The latest from South Africa
IHearing app grows its reach
t's a world first - a smartphone app that enables people to test their hearing, says lead researcher Prof. De Wet Swanepoel. The app was created by a South African research team and it is being tried all over the world. More than 40 000 hearing tests have been done with a hearing app created by a South African team of researchers. The hear Screen app, provided on a smartphone, is being used in 25 countries worldwide, including Ethiopia, Australia and Guatemala.
Because of its success, the South African public can now use the hearing detecting app, hearZA. Speaking on talk radio station CapeTalk, Prof De Wet Swanepoel of the Department of SpeechLanguage Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria called the hearZA app "a super computer you have in your pocket". It helps anyone who is 16 or older to test their hearing.
Swanepoel explains the hearScreen app is provided on a smartphone with a calibrated headphone. This is to allow an accurate hearing test from an Android smartphone according to international standards. "It is not a consumer app but is provided preloaded on specific smartphones with a headphone." The hearScreen project started in 2013 but its beta launch was on World Hearing Day on 3 March 2016, he says. "By beta launch we mean that it is not the final product launch. We have launched to interested parties but based on experiences are still refining it for a final product launch in 2017."
The app is used in various settings from screenings in schools, early childhood development centres and primary healthcare clinics, to monitoring TB patients for drug-induced hearing loss and monitoring hearing status in occupational health settings, Swanepoel explains. - Source: www.brandsouthafrica.com
Creating world's biggest blanket
The 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Campaign encouraged people from all over the world, including offenders from across the country, to contribute handmade blankets towards creating a giant world record-breaking blanket, while contributing to a good cause.
On Monday, 23 January, the Department of Correctional Services, in partnership with 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela, celebrated the Guinness World Record's recognition of creating the world's biggest blanket, and the certification of offenders and officials who contributed to this success, in Drakenstein, Western Cape. The campaign for blanket-making in correctional centres was introduced in August 2015 as part of the offenders' rehabilitation program. The initiative offered an opportunity for inmates across the country to give back to society while empowering them with skills to function effectively in society upon their release.
A posthumous honor for late Hamilton Naki
The world's first adult human heart transplant was performed by South African cardiac surgeon Dr Chris Barnard on 3 December 1967, in Cape Town. Hamilton Naki was part of the research team that helped doctors achieve this pioneering medical success.
The city of Cape Town's Naming and Nomination Committee announced on 10 January 2017 that it was considering re-naming Salazar Plain in the CBD after Naki. Appropriately, Salazar Plain is located on the city's foreshore, opposite the Christian Barnard Hospital, named after the chief surgeon in the ground-breaking 1967 heart transplant operation, and with whom Naki worked closely to make the procedure a success. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic medical moment.
Naki was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe, one of South Africa's highest honors, for his outstanding contribution to medical science. He died in 2005, aged 78. Naki's legacy continues to inspire. The National Research Foundation's Hamilton Naki Award has, since 2015, honored outstanding individuals who have achieved world-class research performance despite considerable challenges.
Table Mountain Cableway recently welcomed its 26 millionth visitor to the mountain, with the latest million visitors having taken a record- breaking 11 months to reach! On a busy morning at the Lower Station Ticket Office, Elbie Mattheus from Cradock, Eastern Cape, stood unsuspecting as the numbers ticked closer to the million mark.
Surprised by fanfare and balloons, Elbie (accompanied by boyfriend Morne Viljoen) received a prize from the Cableway, including Cableway tickets, a Table Mountain CafÈ voucher, Shop at the Top merchandise, a Monopoly Cape Town set and a Jiva Grande Spa signature treatment followed by a delicious afternoon Tea for two at the prestigious Taj Cape Town Hotel. "This is my first time going up the mountain, so what an amazing surprise to be Cableway's 26 millionth visitor," said Elbie. "With limited time in Cape Town, this is definitely a must-do experience. I cannot wait to take in the views from the top."
Cableway Managing Director Wahida Parker said it had taken 28 years for the Cableway to record its first millionth visitor - in 1957. But thanks to consistent visitor numbers throughout 2016 and an increase in visitors during the usually quiet, colder months of winter, the Cableway was able to celebrate reaching the latest million visits in just 11 months. "As proud custodians of South Africa's New 7 Wonder of Nature we not only look forward to welcoming many more visitors to the Cableway but aim to showcase this magnificent attraction with continued excitement, respect and passion," said Parker.