Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, Don Rowe asks a space scientist if we’re all dead courtesy of a Chinese space station set to hit Earth this month. What’s all this then? An out of control Chinese space station is expected to smash into … Read more
In New Zealand, as in the rest of the world, the climate change conversation tends to focus on fossil fuels and renewable energy. But, asks Kieran Martin, when methane in the atmosphere can do far more damage than carbon dioxide, shouldn’t we thinking harder about cows? When it comes to fossil fuels we know what … Read more
Today is International Rare Disease Day. Dorothy McLean talks to two women about the heartbreaking decision to take the test for Huntington’s Chorea, a deadly and debilitating hereditary disease with no known cure. Leanne* never knew her biological father. The man simply never wanted a part in her life. Then, age 44, he killed himself. Leanne was … Read more
As the world’s population continues to rise, energy and food needs are both projected to grow beyond the capacity of existing technologies. Harvard chemist Dan Nocera anticipates that only a major shift will get us through, and he thinks NZ could play a pivotal role, writes Vernoika Meduna Take sunshine and water and power the … Read more
Deepfake software has been used to create pornographic videos using the face of celebrities like Emma Watson, Natalie Portman and Gal Gadot. But in the age of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’, the deepfake problem could get a lot worse, explains computer graphics professor Neil Dodgson. Over the past few weeks, a large number of … Read more
Forget bottled water – the new ‘health’ craze for those who reject tap water is raw, untreated water from rivers and springs. New Zealanders shouldn’t need to be told what a terrible idea that is, writes biological scientist Dr Alison Campbell. ‘Raw water’ is the latest foolish fad to hit people’s screens, pockets – and, … Read more
The idea that New Zealand’s threatened species can somehow safely ‘co-exist’ with the onslaught of introduced predators is irresponsible and untrue, writes the Department of Conservation’s Nicola Toki. New Zealand is facing a biodiversity crisis. With more than 4000 species in trouble, some scientists have given us the dubious honour of the country with the … Read more
From November through to January, a multi-disciplinary team of experts from New Zealand melted a hole through the Ross Ice Shelf to explore the hidden ocean below. Team members Christina Hulbe and Craig Stevens take us through the findings. Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf is the world’s largest floating slab of ice: it’s about the size … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, the geodesic sphere deposited into space from the east coast of the North Island. What’s going on? The Humanity Star is the spinny, shimmering sphere that was zapped the other day into orbit from the Mahia Peninsula, New … Read more
Just how worried should NZ homo sapiens be about talk around a surge in shark numbers in our shore, and the unexpected visitors to Oriental Bay. Alice Webb-Liddall talks to Riley Elliott. It’s a scorcher of a summer, and as reliable as sun burn and ice creams come the shark headlines. The Jaws effect, even … Read more
I would love for Doug Edmeades to be right, as I would sleep better at night, but the arguments he trots out have been debunked over and over again, writes climate scientist James Renwick. Some memes never die. Every time you shoot them down they just get up again like the zombies they are. “Satellite … Read more
Shocking revelations around a clinical trial of a new tuberculosis vaccine are just the tip of the iceberg. Maintaining public trust in science depends on a new approach to transparency, writes Siouxsie Wiles Ten years ago, Dr Ben Goldacre published Bad Science, a book described by The Economist as “a fine lesson in how to skewer the … Read more
She’s an anti-vaccination, anti-fluoride campaigner who believes measles is a hoax and polio can be cured with vitamin C. Meet Siggi Henry, one of the most powerful people in our fourth largest city. Angela Cuming reports. This post was first published on July 13, 2017. When Hamilton councillor Siggi Henry wore a tinfoil hat to … Read more
Every time celebrity chef Pete Evans talks about his ‘wellness’ beliefs, scientists and doctors line up to counter them with peer-reviewed research and established facts. That’s because Evans’ ‘common sense’ sounds a lot like utter nonsense, writes Dr Siouxsie Wiles. This post was originally published on April 3, 2017. “What do you need a qualification … Read more
When people want information, they go to the online encyclopedia. So why is public money being showered on messages that hardly anyone sees while Wikipedia is overlooked, asks Mike Dickison. Kauri dieback is in the news. After 10 years of spread, this incurable fatal disease has infected up to 80% of trees in some parts … Read more
Thirteen months after it was shattered by an earthquake that ruptured more than 20 faults and triggered thousands of landslides, State Highway 1 is reopening north of Kaikōura. The fragility of the land has brought extraordinary challenges for the rebuild, writes Veronika Meduna Today is a big day for people north of Kaikōura – and … Read more
Alan Tennyson of Te Papa describes the discovery of colossal fossils in an Otago boulder, and how it helps us better understand ancient penguin species. The emperor penguin is an impressive bird – but it would have been relatively small in comparison with some of the giant penguins that lived in the distant past. In … Read more
The threats over DOC use of the anti-predator poison reveal a crack opening up between urban perception and rural values. We need to grasp its seismic nature, before somebody gets hurt, writes Dave Hansford In October, somebody let a herd of sika deer into north Taranaki forest. Then they sent the Department of Conservation a … Read more
Scientists hope to help asthma sufferers and others needing oxygen at home by developing ‘molecular sponges’ with nanoscale-sized pores to purify the air. There’s possibly nothing more frightening than struggling to take a breath. Something asthmatics and others with respiratory diseases know all too well. Many of these people depend on portable oxygen concentrators, small … Read more
According to media reports, a slowing of the Earth’s rotation is likely to bring an increase in the number of severe quakes. What do NZ scientists say? The report follows a conference presentation last month by two US researchers who suggest a slowing of Earth’s rotation is correlated with an increase in earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher. … Read more
The Climate Action Tracker reveals the NZ ambition is not ‘fine’ as claimed, writes Bill Hare, a physicist and climate scientist and a former lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New Zealand’s new climate change minister James Shaw is stepping on to the international stage for the first time in his new … Read more
Auckland University researchers say beams of timber stuck onto the backs of unreinforced masonry façades could be a cheap and simple way to stop them collapsing in an earthquake. Laura McQuillan investigates. Owners of nearly 140 buildings from Lower Hutt to Canterbury have been given until the end of March to secure unreinforced masonry façades … Read more
Whether it’s one year or, in the case of the formidable Alpine fault, 300, looking back to these events should motivate action on building resilience, writes Ursula Cochran of GNS. First, we remember the dead. The two Kaikōura earthquake victims weren’t killed by the earthquake so much as by failure of the buildings they were … Read more
The issue is not the government’s target to reduce emissions, but how we will achieve it, argues Dave Frame of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute The verdict on New Zealand’s climate targets is in. The judge dismissed the case. This is not always clear in media reports – some of them focusing on details … Read more
Thom Adams explains why he posted more than 200 intriguing and false facts on the internet, and how he learned that he too has an idiot brain. As a science educator, my stock and trade is in truth. My job involves taking complicated or broad concepts and making them accessible to a range of different … Read more
With much of New Zealand’s water infrastructure particularly vulnerable to the growing dangers of climate change, Iain White and Alexandra Keeble argue that investing in new systems and flexible solutions are key to future-proofing for an uncertain future. It’s not something you expect to see on the streets of New Zealand: raw sewage bubbling up … Read more
Humans susceptibility to group pressure extends to pressure from a group consisting solely of robots, according to new research conducted by Dr Christoph Bartneck. Robots are changing the way we talk, and so the way we think. Don Rowe talks to Dr Bartneck and asks the question on everyone’s lips: is it time to freak … Read more
Professor Michael Milford and his colleague Juxi Leitner assess the scientific plausibilities of Thor: Ragnarok and finds them difficult but not always impossible. Thor: Ragnarok is the latest Marvel movie out today that sees Chris Hemsworth back as Thor, but he’s not on friendly home turf. Instead he finds himself imprisoned on the opposite side of the universe … Read more
As New Zealanders rally our collective efforts in the pursuit of the ‘crazy and ambitious’ goal of a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050, we mustn’t lose our hearts, writes Nicola Toki. In 2003, freshly minted with a Zoology degree, I began my first job with the Department of Conservation. It only took a couple … Read more