Science Media Centre

An industry report has revealed some positive growth in biosciences, but warns there may be a cash-flow crisis coming. This week saw the release of the 2010 Bioscience Industry Report from NZBIO, an industry group made up of corporate members from across agbiotech, human health, industrial and environmental and food bioscience. Statistics presented in the [...]

The much anticipated ‘Powering Innovation’ report, released this week, sets out a number of recommendations to improve New Zealand’s high-value manufacturing sector. The report – and the governments support of it – has been the cause of much excitement in the business community. Among the reports recommendations, the most notable was the call to restructure [...]

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 [...]

An open letter signed by 560 researchers is calling on the government to provide better funding to keep young scientists in New Zealand. In the letter, addressed to Wayne Mapp, Minister of Science and Innovation, the authors express concern over the lack of research money available to young scientists beginning their careers. They pointed out [...]

Malaghan Institute biochemist Bridget Stocker was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon Show. Dr Stocker shares her background in New Zealand and Switzerland and talks about her current research, which focuses on the use of carbohydrates to stimulate an immune response against cancer. She also weighs in on the current [...]

Millions of dollars are being invested into the health of  New Zealander’s through the government funding body, the Health Research Council. Yesterday the Health Research Council (HRC) announced the recipients of funding from the latest funding round. A grand total of $74.56 Million was allocated to 52 separate projects to be undertaken in universities, research [...]

When it comes to supporting R&D, the New Zealand government talks the talk, but are its initiatives working? Writing for Unlimited magazine, Matt Philp examines the government’s efforts to commercialise research. An excerpt (read in full here): Lifting our R&D game Are new government measures more effective? Necessity is supposed to be the mother of [...]

On Thursday the government will announce their 2011 budget for New Zealand. The New Zealand Herald‘s Hamish Fletcher caught up with some of the R&D sector’s major players to get an idea of what the budget might hold for Kiwi high-tech research. An excerpt (read in full here): Budget 2011: Little hope of R&D increase [...]

The Australian government has announced the 2011 federal budget, revealing that several proposed cuts to science and research funding have not be undertaken. Our colleagues at the AusSMC have contacted experts for comment on the financial situation presented by the budget, available below. Further comments on the 2011 Budget can be found at The Conversation. [...]

The Government is looking at merging Crown Research Institutes in a attempt to cut costs and increase efficiency. Writing for the Press, Vernon Small covered the response from scientists. An excerpt (read in full here): Scientists have attacked suggestions the eight Crown research institutes could be merged into as few as three super-CRIs as “a [...]