Science Media Centre

The European Commission has voted in favour of a two-year moratorium on the use of a pesticide known to harm bees. Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides have been blamed for falling bee numbers and the European Commission says they should be restricted to crops not attractive to bees and other pollinators. The Commission’s action is a [...]

An outbreak of anthrax in New South Wales, Australia, has killed up to 40 cattle and several farms in the area have been quarantined to stop the spread of the bacterial disease. Experts note that such outbreaks, while relatively rare, are to be expected from time to time. Our colleagues at the Australian SMC collected [...]

Current drought conditions in the North Island have heated up discussion about the science of climate change and the future of New Zealand’s weather. Climate scientists have warned the we may see similar dry seasons in the future. Examples of media coverage from over the weekend: Sunday Star Times: North Island Drought The Most Severe [...]

The long-awaited publication of the Psa-V genome has been widely reported in the news. The research, under taken by Prof Russel Poutler and Colleagues at the University of Otago, was published this week in PLoS ONE. The new study confirms a Chinese origin for the bacteria and reveals gentic clues about why this variant of the plant [...]

A massive international study of 600 field trials from around the globe (including New Zealand) highlights the importance of wild insects in spreading pollen for agricultural crops, and warns of excessive reliance on honeybees. The study, published in Science, found that wild insects pollinate crops more effectively than managed honeybees, leading to twice as much [...]

Jacqueline Rowarth, Professor of Agribusiness at the University of Waikato, highlights New Zealand’s importance as a food producer in a hungry world, writing on the Idealog site (originally published in Primary Magazine). An excerpt (read in full here): As demand grows, so can NZ’s role in food production Populations are increasing, resources are being depleted, [...]

What we feed ourselves and our children will shape the future of New Zealand. The complex problem of obesity – and its potential solutions – is the focus of  the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS), taking place in Auckland this week. And ahead of the meeting, several key [...]

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has conducted an initial review into  a highly criticised French study linking herbicide resistant GM maize and cancer in rats, and found the research substantially lacking in terms of methodology and data. The research was published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology by Gilles-Eric Séralini and colleagues. You can [...]

The media have reported widely on the viewpoints put forward by science and industry at this week’s Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference. The conference, held in Rotorua, was described by Dr William Rolleston, Vice President of Federated Farmers, as the ‘biotechnology equivalent of the Rugby World Cup.’ The Science Media Centre held a media briefing with [...]

In the wake of GM debate raised by an NZ speaking tour by two Australian farmers opposed to GE plants, Sandra Finnie interviewed crop research scientist Dr Michael Dunbier for rural newspaper Straight Furrow. An excerpt (read in full here): Dilemma over GM pasture research Release of GM grasses in New Zealand remains on the [...]