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Home » Carte Blanche Investigates a Namaqualand Genetic Mystery

Carte Blanche Investigates a Namaqualand Genetic Mystery

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 16 January in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from 18 January if you’re abroad. Here’s what’s coming up this week on Carte Blanche: MEDICAL A Genetic Mystery   When a geneticist from Cape Town headed to Namaqualand to figure out why so many people were […]

By SAPeople Contributor
16-01-22 00:33
in Business
genetic testing carte blanche
Image Credit: youtube

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 16 January in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from 18 January if you’re abroad. Here’s what’s coming up this week on Carte Blanche:

MEDICAL

A Genetic Mystery  

When a geneticist from Cape Town headed to Namaqualand to figure out why so many people were developing bowel cancer, he couldn’t have imagined that his research would lead to the discovery of a home-grown genetic mutation affecting generations of people. Now, every year a team of medical experts travels to the far corners of this district, armed with state-of-the-art equipment, to treat those known to be at risk and offer hope for a longer life. (Producer: Annalise Lubbe | Presenter: Derek Watts)

Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now

Groote Schuur Hospital genetic counsellor Gillian Dusterwald told SAPeople: “The condition is called Lynch Syndrome. It is a rare disease that occurs in people all over the world when a change occurs in a gene that usually protects against cancers. If a parent carries a change in the gene, their children are at 50% risk of inheriting the same change. This genetic change increases the risk of colorectal cancer to about 60% (the general population is at about 5% risk of getting colorectal cancer and usually at an older age). It also increases the risk that a woman gets womb cancer. Other cancers also occur at a higher rate.

“People with Lynch syndrome should have annual colonoscopy and gynaecological surveillance so that potential cancers can be detected early and removed. The Northern Cape has few services and so this project has been ongoing for the past 26 years, saving lives. My job is to assess people at risk and offer testing where appropriate. There are a high number of people in the Northern Cape with a specific change that has been passed down for several hundred years… And that is what Carte Blanche will be showing.”

A Mechanical Heartbeat 

What happens when your heart starts to slowly give up on you?  In South Africa, hundreds of patients are desperate for a life-saving transplant, but the pandemic has slowed surgeries to a trickle.  Now, their last hope at life rests in a small miracle of medical technology. (Producer: Liz Fish | Presenter: Derek Watts)

Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now

INVESTIGATIONS

Claire Mawisa: “Last year, I was at the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe and witnessed how SANDF members participated in illegal activities at the borderline fence. This week, I’m glad to report that I went to the border fence between South Africa and Mozambique and the experience was completely different. SANDF soldiers were visible and seemed diligent in their duties in patrolling the border fence. So, how is it possible that hundreds of stolen vehicles still make it across to Mozambique illegally – if not through the border post, then through the fence itself?”  

 Cross-Border Crimes  

Vehicle theft in South Africa is nothing new. In fact, most motorists in the country are on high alert every time they get behind the wheel. For criminals, it used to be a relatively uncomplicated and well-orchestrated gig to smuggle stolen vehicles quietly across the border to their new owners. But as motorists wise up, and security tightens, syndicates have been forced to get creative. The result? A criminal trifecta: home invasions, hostage-taking and stolen vehicles. Carte Blanche investigates how the victims of crime in KwaZulu Natal could now find themselves dumped in a foreign country. (Producer: Nicky Troll | Presenter: Claire Mawisa)

Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now

REPORTAGE

Eastern Cape Floods  

It began as an ordinary overcast morning; minutes later large parts of East London and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape were submerged. Severe thunderstorms battered the province, causing massive flooding and leaving hundreds of people bewildered and destitute. Now, after weeks of unusual torrential rains in some parts of the country, Carte Blanche explores the role of climate change in these extreme weather events. (Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli)

If you’re in SA – you can watch Carte Blanche on DStv Now.

If you’re overseas – you can watch #CarteBlanche from Tuesdays, and thousands of other popular local South African shows & movies by subscribing to Showmax International now. You can try it FREE for 14 days. 

Carte Blanche is on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], 16 January 2022  at 19:00 & & again on M-Net Plus 1 [901] at 20:00

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Please note: Carte Blanche is only available to international Showmax subscribers in Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Not all titles are available in all territories. Showmax brings you the best South African series and movies, from the classics to the latest releases, from complete box sets to kids’ favourites.

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