Science Media Centre

Lisa Harvey-Smith, a scientist working for the CSIRO in Australia, writes about the impending decision on the Square Kilometre Array for the science website The Conversation. (reproduced here under Creative Commons licence). Australia’s bid for the Square Kilometre Array – an insider’s perspective Australia and New Zealand could be on the brink of a major [...]

Associate Professor Marc Wilson, from the Department of Psychology, Victoria University, talked to TVNZ’s Breakfast show about the Mayan calendar, doomsday theories and why some people truly believe the end is nigh. Watch Prof Wilson on Breakfast here. From the TVNZ website: Belief in doomsday stems from distress – expert Believing the end of the [...]

Dr Mike Joy, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science at Massey University, chastises New Zealand for not walking the talk on environmental standards in an article for the Dominion Post. An excerpt (read in full here): Face the facts – we aren’t so green The enthusiastic response of Kiwis and many Government agencies to [...]

In early December 2011 Nine to Noon’s presenter Kathryn Ryan and producer, Caitlin Cherry were invited by Antarctica New Zealand to visit Scott Base on Ross island in Antarctica. You can listen to the resulting podcasts below and on the Radio New Zealand website. Clicking on the links will take you the Radio NZ site [...]

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, outlines the important role Auckland will play in the future of New Zealand’s science and technology sector. An excerpt (read in full here): Science key to richer country New Zealand’s export economy has been dominated by its primary industries, commodities [...]

Physicist Sir Paul Callaghan’s high public profile has meant the country has taken a genuine interest in his terminal colon cancer diagnosis and subsequent unorthodox treatments. Sir Paul spoke to Radio New Zealand’s Kiwi Summer programme about his personal trial, his conclusions and concern at becoming a poster boy for the alternative therapy industry. The [...]

Joseph Gelfer, Adjunct Research Associate, School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, picks apart the 2012 apocalypse theory for the Australian science website The Conversation (reproduced here under Creative Commons licence). 2012 cometh: how to prepare for the apocalypse If you believe the doomsayers, the human race is not long for this earth. By [...]

Roger Highfield, UK science writer and author of The Physics of Christmas, talks to Radio New Zealand’s Kathryn Ryan about the logistics of a jolly fat man visiting 842 million households in one night. Listen below

Finance writer Diane Clement explores the psychology of gift-giving in a New Zealand Herald article, drawing on kiwi experts and international research. An excerpt (read in full here): The psychology behind giving and receiving My children were horrified last week when they heard I’d written an article asking whether we should ban Christmas presents. The [...]

A leading Australian researcher, Queensland University ecologist Professor Hugh Possingham, turned the tables on media at a briefing in Auckland today when he quizzed journalists about whether concerns over the loss of penguins in Antarctic and coral reefs closer to the tropics would be enough to stop nations burning the coal which contributes to fossil [...]

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.