South African facility to bolster research and cancer treatment

Isotope facility boosts capacity at existing site in Cape Town

A facility has been launched in South Africa to boost nuclear-physics research and the production of cancer treatments at an existing site.

The South African Isotope Facility (Saif, pictured) is located at iThemba Labs in Cape Town and was launched on 9 June with funding and other support from the government’s Department of Science and Innovation. It expands iThemba Labs’ existing capacity to carry out research into subatomic physics and its application in fields including medicine, as well as its capacity to produce radioactive materials for cancer treatment.