Science Media Centre

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has responded to criticism alleging products relying on a new gene silencing technology are entering the food supply without adequate scrutiny. Earlier this year, a scientific review raised concerns that double-stranded RNA molecules produced in new genetically modified crops could pose a risk to human health. The paper’s authors, including Professor Jack Heinemann at [...]

Updated: A Huge tornado has devastated the US state of Oklahoma killing at least 24 people and injuring many more. Earlier reports indicated more than 90 fatalities, however this number was revised downward. Our colleagues at the UK SMC collected the following expert commentary. Feel free to use these quotes in your reporting. If you [...]

The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (cot death), is five times higher in babies who share parents’ beds, even when the parents are non-smokers and the mother has not been drinking alcohol and does not use illegal drugs, according to new research. The study is the the largest of it kind and includes data [...]

New research indicates that the latest observations of the climate system’s response to rising greenhouse gas levels are consistent with conventional estimates despite a “warming pause” over the past decade. However, the most extreme rates of warming predicted by the current generation of climate models over 50- to 100-year timescales are looking less likely. The [...]

The latest edition of the manual defining criteria for mental illness is set to have a major impact on how patients are diagnosed and how their treatment is funded. Walk into the office of any psychiatrist or psychologist and one item is guaranteed to be on the book shelf: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of [...]

New research describes a breakthrough in IVF technology that proponents claim will significantly increase live birth rates in fertility clinics. The technique uses precision time-lapse imaging to more accurately distinguish developing embryos with normal and abnormal numbers of chromosomes. The study found that embryos with too many or too few chromosomes typically reach specific growth [...]

Scientists have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to become embryonic stem cells capable of transforming into any other cell type in the body. It is believed that stem cell therapies hold the promise of replacing cells damaged through injury or illness. While scientists have previously been able to make embryonic stem cells using this approach [...]

A new coronavirus — the same type of virus responsible for the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS — has been identified as the cause of an increasing number of illnesses and deaths in several countries. The World Health Organisation’s most recent media statement on the virus is available here. A second [...]

New research suggests that edible sources of nicotine may provide a protective effect against Parkinson’s disease. But independent experts are not convinced the effect is clinically significant. The study published this week in Annals of Neurology indicates that eating foods that contain even a small amount of nicotine, such as peppers and tomatoes, may reduce [...]

Media attention has this week focussed on irradiated Australian tomatoes and capsicums which could be imported into New Zealand from next month, subject to approval by Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye. According to Food Safety New Zealand, irradiation of food is undertaken in 50 countries and is used to “destroy bacteria and pests and to [...]