The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community. I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, part of … Read more
A new, more infectious strain of the Covid-19 virus has reportedly emerged in the UK, prompting the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to announce new restrictions to try to curb its spread. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA … Read more
The government this morning announced two new vaccine procurements that will provide enough to vaccinate all New Zealanders, will roll out beginning in the second quarter of next year. Below, expert response, via the Science Media Centre. Michael Baker It is very good to see these details about the next major step in New Zealand’s … Read more
All this week we’re looking back on some of the best videos published on The Spinoff in 2020. Today, 100 Year Forecast looks at the future of flooding in New Zealand. Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Aotearoa is a steep and rugged country. Our settlements are … Read more
But this must not be about blame, writes Shane Cronin The decision by WorkSafe, a government agency focused on workplace safety, to bring criminal charges against 13 parties in relation to last December’s eruption of Whakaari/White Island heralds a new chapter for volcano scientists in New Zealand. On December 9 2019, 22 people died and … Read more
Visitors travel from far and wide to Northland’s Waipoua Forest, home of Tāne Mahuta, one of the largest trees in the world. But with the forest under threat from the spread of kauri dieback, are they putting Tāne Mahuta and his brothers and sisters at risk? Into Darkness is part of Frame, a series of short … Read more
Every year high school biology teachers gather to learn the latest in science. This year there’s a lot to catch up on, Maurice Wilkins Centre organisers Rachel Heeney and Dave Grattan tell The Spinoff. Last year, terms like “elimination strategy”, “flatten the curve” and “sustained transmission” were foreign to the majority of New Zealanders. Next … Read more
A new New Zealand study offers some important lessons on how the coronavirus can spread aboard an aircraft. One of the good things about New Zealand pursuing an elimination strategy for Covid-19 (aside from the obvious) is that we are able to help answer some of the questions there are about how the SARS-CoV-2 virus … Read more
Take a 19th century German scientist, a 21st century disease and add the internet: the result is a dangerous upsurge in Covid-denial nonsense, writes Siouxsie Wiles. I’ve had quite a few messages from people who believe they have evidence that Covid-19, or more specifically the virus responsible, SARS-CoV-2, doesn’t exist. They even believe they have … Read more
Auckland Council is warning its citizens to keep an eye on children and dogs at the beach this summer as washed-up toxic grey side-gilled sea slugs pose a grave threat. What’s this sea slug I’m hearing about? The grey side-gilled sea slug (Pleurobranchaea maculata) may be native to our beautiful country, but it could be … Read more
How would this promised Pfizer vaccine get from the factory to being administered? Does this mean we can stop doing things to stop Covid-19 transmission? And what does 90% effective really mean? Siouxsie Wiles takes on some important questions around this promising development. It’s all go on the Covid vaccine front this week. While the … Read more
A potential Covid-19 vaccine is showing promising signs during overseas trials, and 1.5 million doses could arrive in New Zealand as early as the start of next year. A potential vaccination for Covid-19 that’s been tested on 44,000 people is being hailed a success as early trials show it working in 90% of patients. University … Read more
Our failures threaten the wellbeing of all of us – and our descendants, writes Mike Joy. Our failure to protect the ecosystems on which we depend on for our wellbeing is galling. A raft of recent Ministry for the Environment reports on New Zealand’s environmental performance reveal that far from improving, we are not even … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: the lifestyle changes it brought on. This project was made … Read more
The pandemic has only exposed the systemic healthcare inequities that already existed, write two NZ health professionals working on the Covid response at opposite ends of the world. Far from being some “great leveller”, the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be more like water in a New Zealand rental home: seeping into all of the … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: From traffic accidents and seasonal flu to heart disease, the … Read more
LSD was criminalised across the world in the late 1960s, following a moral panic about the effect recreational use was having on young people. After a 40 year hiatus on medical use, LSD is being studied once more. Helen Glenny explains. Mel Elwin, 36, swallowed five large pills and washed them down with water. She … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: part two, environmental impacts. This project was made possible thanks … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today, part one: the lockdown halt. This project was made possible … Read more
To celebrate Recycling Week, Vanessa Young explains the essential role of nano-recycling in making the most of the tiny-scale but potentially harmful waste from batteries, circuit boards and more For most of us recycling means jars, bottles, tins (and the sprint to get the bin out as the truck comes up the street). If we … Read more
At the forefront of the race for a coronavirus vaccine are researchers at Oxford University, who are working ‘with great care and due haste’. Six months ago, several hundred volunteers began participation in a clinical trial of the vaccine. Among them was UK-based NZ journalist Richard Adams. I can’t talk now, I told the caller, because … Read more
The effort to defeat the coronavirus relies on many layers of defence. Or, let’s call them, slices of cheese. One thing that has really irked me during Covid-19 has been the labelling of any mistake in our systems or any unexpected transmission of the virus as a failure. Yes, I understand that the media and … Read more
The connection between cannabis use and psychosis is far more murky than asserted by yesterday’s article on The Spinoff, writes Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, an expert in how psychoactive drugs modify brain and behaviour. Yesterday, separate articles appeared on The Spinoff and on Newsroom (written by a colleague of mine) that raised concerns about potential links between … Read more
The government has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. But what exactly is the vaccine, who’s likely to get it and when? Siouxsie Wiles talks us through it. This week the New Zealand government announced it has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. If everything goes according … Read more
Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Climate change is big and it can feel overwhelming. It may seem like New Zealand does not have a big part to play in any solutions to the global problem. Yet despite our low total emissions, our emissions per person are … Read more
Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Aotearoa’s ecosystems are already under strain from habitat loss and introduced pest species. A warmer climate, more extreme weather and rising sea levels will intensify these stresses. This episode explores which plants and animals are under threat and how New Zealand … Read more
Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Aotearoa is a steep and rugged country. Our settlements are concentrated in pockets of fertile floodplains, around river mouths or along coastlines. During the last few decades, these places have experienced increased river and coastal flooding. As sea levels rise and … Read more
Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. The future of rainfall in Aotearoa is complicated. As the country warms up, some places will get drier, while others will become far wetter. These changes will not be spread evenly through the year. Some places will have wetter winters and … Read more
Watch all five episodes of 100 Year Forecast on our special interactive website HERE. Aotearoa is getting warmer. How do we know this, and what will happen over the next 100 years? Watch episode one here: 100 Year Forecast explores what Aotearoa might look like in the next 100 years if we don’t take climate … Read more