Science Media Centre

The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has found no conclusive evidence that coffee causes cancer but that drinking very hot drinks (65 °C or above) probably causes cancer of the oesophagus. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said the finding suggests that it is the temperature of drinks rather than the drinks themselves […]

The release of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)’s review of meat and cancer risk has  dominated the news media. The World Health Organization agency evaluated the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat and announced their findings this week. The Working Group of 22 experts determined the consumption of […]

In her regular science slot, Dr Siouxsie Wiles talks on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon about the special ‘Future of Science’ issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (and bee vaccines and the mortality of young fathers). You can listen to the segment below and read more about the special […]

Becoming a dad before the age of 25 is linked to a heightened risk of dying early in middle age, according to new Finnish research. The authors of the new study looked at over 30,000 men who became fathers by the age of 45, and found that younger dads had poorer health and died earlier […]

Eating more peanuts is associated with a reduced risk of early death, especially from heart disease, according to a new study. The research drew on data from more than 200,000 participants in other diets studies, finding that peanut consumption was associated with decreased total mortality, particularly cardiovascular mortality. The authors of the study, published today […]

Media coverage around the continuing Ebola outbreak has questioned whether or not the virus could in future change its mode of transmission to become airborne, though this is thought to be unlikely. The coverage follows news of the first imported case of Ebola in the United States, where a man from Liberia was admitted to a hospital […]

The first imported case of Ebola in the US has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and authorities are monitoring at least five schoolchildren who came into contact with the patient after he became sick and infectious. The patient came to the United States from Liberia on 20 September aboard a commercial […]

Screening of at-risk passengers will begin at airports as part of increased efforts to prevent Ebola reaching New Zealand undetected, the Ministry of Health has announced. The Ministry of Health website cautions: “The risk of a traveller arriving in New Zealand with Ebola virus disease (EVD) remains very low. “However, travellers arriving in New Zealand […]

As the number of cases of Ebola in West Africa continues to rise, the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to hold a two-day meeting of its emergency committee looking at whether the current outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern. The latest update from the WHO estimates that as of 1 August 2014, the cumulative number […]

New research published today in The Lancet confirms that the two main factors associated with an increased risk of babies being born with a birth defect are being born to an older mother or to parents who are blood relations. The study found that children born to parents who are first cousins are more than […]