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preface
P R E F A C E
and Indian Oceans respectively, as well as the Southern Ocean stretching from the Cape to
Antarctica. The establishment of the new Africa Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science
(ACCESS) is highlighted as an example of collaboration between oceanography and atmos-
pheric sciences. The atmospheric sciences received a resurgence of interest in the 990s as
climate change and air quality issues came to the fore. In South Africa, the large international
Southern African Fire Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI) in 99 and again in 000 pro-
pelled South African scientists on to the global stage. Although there is a widespread inter-
est in atmospheric sciences at South African universities, meteorology is taught at a single
university, the University of Pretoria, and is geared towards the training of meteorologists for
the South African Weather Services. In a water scarce country such as South Africa, it is not
surprising that hydrological research is strong and is well supported by the Water Research
Commission.
In Chapter 7, William Pick provides an interesting account of the early history of health and
medical sciences in South Africa, and highlights some of the significant achievements in the
first part of the twentieth century. These include pre-eminent research in diseases affecting
mineworkers, such as tuberculosis, silicosis and asbestosis; significant virological research and
the development of vaccines against typhus, plague, influenza and yellow fever; influential
research on nutritional diseases that can also be traced to the needs of the mining industry;
a few global firsts in transplant surgery; and research that contributed to the development of
diagnostic imaging equipment, some of which resulted in the subsequent award of a Nobel
prize. The 990s marked a major shift towards socially relevant research and an upsurge in
international contacts. The Medical Research Council (MRC) identified tuberculosis, malaria,
nutrition intervention, trauma, AIDS and urbanisation as research priorities and introduced a
system of national research programmes in these priority areas. Since 000, there has been
a dramatic increase in government funding to the MRC, such that medical research account-
ed for over 5% of South Africa’s research and development spend in 006. There has also
been a large injection of external funding into the country which has significantly benefited
medical research. Some recent research highlights include the European and Developing
Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, which is hosted by the MRC and provides funding for
clinical trials research on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS; the South African AIDS Vaccine
Initiative (SAAVI), which has over two hundred South African-based scientists and techni-
cians working synergistically with colleagues in developed countries, and which has made
remarkable progress in the development of potential vaccines against HIV/AIDS, but has also
led to the development of modern laboratories where advanced biomedical techniques are
employed; and the Centre of Excellence for TB research, which has undertaken work of global
significance in combating multiple drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR)
tuberculosis in South Africa and beyond. Another exciting new development is in the field
of biotechnology, with South African companies, government agencies and universities ac-
tively developing products, many of which will have relevant health applications.

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