It’s not the screen use that’s the problem, but the type of content we’re consuming right before sleep. In both Europe and the US, more than 90% of adolescents have their faces buried in screens before bed. Often, this comes at a cost to sleep. Frequent screen users are much more likely to report falling … Read more
If humans become extinct, what will take our place at the top of the pile? Luc Bussiere of University of Stirling takes a stab at it. Originally published by the Conversation in 2016 In a post-apocalyptic future, what might happen to life if humans left the scene? After all, humans are very likely to disappear long … Read more
Whether you’re heading into rabies territory overseas or visiting the measles ward at your local hospital, there’s a shot for that. Without the wonders of modern medicine, many of us would never have reached adulthood. I can already see Darwinists raging against the biomedical machine and insisting that we cull the weak, so I’ve got … Read more
The privilege many 21st-century parents think they have – to choose what illness will befall their children and how they will recover from it – is a relatively new phenomenon, writes historian Ayelet Zoran-Rosen Vaccines save lives. They have saved millions of lives in the last century, and the best proof of their success is the … Read more
After being lobbied to take a stand on scientific terms, the prime minister’s chief science adviser attempted to find out who makes the call on whether or not to approve an application by a majority-Malaysian-owned company to mine at the fossil-rich volcanic site near Middlemarch in Otago. Is someone, somewhere, is sitting in an office … Read more
May 20 – 26 is macular degeneration awareness week. The subject is a personal one for Grant Thompson and his daughter Donna, who have both been diagnosed the condition which can lead to blindness. “I thought I just needed new glasses, but my optometrist told me I was going blind.” When Grant Thompson was diagnosed … Read more
Wastewater testing provides an objective, standardised way of assessing levels of drug usage, and that has manifold benefits, writes Brent Gilpin of ESR. There are suggestions from time to time that wastewater drug testing is an erosion of our civil liberties and freedoms, as if we’ve unwittingly dropped our trousers and given our “information” to the … Read more
Recent sightings of a large and potentially dangerous cat demand a social and political response, so we gathered a panel of experts to do just that. New Zealand’s cryptids range from the mundane to the miraculous to the moose, but none resurface with such regularity as the Canterbury Panther. It feels like once a year, … Read more
An 1,800-page report, years in the making, has painted a profoundly stark picture for diversity. With up to a million species facing extinction, humanity itself is in peril, says the UN body that assesses the state of global ecosystems A selection of expert views on the report, compiled by the NZ and UK Science Media … Read more
Hannah McGowan once believed that vaccination was to blame for her chronic health issues, and refused to vaccinate her two young sons. Then she started to listen to the health professionals who know best. In 1999 I was 19 and utterly convinced that vaccines had given me Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s is a living nightmare, the … Read more
Despite all the evidence of climate change and environmental degradation, and the clear need to take action, we just aren’t taking action, writes James Renwick The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ have released their latest report on New Zealand’s environment: Environment Aotearoa 2019. It’s great that government agencies are informing us so clearly … Read more
A major new report on the environment delivers a grim summary of the challenges faced. Among them is the impact of growing cities, writes Alex Braae. New Zealand’s cities and towns are expanding, putting an increasing amount of pressure on both agriculture and biodiversity. That’s one of the key conclusions of the Environment Aotearoa 2019 … Read more
You’ve probably seen the image, but have you been secretly wondering why it’s such a big deal? NZ cosmologist and physicist Professor Richard Easther explains. Mathematically, a black hole is empty space. It is not so much that a black hole has mass; rather, the black hole is a pucker in the fabric of space, … Read more
Most bacteria are completely harmless. But a porous piece of jade, as once promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness empire Goop, could be harmful and deliver a potentially nasty infection, writes Siouxsie Wiles, ahead of an Auckland appearance by gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter Being a microbiologist, people often ask me if I’m a germaphobe. I’m not. … Read more
Sam Brooke is a Ph.D student at Massey, who is working with the MacDiarmid Institute. He talked to Alex Braae about his research, why it matters, and how it became possible to do it in New Zealand. To be on the leading edge of science, young New Zealand students would have once had to go … Read more
Climate change is here and now, and young people will bear the costs of continued inaction. But it matters less whether they skip a day of school than what they do when they go back, argues climate scientist Dave Frame The school students’ climate change strike has divided political and parental opinion. For some, it’s … Read more
A measles outbreak in Canterbury has prompted a rush for vaccinations and airtime for anti-science perspectives. Jess Berentson-Shaw explains how the media can report responsibly on the issue It is no secret, I love an effective vaccine. I love that all children can have a healthy childhood through the actions of both their own parents and … Read more
New Zealand researchers are developing alternative batteries from common material to go beyond lithium, skipping the solar cell and downsizing monster redox-flows. In today’s tech-hungry world, lithium batteries are ubiquitous. Everything from your mobile phone to the neighbour’s electric car rely on the metal, and it’s easy to see why. Lithium-ion batteries pack a serious … Read more
The ‘perfect’ office temperature? It’s a myth, write Fan Zhang of Griffith University, Peter Hancock of the University of Central Florida and Richard de Dear of the University of Sydney It might be blisteringly hot outside, but if you work in an office building, the chances are it’s always reassuringly cool (or cold, depending on your preference) once you walk inside. In Australia … Read more
If any more evidence was needed for the unavoidable impacts of climate change, the Tasman District fires were it, says Dr Judy Lawrence of Victoria University of Wellington. This summer’s Tasman fires have been a wake-up call about our preparedness for more of the same as the climate changes in New Zealand. Last summer it … Read more
Just like the principals, students striking over climate change are seeking control and order. But what our children are hoping to control is the environment they inherit, writes science educator Richard Easther The news in New Zealand is that the kids are revolting, along with kids in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom and dozens … Read more
Everyone knows it’s cold in Antarctica but knowing exactly how cold it is the job of Jeremy Rutherford, an environmental technician for NIWA who has just returned from nearly three weeks in Antarctica giving the weather stations their annual check-up. Every morning at Scott Base, someone heads outdoors to do the “daily obs” – the … Read more
How is Facebook not just eroding our privacy, but changing our lives – and not just our lives? Most of us know tech platforms such as Facebook and Google track, store and make money from our data. But there are constantly new revelations about just how much of our privacy has been chipped away. The … Read more
Management decisions at Te Papa are putting at risk the very things that make a national museum worth having, Dr Nic Rawlence and Dr Trevor ‘Mr Moa’ Worthy argue. Te Papa sees itself as a proud and reputable national museum. Within its walls is a unique resource that is used by scientists worldwide to answer the … Read more
From the ‘sunk cost bias’ to decision paralysis, being overly fearful of regret can lock us into bad relationships, jobs and habits. But it doesn’t have to be this way, writes Eyal Winter. How many times have you thought about starting a company, taking a year out to write that novel or leaving a loveless … Read more
With global angst mounting about the buildup of plastic ending up in landfills and the environment, chemists and materials scientists are considering pyrolysis as an option. But how does it work? And is it really a solution? For decades, putting used plastic into recycling bins was considered a convenient way to get rid of rubbish, … Read more
The revelation that our national museum is on the brink of turfing out two world-class scientists casts grave doubt over its commitment to being a natural history museum, writes evolutionary biologist David Winter What is going on at Te Papa? As part of its latest round of restructuring, the museum’s directors asked an international panel … Read more
Harvard professor Dan Nocera has long been electrifying the scientific world with his work on harnessing the untapped potential of solar energy. But his research into the creation of a new type of fertiliser, shared at the MacDiarmid Institute’s AMN9 conference, could have dramatic implications for New Zealand. Alex Braae reports. It’s always an interesting … Read more
Does the way science gets passed down through generations make it harder for girls to get into? And what can help change that? Alex Braae reports from the first day of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. Science has long been a bit of a boy’s club. That’s not a figure of … Read more