Huntington’s disease: a 50/50 game of chance

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

The bionic leaf: how artificial plant life could wipe out poverty

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

Face-swap on steroids: How ‘deepfake’ videos are messing with reality

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

‘Raw water’, the loony fad that poses a massive health risk

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

Why the survival of NZ’s wildlife is in our hands

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

The Kiwi scientists exploring the hidden ocean beneath Antarctica’s largest ice shelf

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

Cheat Sheet: The Humanity Star aka the great disco ball in space          

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

Enough is enough. Academics must stand up against this bullshit

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

Summer Reissue: Is Siggi Henry New Zealand’s most dangerous city councillor?

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

Summer Reissue: Sorry Paleo Pete, but I’ll take medical qualifications over your ‘common sense’ any day

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

The kauri dieback muddle shows officials ignore Wikipedia at their peril

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

Kaikōura’s long and hazardous road to post-quake recovery

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

‘Blood will fall’: the bush Rambos at war with 1080

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

The NZ tech researchers working to make asthmatics’ lives a little easier

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

Just how freaked out should we be by predictions of more big earthquakes in 2018?

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

Our rating of NZ’s climate target? Not good enough. The heat is now on James Shaw

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

Could the solution to New Zealand’s quake-prone buildings already be on a shelf at Bunnings?

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

Why it’s so important to mark the anniversaries of earthquakes

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

I’m sorry, activists – but NZ’s climate target is actually fine

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

Imagine Edgecumbe, but far more often: Climate-proofing our valuable water infrastructure

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

‘Right now, we are all Truman’: how robots are changing the way humans talk

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

The science of Thor: Ragnarok (or how Hulk really can keep his pants on)

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

Killing with kindness

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