Paul Gorman writes in The Press about a west Coast tree stump which suggests that the Alpine Fault is moving faster than previously thought.

Calculations based on when the tree died show that, rather than the Alpine Fault’s slip rate being 10 mm a year, it may in fact be moving some 13.6 mm a year (on average).

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“The latest calculations, based on when the stump died as a result of an earthquake, show it is moving at an average 13.6mm a year, plus or minus 1.8mm. That equates to about an extra metre of movement each time the fault ruptures – about every 300 years.

“The Alpine Fault is the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates, which are moving past and pushing against each other, forcing the Southern Alps higher.

…

“The last time the fault moved was about 1717, generating an earthquake of at least magnitude 8.0.”

Michael Dickison writes in the New Zealand Herald about work by NZ scientists which has has allowed kiwifruit to be turned into plastic, and sewage into electricity.

The work, carried out by CRI Scion, has meant the development of a chemical process which makes kiwifruit melt like plastic in normal factory equipment.  Another process allows the heat and gases released by the processing of sewage to be used to generate electricity.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Small batches of prototypes have been made, mixing different amounts of kiwifruit, corn and other secret, but organic, additives.

“The project is now picking the best mixture – with the right strength and flexibility – and ramping up production to a commercial scale. One piece of fruit, about 90g, can make more than 100 of the utensils.

“The utensils will be included in kiwifruit packages sold overseas by Zespri.

“Dr Markotsis said other fruit could be put through the same process to make all sorts of plastics.”

An article in the NZ Herald looks at whether we may be descended, at least in part, from Neanderthals, and discusses research suggesting that some of us carry parts of the Neanderthal genome

The Neanderthal genome mitochondrial genome sequence, announced in 2008, suggested that this was not the case – the recent sequencing of the Neanderthal nuclear genome, however, points to the fact that humans and Neanderthals may, indeed, have interbred.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“There are some more specifics, though. The inbreeding occurred after humans left Africa but before humans spread out from the Middle East into Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. This was detected by comparing the genome of Africans, non-Africans and the Neanderthal draft genome.

“The comparison found that non-Africans all shared the same amount of the Neanderthal genome but African genomes stood apart. The amount of Neanderthal DNA sequence in non-Africans equates to 1-4 per cent of your nuclear. Humans and Neanderthals cohabited in the Middle East for some 50,000 years so there was plenty of time for mixed Homo species liaisons.”

Stu Oldham writes in the Otago Daily Times about criticism of government’s Draft NZ Energy Strategy, including that it is unlikely that we will reach the target of 90% renewably generated electricity by 2025.

There are also concerns that the Strategy’s focus on using petroleum and mineral resources could damage New Zealand’s environment, and its ‘green’ reputation.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“In a briefing to journalists yesterday, Ipenz policy director Tim Davin said the target reaffirmed in the Government’s draft energy strategy was not possible under current market conditions.

“Even if it was assumed all projects under construction or consented were built, renewable sources were likely to contribute only about 68% of the country’s electricity, Mr Davin said during the Science Media Centre briefing.

“Only two scenarios might get New Zealand close to the 90% target (a level last achieved in 1981) and both involved tinkering with the Huntly power station, the “cornerstone” of the country’s on-demand generation.

…

“It was unlikely the Government could orchestrate either option in the current electricity environment to meet a target inconsistent with the wholesale electricity market system, Mr Davin said.

“Mr Davin and Dr Lloyd criticised the Government’s draft energy and draft energy efficiency and conservation strategies, on which public submissions close today.”

Rebecca Todd writes in The Press about a surgeon in Christchurch who, for the first time, is using a robot to remove gynaecological tumours.

The robots allow for surgery to be more precise and ‘easy’, and eliminates the challenges which can come with shaky hands or fatigue.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

The instruments had a greater range of movement than the human wrist, which, along with 3D vision and tenfold magnification, made operating more precise and “easy”. The machine also eliminated surgeon tremors and helped with surgeon fatigue, he said.

Patients had less blood loss, fewer complications and a quicker recovery after robot surgery.

Robot-assisted surgery had also been available to Kiwi men for prostate surgery for “some years”, but was only now being offered to women.

Scientists have discovered the best way to counteract the odour that results from eating garlic: drinking milk.

Drinking milk while eating garlic works better than drinking it after the meal, and it’s mix of fat and water which helps to counteract the distinctive odour.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Authors of the study, Sherly Barringer and Areerat Hansanugrum, told the Journal of Food Science that the combination of fat and water in milk helps to neutralise the infamous odour.

“Full-fat milk gives the best results, compared to skim milk or just plain water, according to the study, and sipping milk while eating garlic was more effective than after the meal.

“The science behind the solution centres on garlic’s allyl methyl sulphide (AMS) compound. AMS can not be broken down in digestion, and therefore is released in human breath and sweat.”

Dan Satherley reports for 3 News on recent research showing that heavy drinkers are less likely to die than teetotallers.

While the reasons for this are unclear, scientists posit that it could be that drinkers are more relaxed and social than their non-drinking counterparts.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Former heavy drinkers were excluded from the study, so the comparatively high death rate for non-drinkers could not be blamed on health problems brought on by heavy drinking earlier in life.

“A definite cause of the unexpected result wasn’t pinpointed, but it has been suggested that drinkers tend to be less stressed and more social than non-drinkers.

…

“”Non-drinkers show greater signs of depression than those who allow themselves to join the party.”"

Ellie Constantine writes in the Otago Daily Times about research which suggests that poor dietary choices have more to do with the affordability of healthy food than access or price.

The research, from New Zealand and Australia, shows that poor families spend a far larger proportion of their income on food (about 30%), and consequently are not always to afford healthy food – experts say healthy food should be made cheaper to encourage better eating habits in people.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Food security relates to a person’s ability to access enough food to live an active and healthy life.

“Ms Smith’s Family Food Environment Survey, conducted in Dunedin and Wellington in 2007 and 2008, found 60% of New Zealand households were food secure, 30% were moderately secure, and 10% had low food security.

“People with moderate to low food security often limited variety and decreased the quality of the food they ate, ran out of some food, became stressed, decreased the quantity of food they ate, and began to rely on foodbanks or family and friends for support.”

The government’s Developing our Energy Potential – Draft New Zealand Energy Strategy and Draft New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy document has been open to public submissions for the last three months, with submissions due to close by tomorrow.

The strategy document fits energy within government’s stated goal of growing New Zealand’s economy.  It sets out how government intends to do this (both with renewable and fossil fuel-generated energy) while still being environmentally responsible, and looks at supply, delivery and use of energy.

Among the priorities mentioned are the development of New Zealand’s petroleum and mineral resources, and the target that 90% of New Zealand’s electricity be generated renewably by 2025 (currently, 73% is generated from hydro, geothermal and wind resources).

But to what extent are the strategies realistic and achievable and have the correct energy priorities been identified?

The SMC gathered a panel to run the ruler over the document, and to see to what extent they’re realistic.

The document can be accessed on the MED website, here.

The speakers’ audio can be listened to below, and the slides are available to registered journalists in the SMC Resource Library.

Part I

Part II

SPEAKERS

Tim Davin: Tim is Director of Policy at IPENZ.  He has engineering and  Master of Public Policy degrees and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers NZ. Tim has worked in the local government, NGO and consulting sectors. At IPENZ he has worked on a range of technically related public policy issues,  including the infrastructure sector.

In March 2010 IPENZ released a report, Electricity Generation – Achieving New Zealand’s objectives, which discusses the likelihood of New Zealand being able to achieve energy efficiency, renewables, emissions and security of supply objectives in the future.

Associate Professor Bob Lloyd: Bob is the Director of Energy Studies Programme at  the Department of Physics, University of Otago. From Australia; he came to New Zealand in 2002 after having worked for the Australian Coo-operative Research Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE), based at Murdoch University in Perth. He has also worked on renewable energy systems in China and the Pacific Islands and taught at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

His current research interests, at Otago University where he is the Director of Energy Studies and Associate Professor in the Physics Department, lie in energy conservation in residential housing and energy management including world energy resources and peak oil. His PhD from Flinders University in South Australia was completed in the field of experimental atomic physics.

Glenda Lewis of The Press writes about an upcoming talk by visiting scientist and nanotech pioneer Dr Don Eigler, who will be giving a talk on the subject, including a possible demonstration of his powers with atoms, and what he sees coming in the future.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“The most exciting thing Eigler has seen so far is the research being done by Dr Samuel Stupp at Northwestern University, in Illinois. He is constructing “nano- fibrils” out of proteins and hydrocarbon molecules that can help the body repair damaged nerves. He has been able to reverse paralysis in mice.

…

“The environment, too, is desperately seeking some technological saviours right now. Eigler cites a new water purification and desalination system being worked on at IBM, based on a nanotechnology invention, that could be placed between dairy farm run-off and stream, he imagines.

“Locally, a powerful clean air protector has been designed by the MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year, Dr John Watt. He builds star-like clusters of palladium atoms which neutralise toxic car emissions before they become emissions.”