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The new International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warning that the wild black rhinoceros sub-species (Diceros bicornis longipes) is extinct in West Africa is a signal that Western conservationists should consider investing in breeding rhino in the wild, rather than in captive breeding projects at sites such as zoos, says a New Zealand researcher,  [...]

Five years on from Operation Waiheke, the government’s response to a foot and mouth outbreak on Waiheke Island that turned out to be a hoax, a new information sharing service has been set up to ensure agencies and sector groups can respond in a real outbreak. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) today updated [...]

New Zealand Herald’s Chris Barton investigates new evidence of palm kernel-derived trans fats in New Zealand dairy products and their suggested link to polyvascular disease and stroke in at-risk patients. An excerpt: “It’s long been known that naturally occurring trans fats are present in the milk and the meat of ruminant animals such as sheep [...]

Sustainable mining? – SMC Briefing Hidden beneath New Zealand’s stunning landscapes — and formed by the same relentless geological forces — minerals like gold, coal, iron and other industrial and precious metals lie undisturbed. The government’s proposal to withdraw some high-value conservation land from its current protection and open it to mining has been controversial [...]

Eloise Gibson of the NZ Herald reports that scientists are trying to explain an anomaly in tree-ring temperature data. Tree-ring records are a good measure for temperature, at least until the 1950s.  Since then, however, there has been a divergence between what the tree rings say, and what recorded temperatures were. An excerpt: (read in [...]

While natural carbon sinks have historically been able to absorb over half of global carbon dioxide emissions, this may no longer be the case if these emissions continue to increase as they have, say scientists from leading climate research group the Global Carbon Project (GCP). In addition, carbon dioxide emissions are still rising, to reach [...]

With the Copenhagen climate conference in Denmark looming, it is far from clear whether the world’s nations will be able to reach agreement on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But one thing is for sure – the scientific evidence suggests such an agreement is crucial. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented [...]

A New Zealand Herald editorial on the emissions trading scheme and the political wrangling that will be required to get sufficient support for it. An excerpt: (read in full here) “A bipartisan policy on a subject as far-reaching as climate change would be highly desirable even if the Government had a majority on the issue. [...]

From the Manuwatu Standard: (not online) Tim Brown in the Analyse That column remembers the achievements of George Palade “the father of modern cell biology”, who died last month. An excerpt: “What was the significance of the advent of cell biology as a distinct discipline on the scientific scene? Firstly it gave biology the focus [...]

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