Science Media Centre

A genetic analysis of the little spotted kiwi has confirmed that all modern members of the species (numbering more than 1,500) likely originate from struggling handful of Kiwi rescued to Kapiti Island over 100 years ago.  The study also found that attempts to increase genetic diversity by breeding Kapiti little spotted kiwi with the last [...]

Dr Michelle Dickinson, a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, spoke to TV3′s Firstline this morning for their weekly ‘science news’ segment. She discussed the increased awareness of breast cancer genetics in the wake of actress Angelina Jolie’s revelation that she had a double mastectomy after learning she carried the BRAC1 [...]

The Government’s announcement of the National Science Challenges, including an extra $73.5 million funding boost to the initiative, has been widely reported in national media. According to the government, Challenges provide an opportunity to align and focus New Zealand’s research on large and complex issues by drawing scientists together from different institutions and across disciplines [...]

A new study of the ‘superbug’ known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), shows infection rates in New Zealand are increasing both in hospitals and in the wider community. The research found that between 2005 and 2011 the rate of MRSA infections across the population more than doubled from 8.6 to 18 per 100,000 people. The [...]

Writing in the Herald on Sunday,  Juha Saarinen explores the shady world of cyber-attacks and international computer crimes. An excerpt (read in full here): Rattling of the cyber sabres When Dani Wright set up a website to collect nursery rhymes from around the world, little did the Auckland writer and mum know that the site [...]

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Jamie Morton highlights new research from the University of Waikato detailing a lack of follow-through on “ecological compensation” agreed on as part of a resource consent application under the Resource Management Act. Green promises are often not met Research finds property owners failing to implement more than 35 per [...]

WWI soldiers serving in the trenches of  Gallipoli may have suffered scurvy and other illnesses due nutritionally deficient rations, according to new research. “An army marches on it stomach.” This famous quote from Napoleon Bonaparte was not lost on researchers analysing rations supplied to Kiwi soldiers almost a century ago. In a new study published [...]

Dr Jan Wright, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling for a moratorium on the fishing of native longfin eels, citing research showing the species is in decline. The Commissioner’s report, ‘On a pathway to extinction? An investigation into the status and management of the longfin eel‘, highlighted new research detailing the decline of native [...]

One hundred and sixty scientists from around the globe are gathering in Wellington this week to discuss potential projects examining the geology of subduction zones, the places where one tectonic plate slips under another. The meeting, held at Te Papa, is a workshop organised by GeoPRISMS, an initiative funded by the US National Science Foundation [...]

Robert Edwards, a pioneering fertility scientist whose ground breaking research lead to the success of in-vitro fertilisation, died Wednesday at age 87. Prof Sir Robert (Bob) Edwards, working with Dr Patrick Steptoe, is credited with the development of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which resulted in the birth in 1978 of the world’s first ‘test [...]