Science Media Centre

A group of expert climate researchers has rounded robustly on 16 scientists who complained in the Wall Street Journal (No Need to Panic About Global Warming) that presidential candidates should understand that the statement that “nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming” is not true. The complaint used Auckland [...]

The world population passed the seven billion mark on Monday (according to the UN), highlighting the population issues faced by global society. The tipping point (October 31), based on census data and surveys, was largely symbolic but was used by the United Nations to draw attention to their report: People and Possibilities in a World [...]

Whooping cough infections are on the rise and health officials are concerned the number of cases could reach epidemic proportions. Despite a free national vaccination scheme, cases of whooping cough are increasing in the northern South Island. Crown Research Institute ESR has confirmed to Radio New Zealand that  there has been 147 cases identified this [...]

Scientists spoke this week at the first of many hearings held by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury Earthquakes. The Science Media Centre has drawn together the some of the media coverage so far. The commission’s inquiry will report on the causes of building failure as a result of the quakes and the [...]

The Science Media Centre has collated the following resources on the Rena and oil spills. This page will be updated as new sources of information come to hand. Expert commentary: Could “Google Maps for ships” have saved Rena. Experts on deteriorating state of Rena. Experts on oil eating bacteria and its potential. Rena spill: Q&A [...]

Currently location information for ships in the Tauranga region is unavailable. We have contacted MarineTraffic.com, the host of the below application, with aim of rectifying the situation. We apologise for the inconvenience . Real time satellite data is available for ships in the Tauranga region.   Marrine traffic.com shows the location of all registered ships [...]

The grounding of the Rena container ship on the Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty poses a substantial environmental threat and has recovery teams scrambling to avert disaster. The Liberian-flagged container ship,  Rena, crashed into the Astrolabe Reef near Motiti island, offshore from Tauranga, on Wednesday. Since then it is estimated that 10-100 tones [...]

Glaciers, neurobiology, Maori TV and algebra are just a few of the subjects to explored by the recipients of this year’s round of grants from the Marsden Fund – New Zealand’s largest ‘blue skies’ research funding body. Announced today, a total of 88 research projects have been allocated $53.8 million of funding in this year’s [...]

Why do some people die from the flu and others don’t? New Zealand researchers have been awarded a grant from the US government to find out. Researchers from Environment Science and research (ESR), the University of Auckland the University of Otago have won a $9 million grant from the Unites States Centers for Disease Control [...]

This week the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a global survey of urban air quality, but the figures for New Zealand have caused more than a bit of confusion. The survey collected PM10 values from official sources in over 1000 cities from around the globe. PM10 values are a measure of air pollution, standing for [...]

To many New Zealanders rugby is more than just a sport, but maybe we need to lighten up if we want to enjoy it. Dominion Post journalist Michelle Duff caught up with Canterbury University sports sociologist Camilla Obel to talk about rugby, the national psyche and the typical All blacks fan. An excerpt (read in [...]

The Science Media Centre’s latest Heads-Up newsletter is out – bringing you the latest science and tech news and a peek at what’s coming up in the week ahead. Click on the image below to read the Heads-Up.