The lithium-ion battery has won this year’s Chemistry Nobel Prize. Justin Hodgkiss celebrates the slow and steady speed of technological developments. Back in the 1970s, when the lithium-ion battery research recognised by the Nobel Prize committee was still in the lab, mobile phones and laptops existed only in our imaginations or science fiction. Today, … Read more
Her incredible international campaign to challenge world leaders on the climate emergency has made Greta Thunberg the favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize tonight. Adam Currie questions why the public are so keen to hear the Swedish teen’s message over the indigenous youth who raised their voices long before Greta. One year before Greta’s … Read more
The Nobel Committee’s recognition of Bob Dylan shines a light on the transformative power of songwriting – a craft that very much belongs in New Zealand schools, writes Mike Chunn. Listening to a song is like taking a journey. The mechanics of that trip depend on the song, in the main. That is, words and … Read more