‘We only have one planet’: Dr Jan Wright on saving the one thing we all have in common

Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today Don Rowe talks to departing Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright.  Around the same time Al Gore released his first call to arms in the battle against climate … Read more

Discover yourself on DiscoveryCamp

‘My mind exploded. No joke, the feeling was like I had a crush!’ Three rangatahi talk about discovering their passion for science at MacDiarmid DiscoveryCamp. DiscoveryCamp is a fun, hands-on programme designed for year 12 or 13 Māori and Pasifika secondary pupils with an interest in science. Students are chosen from all around the country … Read more

Fighting kauri dieback with the ‘super science’ of cow dung? Stinks of bullshit

Artist Sarah Smuts-Kennedy told Kim Hill on Saturday that she has been repeating a ritual used by Peruvian banana farmers in the 1980s to treat diseased kauri. Yes, we need more research, but leave the comment to the scientists, writes Cate Macinnis-Ng. Art can be a powerful tool for connecting and mobilising communities around scientific problems. Art … Read more

Fear and Formula: Why parents are a target for bad marketing

Roz Palethorpe is a new mum and a science teacher who wonders why parents and people trying to conceive are always a target for myths and pseudo-science. It’s a well-understood phenomenon that fear is profitable. Make someone feel unsure or uncertain in their own judgement, offer a solution that happens to be your product, and … Read more

Ziggy Stardust and the scientists from New Zealand

With a little help from David Bowie, Craig Stevens, president of the NZ Association of Scientists, surveys the challenges and possibilities of the moment, and the need for science to reach beyond the usual suspects.  Five Years I started my schooling in London in the brief four-year space between Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon and … Read more

I donated my son’s placenta to science (and then I tracked down the scientist who took it)

Gemma Gracewood grew a baby and a placenta and then she gave the placenta away. Here she interviews the scientist she gave it to. Content warning: There are photos of a placenta in this post. These photos are either totally “ewww” or completely effing amazing depending on your opinion of the placenta. Photos provided courtesy … Read more

Cold discomfort pharma: what does the science say on whether the drugs work?

Over-the-counter cold-and-flu remedies are mostly useless, says Consumer NZ. The industry strongly disagrees. Siouxsie Wiles takes a look at the studies. Over the last few days a fight has broken out between Consumer NZ and the New Zealand Self Medication Industry over expensive cold and flu products. Consumer NZ says the products are no more … 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

What was that strange object glowing above New Zealand on Anzac Day?

Last night a bright disk-shaped object had New Zealanders craning their necks at the sky. Cosmologist Richard Easther explains what it was. Clue: not Venus. Last night my twitter feed carried a string of “what’s that in the western sky” queries, including this picture from Rachael King: There’s a clear disk showing in this snapshot, … Read more

‘It’s the opposite of a cynical show’: Josie Long on bringing science/comedy event Cosmic Shambles to NZ

Is Cosmic Shambles a ‘mind-blowing night of laughter, discoveries, mystery guests, and live tunes’, as the publicity has it – or something even weirder? British comedy star Josie Long tells Sam Brooks what New Zealand audiences should expect. Sam Brooks: So, hi! I guess the most obvious question to start with is what book are … Read more

Yes, we’re going there: Should you vaccinate your child?

It’s always a good time to talk about vaccination, but with the topic back in the news thanks to the major measles outbreak in Auckland, we’re resharing Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw’s deep dive into the issue from March 2017. A note from Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes: Vaccination is always something you have to think about … Read more

‘Science is this spectacular, dramatic journey of discovery’: Talking with Dr Brian Greene, the man who saw what Einstein missed

As NASA announces the discovery of seven ‘Earth-like’ planets in deep outer space, Don Rowe chats to certified super genius Dr Brian Greene about space, the multiverse and the frontiers of theoretical physics. It took seven and a half minutes before the conversation turned to wizards. Professor Brian Greene, co-founder of the World Science Festival, specialises … Read more

The incredible possibilities of the new thermopower generation

By embracing the thermoelectric potential of polymers, Rachel Segalman is pursuing a new frontier in the use of power to heat or cool. A speaker at the AMN8 conference in Queenstown, she talks to Charles Anderson Across the world, a huge amount of energy is expended heating and cooling spaces which people do not use. … Read more

The impersonal is political, too: a report from the frontline of the culture wars

Do we have our priorities right when it comes to the emphasis on economic ‘usefulness’ of education? In a companion piece to her article Why scientists need to go to the barricades against Trump – and for the humanities, Nicola Gaston asks if NZ is in danger of plunging into a culture war of its … Read more

Don’t put Gwyneth’s balls in your vagina: How to avoid celebrity quackery and pseudoscience

Looking to ‘cleanse’ your body, balance your hormones and improve your sex life? Gwyneth Paltrow has just the thing for you: jade ‘eggs’ for your hoo-ha, available for the low, low price of NZ$90 through her website Goop. The eggs are just the latest in a long tradition of celebrity quackery, says scientist Dr Jess … Read more

Why scientists need to go to the barricades against Trump – and for the humanities

Nicola Gaston on the anti-science agenda of the Trump presidency, and why scientists should embrace the arts. First they came for the scientists, but I was not a scientist, so I did not speak out. Scientists are often not comfortable with politics, with the idea of marching for a cause, with the idea of protest. … Read more

Summer reissue: Who needs scientists when Mike Hosking is here to school us?

Facts and ‘cloistered’ expertise were well and truly been put in their place by the Seven Sharp host this year. Siouxsie Wiles on a unique brand of smug bullshit Originally published on June 1, 2016 “Thank God the scientists aren’t running things!” So concluded Seven Sharp host Mike Hosking’s assessment on Monday night of calls … Read more

Summer reissue: How’s that ‘NZ a place talent wants to live’ thing going?

To launch our new science section this year we asked a dozen scientists and entrepreneurs how positive we can be that we’re progressing towards Sir Paul Callaghan’s dream of a transformed New Zealand through the use of science and technology. Originally published November 16, 2016 The Spinoff is thrilled to be launching today a new … Read more

Zoom in. Keep zooming. Don’t stop. On New Zealand and the nano-revolution

Ahead of February’s AMN8 conference, Charles Anderson talks to some of the scientists at the vanguard of nanomaterial innovation and entrepreneurship in New Zealand. Look closely at the letters on this screen. Zero in on this full stop, right here. It’s small – to the human eye, at least. But that full stop still has … Read more

In 2016, the Massey chancellor says women vets are worth ‘two fifths’ of men. And we wonder why too few women are in science

Chris Kelly, the Chancellor of Massey University, has been quoted saying that women are less valuable veterinarians because they tend to leave the profession once they get married and have a family. That’s precisely the sort of outdated thinking that is hampering women in STEM subjects of all kinds, says Kate Hannah. Back in June, … Read more

How to take the fight to bad science? By singing good science’s praises

In the face of everything from anecdote posing as evidence to bias peddlers to outright quackery, the best riposte is to champion good science. But how? Dr Jessica Berentson-Shaw offers seven tips. Science and evidence gets a pretty bad rap these days. Some of this bad rap is the science community’s responsibility to fix – … Read more

The Kaikoura quake brought out the best in GeoNet. Not so much in some politicians

Gerry Brownlee’s intemperate response to the GeoNet director’s calls for a 24/7 response centre can only damage further scientists’ willingness to share their expertise with the public, writes Richard Easther. On November 17 my alarm went off simultaneously with a call from Radio New Zealand asking me to do an on-air interview about the end … Read more

New Zealand as a place talent wants to live – Paul Callaghan’s vision, five years on

To launch our new science section we asked a range of scientists and entrepreneurs how positive we can be that we’re progressing towards Sir Paul Callaghan’s dream of a transformed New Zealand through the use of science and technology. The Spinoff is thrilled to be launching today a new science section, supported by our friends … Read more

Are New Zealand’s scientific experts really dead – or just resting?

The row over Jacqueline Rowarth’s strange suggestion that the Waikato River is one of the world’s five cleanest reveals a need for more scientists to be heard in public, not fewer, writes Shaun Hendy. In post-Brexit Britain, failure to heed the warnings of economists on the risks of leaving the EU has spawned many a … Read more

Hoo boy, soft drink companies did some really bad science today

Mark Hanna’s greatest passion is debunking bad science. Here, he looks at the New Zealand Beverage Council’s recent media campaign claiming soft drinks aren’t a big factor in obesity. The New Zealand Beverage Council’s president was interviewed on Morning Report today about a curious, conveniently self-serving claim he’d made in a recent media release: “Olly Munro, President of the … Read more

‘Science should empower us as parents’: Introducing Spinoff Parents contributor Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw

This weekend we’re launching The Spinoff Parents, our new parenting blog edited by the brilliant Emily Writes and made possible by Flick Electric Co. All this week we’ll be introducing you to some Spinoff Parents contributors – like writer, scientist and mother of two, Dr Jessica Berentson-Shaw. As soon as The Spinoff Parents came into … Read more

Rejoice: a predator-free NZ is no longer a dream. Now, let’s talk about the money. And the cats

The government endorsement of a predator-free nation is cause for real cheer. But it’s only a start, writes Gareth Morgan. The Government has formally endorsed a bold vision for a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050. They are investing $28m over four years into projects that will remove rats, stoats and possums from around a … Read more

Throwback Thursday: A scientist tests Police Ten 7’s ‘blow on the pie’ thermonuclear theory

With Police Ten 7 celebrating 500 episodes tonight, Professor Allan Blackman applies rigorous scientific analysis to the show’s most iconic moment.  Can it really be seven years since the world was first introduced to the hilariously deadpan Sgt Guy Baldwin on Police Ten 7? His advice to Glen – a surly teen who supposedly had the 3am … Read more