI), we tackle this question in a recent paper.

In our study, we address the rise of AI companions, chatbots, and social robots for friendship, advice, emotional support, and even romance.

We argue that AI can reduce loneliness and provide assistance, but it lacks the genuine understanding, emotions, and moral responsibility needed for human flourishing.

Genuine happiness relies on authentic interpersonal connections, but AI is disrupting traditional ideas of friendship and relationships. Replacing these with AI-driven interactions risks eroding well-being and community.

Human happiness

The study of happiness is a broad field. In our paper, we turn to the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur to address an aspect of happiness that links to authentic human connections, friendships, and community building.

Ricoeur was particularly influential in the field of human capability and how people understand themselves, others and their world. He advanced our understanding of happiness by connecting it to unhappiness and chance, but also by emphasising the human relational nature of happiness. He makes three interrelated claims on what happiness means.

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Read more: What is happiness? A philosopher looks for answers

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First, happiness reflects the individual’s desire for a fulfilled life and personal agency. Yet, Ricoeur warns that human beings exist within complex social systems that shape and constrain their pursuit of happiness. So, we can’t easily secure happiness through individual effort alone. This leads to the second thread.

Second, happiness is no longer a private aspiration but emerges through giving and receiving. Its fragility lies in its shared character, which builds friendships to dispel loneliness and deepen fulfilment. But this is not just about the bonds we share with those who are close to us.

Ricoeur adds a third thread to include those distant from us. He argues that happiness is linked to an individual’s private pursuits and the role others play in enabling or frustrating them. “Others” includes those with faces – friends and loved ones – and faceless, distant strangers.

Happiness, then, may be located within the self, in intimate relationships, or in relations with the wider community.

Ricoeur’s account of the concept of happiness reflects a well known study that found that strong community ties help people live longer and happier lives.

The study draws on nearly 80 years of data from the lived experiences of 268 students who moved from Harvard University dorms to residential houses in 1938. The research shows that close relationships best predict longevity, health, and life satisfaction. Such ties protect against discontent, and delay physical and cognitive decline. They’re more reliable predictors of well-being and happiness than wealth or status.

However, the rise of digitalisation and AI now complicates who and what may count as “others” in the promotion of our individual happiness.

Robot technology

According to a study on how AI companionship develops, 68% of AI chatbot users perceive these tools as “somewhat” or “fully” humanlike, 90% believe chatbots are intelligent, 78% believe chatbots are empathetic, and 75% believe they’re conscious.

AI is being used to answer questions and probe human interests, shaping a new kind of dialogue in many spheres of life. With it, ideas of friendships are shifting to involve human-technology relations.

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Read more: Lifetime trends in happiness change as misery peaks among the young – new research

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Traditionally, the “others” in a person’s life have been human subjects. Emerging scholarship on human-technology relations challenges this assumption. Ranging from sport companions to sexual intimacy, these studies compel us to reconsider what counts as the other.

Technologies like Replika now occupy the role of the “other” in some people’s lives. This human-companion chatbot with the motto “the AI friend to do life with” has over 42 million global users at the time of writing. Replika is designed to foster companionship and friendship among those who feel lonely. Users create an avatar that becomes their digital companion.

Socially disruptive technologies like AI-driven social robots are designs that distort our traditional social norms, relations, and the way we see the world. One reason they’re considered disruptive is that they are unpredictable and continually challenge our worldviews. Historically, technologies were not moral agents. Today, however, they play the roles of moral subjects and objects in our lives.

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Read more: In a lonely world, widespread AI chatbots and ‘companions’ pose unique psychological risks

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For example, in Japan the hikikomori phenomenon, a state of human social reclusiveness, is gaining momentum, with over 1.5 million individuals becoming attached to virtual companions instead of other people.

An estimated 3,700 individuals have reportedly applied for marriage certificates through Gatebox with a holograph called Hatsune Miku. One marriage has already been registered. In some religious settings, social robots serve as religious leaders to a community of believers.

These technologies have disrupted traditional concepts such as friendships and relationships, and what it means to contribute towards human well-being and flourishing.

So can robots bring real happiness?

In our study we acknowledge that these technologies can foster human flourishing and happiness, but not from the standpoint of Ricoeur’s “others”.

They fail to satisfy the criteria for human otherness. The technologies:

• only mimic the experiences we share with them

• do not act out of their own “will”, and we cannot hold them responsible for any moral or legal action

• do not have stories and experiences of their own.

Social robots, though lacking sentience (the ability to feel pain or pleasure), can elicit meaningful emotional and psychological responses, enhancing human well-being and happiness in ways that resemble traditional human interactions. AI-driven social bots are always available, energetic, patient, adaptive, and responsive to our needs. In this regard, they seem to offer much more to our potential happiness than our best friends and families do.

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Read more: Evidence shows AI systems are already too much like humans. Will that be a problem?

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However, they are social bots and must remain as such. We must not confuse them with what the human others meant to Ricoeur or with what they meant in the Harvard study.

This because the experiences they elicit are not real, and they are not objects of moral considerations (receiving real care, justice, and sympathy). In our view, being an object of moral considerations is a necessary condition in promoting genuine human happiness and well-being.

– People are marrying holograms and making friends with chatbots. But can AI bring true happiness?
– https://theconversation.com/people-are-marrying-holograms-and-making-friends-with-chatbots-but-can-ai-bring-true-happiness-284872

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Heike Becker, Professor of Anthropology, University of the Western Cape

Celebrated Namibian liberation leader Andimba Toivo ya Toivo played an important role in his country’s development. Beyond Namibia, however, he remains unknown to many.

Anthropologist Heike Becker has written a biography of ya Toivo, finally telling his story in full. We asked her four questions about the man and the book.

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Why is he little known outside Namibia?

It’s true, few know about ya Toivo, even though his legacy includes one of the most powerful speeches from the dock ever made during the struggles against settler colonialism in southern Africa.

His contribution remains overshadowed because he never became the official leader of the liberation movement that he’d founded in 1957, Swapo (South West Africa People’s Organisation). Nor did he become Namibia’s president. These positions were occupied by Sam Nujoma, who is regarded as the official “founding father” of the nation.

During the decades of the Namibian liberation struggle, Nujoma, who had lived in exile from 1960, had become internationally well-known. Ya Toivo was jailed on Robben Island until 1984.

Unusually for his generation, he did not clamber for power. He influenced people through his “stubborn” example, as his lifelong friend and fellow political prisoner Helao Shiyuwete remembered. Although I met ya Toivo informally in the 1990s, the book is based on speaking with his peers and young Namibians, along with extensive archive and film material.

Many who knew him recall his defiance, his self-discipline, his determination to reach his goals, and his friendliness. (Though he could be very strict, as one of his daughters recalled during his memorial service in 2017.)

My book begins to highlight his central role in shaping the Namibian liberation struggle. It also shows that he continued to advocate for social justice, fighting corruption and tribalism, after Namibia’s independence in 1990.

Who was Andimba Toivo ya Toivo?

Ya Toivo was born in 1924 in Omangudu in northern Namibia, where his father was a lay preacher and teacher under the Finnish Lutheran mission. His mother was from the royal family of Ondonga, one of the historical Owambo kingdoms.

As a boy he herded cattle and received primary education from the mission. During the second world war, he was a soldier with the South African Native Military Corps, a unit of the racially segregated South African army.

Although Namibia was officially administered under a League of Nations mandate, South Africa governed it as a de facto fifth province, so about 5,000 black Namibians were recruited into the neighbouring country’s army. After his discharge in 1943, ya Toivo went back to school in northern Namibia.

In the early 1950s, ya Toivo moved to South Africa. In 1957, he and other Namibians formed the Ovamboland People’s Congress, the forerunner of Swapo. Their inaugural meeting was held at a Cape Town barber shop owned by Namibians. The founders adopted a petition, demanding that the administration of Namibia be transferred from South Africa to the United Nations.

They also called for the end of Namibia’s detested contract labour system, established under German colonial rule. The petition included demands for the rights of women in the workplace.

At the time, the South African government had extended its apartheid policies of racial and ethnic separation to its colony, Namibia, then known as South West Africa. Because of his activism, the South African regime deported ya Toivo. In northern Namibia he continued to play a vital role in organising anticolonial resistance, despite the regime’s severe measures to contain him.

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Read more: A man called Hope: the legacy of Namibia’s Andimba Toivo ya Toivo

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In 1967, the South African regime clamped down. Ya Toivo and 36 others were charged with “terrorism”. On trial in Pretoria he drew international attention to the Namibian liberation struggle with a formidable speech in the court room. He told the judge, the apartheid regime and the world about the determination of the Namibian people:

I know that the struggle will be long and bitter, but I also know that my people will wage that struggle whatever the cost.

Sentenced to 20 years in prison, ya Toivo spent 16 years on Robben Island, where he continued his defiant resistance alongside his fellow Namibian prisoners. He also made friends with South African resistance leaders like Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.

In 1984 he was released and joined Swapo in exile. Between the 1960s and the much delayed implementation of the Namibian independence plan in 1989, Swapo’s political-diplomatic and armed struggle was led mainly from southern Africa’s frontline states, particularly Zambia and Angola.

What did you learn writing this book?

Researching the biography, I realised that it could bring attention to lesser-known dimensions of the Namibian liberation struggle. I became particularly interested in the experience of, and the role played by, about 200 Namibian workers who, like ya Toivo, found themselves in Cape Town in the 1950s.

Their experiences of displacement and migration were significant for early nationalist politics, as were their political contacts in Cape Town. This transnational aspect deserves more attention.

Ya Toivo’s first sojourn in South Africa, as a soldier, had raised his political awareness. One Namibian activist, Leonard Lidker, was 11 when he met ya Toivo in Odibo in 1944. He recalls him spending evenings telling young students about the importance of standing up for equality and justice.

Later, in Cape Town, ya Toivo became involved with South African anti-apartheid organisations, left-wing intellectuals and activists. This influenced the ways in which he organised his fellow Namibians, workers, and also a handful of students studying at the Cape.

When Namibians like ya Toivo joined the migration to South Africa, they managed to break through what had previously been a sealed door to the outside world. In Cape Town, the mid-1950s were a period of blossoming life and activism. Despite the apartheid restrictions, social intermingling remained possible.

Easter weekend camps, for instance, brought people together in seaside suburbs. Ya Toivo recalled that these were an eye-opener because it was the first time that he saw people of different racial categories mingling freely.

The events were organised by the Modern Youth Society, a multiracial left-wing group of activists. Ya Toivo would become the group’s vice-chair.

What is his legacy and why is he still so relevant?

Throughout his long life, ya Toivo remained committed to the fight for justice, against inequality, poverty, tribalism and corruption. As an internationalist and opposed to ethnic politics, he forged connections and solidarities across national, cultural and social divides.

His farewell speech in the Namibian National Assembly in 2005 reminded Namibians to continue the struggle for social justice. He issued a stern warning against greed and self-enrichment to those who had come to power after liberation.

Ya Toivo’s life and vision remain relevant a decade after his death at 92. His legacy continues to inspire those devoted to social justice and unity. This includes a new generation of Namibian activists, who never met him in person and who have been given voice in the book. They have taken up ya Toivo’s call to complete the “unfinished struggle”.

– Who was Andimba Toivo ya Toivo? The Namibian leader who chose justice over power
– https://theconversation.com/who-was-andimba-toivo-ya-toivo-the-namibian-leader-who-chose-justice-over-power-283978

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jarred H Martin, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Pretoria

Student mental health has become one of the defining challenges facing universities worldwide. In South Africa, these concerns are often framed around reports which point to anxiety, burnout and academic pressure. With this comes the call for expanded student counselling and crisis services.

These concerns are important. Previous research has shown that university students in South Africa face mental health challenges shaped by financial strain, inequality, academic pressure and social stressors. Studies conducted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have also shown how isolation and loss of support affected students’ mental health and wellbeing.

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Read more: Mental health: almost half of Johannesburg students in new study screened positive for probable depression

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But mental health is not only the absence of distress or illness. It is also the presence of wellbeing: feeling connected to others, being satisfied with one’s life overall, and having the ability to manage everyday challenges and participate meaningfully in one’s community.

Our recent study suggests that this broader view matters. As psychologists and researchers, we wanted to better understand the factors that help university students flourish.

We surveyed 1,366 students at a public, in-contact South African university to examine what influences student mental health and wellbeing. We looked at structural factors, such as socioeconomic status, food security, financial strain and living conditions. We also examined academic pressures and psychosocial factors. These included life satisfaction, loneliness, sexual wellbeing, and health-related social support (help from friends, family and others to maintain a person’s physical and mental health).

The findings suggest that students are more likely to flourish when they experience both material security and psychosocial support, including greater life satisfaction, stronger social support for their health, and lower levels of loneliness.

Coping, but not all thriving

Most students in our study were not languishing, a state characterised by low levels of wellbeing and a sense of disconnection, stagnation, or lack of purpose. But many were also not flourishing, which refers to high levels of emotional, psychological and social wellbeing.

About two-thirds (66%) of participants were classified as having moderate mental health. Just over a quarter (28%) were flourishing, while around 6% were languishing.

This matters because students with moderate mental health may appear to be coping. They may attend class, complete assignments, and continue with their studies. But coping is not the same as thriving.

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Read more: Words about mental health need to align with people’s understanding of well being

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The distinction is important because flourishing has been associated with stronger psychological functioning, better social relationships, improved academic engagement and greater resilience when facing life’s challenges.

For universities, this means student mental health strategies should consider not only how to address and reduce distress, but also what enables students to flourish.

Two different student profiles

One of the clearest findings from our study was that students tended to fall into two broad profiles.

The first group, which we called “Strained and Stressed”, was characterised by greater financial strain, poorer food security, lower life satisfaction, weaker social support for health, and higher loneliness.

The second group, which we called “Resourced and Supported”, had greater material security, stronger psychosocial resources, more health-related social support and higher life satisfaction. These students also reported better mental health outcomes and were less lonely.

This highlights an important reality for South African universities: student wellbeing is shaped by both material circumstances and psychosocial resources. Financial strain, food insecurity and unstable living conditions matter, but so do social connection, support, life satisfaction and the ability to manage one’s health.

In other words, student mental health is both a material and relational issue.

Why connection matters

Psychosocial factors showed the strongest associations with mental health in our study. Students who reported greater life satisfaction and social support for health reported better mental health. Loneliness was associated with poorer wellbeing.

This aligns with previous research showing that social connection and belonging are central to student wellbeing.

This does not mean universities should stop investing in counselling and psychological services. These services remain essential, particularly for students experiencing significant distress.

But counselling services alone cannot carry the full burden of student wellbeing. Universities also need to create environments in which students can build meaningful relationships and experience a sense of belonging.

This could be through promoting peer mentoring programmes, student societies, residence-based support, orientation programmes that extend beyond the first few weeks of university, and structured opportunities for students to connect across academic and social spaces.

The overlooked role of sexual wellbeing

One finding stood out because it is rarely discussed in South African higher education research: students who reported higher sexual wellbeing also tended to report better mental health.

Sexual wellbeing is not simply the absence of disease, dysfunction or risk. It includes feeling safe, respected, comfortable and able to exercise agency in intimate relationships.

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Read more: South African students still don’t feel safe on campus: how protection can be stepped up

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This is important because much of the South African research on student sexuality has understandably focused on sexual violence and risk. These remain urgent issues.

But our findings suggest that universities should also consider the positive dimensions of sexual wellbeing as part of holistic student health. A student’s sense of safety, respect and autonomy in intimate life may be connected to their broader wellbeing.

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Read more: Sex, money and love: what South African university students say about romance and dating in a material age

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This does not mean that sexual wellbeing should replace risk-prevention work. Rather, it suggests that student wellness programmes should be broad enough to address both protection from harm and the conditions that allow students to experience dignity, agency and wellbeing.

What universities can do

The findings highlight three priorities.

First, universities must, with the support of government and other relevant agencies, continue addressing the structural barriers that shape student wellbeing. Financial hardship, food insecurity and living conditions remain serious pressures. Support systems such as food programmes, accommodation assistance and academic flexibility are not peripheral to mental health. They are part of the conditions that make wellbeing possible.

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Read more: Student hunger at South African universities needs more attention

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Second, universities should invest in and support social networking interventions that create durable social connections among their student communities. Students experiencing greater loneliness are more likely to report poorer mental health. This means that belonging should not be treated as an optional aspect of university life. It is central to the wellbeing of young adults.

Third, universities should adopt a broader view of student wellbeing and implement targeted support interventions which encourage multiple dimensions of wellbeing. Our findings support a “whole-university” approach to health promotion. This integrates student wellbeing across the university ecosystem. Mental health, belonging, academic success, as well as physical and sexual wellbeing, cannot be addressed through disconnected health and support services.

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Read more: Family, community and university support helps lesbian students thrive

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Student mental health is often discussed only in terms of crisis. Our findings suggest that universities should focus equally on the conditions that help students thrive.

For South African universities, this means combining structural support with psychosocial care to create environments where students can flourish – not merely survive, but fully participate in university life and realise their potential.

– What’s overlooked in student mental health in South Africa: social connection and sexual wellbeing
– https://theconversation.com/whats-overlooked-in-student-mental-health-in-south-africa-social-connection-and-sexual-wellbeing-285001