Overachiever Jacinda Ardern becomes DNA Detective as well as prime minister

Before she became prime minister, Jacinda Ardern went on a valiant journey to trace her ancestry on TVNZ’s DNA Detectives.  How’s this for a sign of Jacinda Ardern’s rapid rise: in the year or so between filming her episode of DNA Detectives and it screening on TV last night, she has become deputy leader of the Labour … Read more

In search of the Loch Ness Monster’s DNA – and science people give a damn about

A conversation with the Dunedin scientist who stumbled on a way to talk to people about his work, in spite of sniffy colleagues who think his Nessie study is nonsense. Professor Neil Gemmell heads up the University of Otago’s Gemmell Lab at the University of Otago, where he juggles research into ecology, conservation, evolutionary biology … Read more

Television: Don Rowe and Alex Casey Become IRL DNA Detectives

Inspired by The DNA Detectives, Spinoff staffers Alex and Don embark on a spit-fueled scientific journey to uncovering their deepest genetic secrets.  The finale of DNA Detectives airs on TV One this week, a series that has traced the ancestry of Kiwi personalities from Ray McVinnie to Sonia Gray. Hosted by Richard O’Brien, celebrities are sent around … Read more