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Just a third of people in tsunami-threatened Petone and Eastbourne evacuated to higher ground within the recommended 10 minutes after the Kaikoura quake. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Researchers concerned at post-quake confusion

21 Jun, 2018 12:57pm
3 minutes to read

A new Wellington study has highlighted the confusion that followed the Kaikoura quake.

Kiwi scientist Professor Neil Gemmell has joined a hunt for the fabled Loch Ness Monster. Photo / AP, File

NEW ZEALAND

Hunt for Nessie: Inside a Kiwi scientist's Scotland expedition

21 Jun, 2018 12:10pm
9 minutes to read

Big days and countless media interviews are all part of a Nessie-hunting scientist's work.

Mt Ruapehu will be used as a case study for a project investigating the risk of collapsing volcanoes. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Collapsing volcanoes: Study to tackle complex threat

20 Jun, 2018 4:35pm
2 minutes to read

Scientists aim to model risks linked to collapsing volcanoes, saving lives and buildings.

Farming groups back treating agricultural emissions differently to CO2 in the proposed Zero Carbon Act, while Greenpeace is opposed to this. Photo / Dairy NZ

NEW ZEALAND

NZ's big climate question: do we cut all gases?

20 Jun, 2018 4:14pm
5 minutes to read

Should NZ's bold new Zero Carbon Bill target short-lived methane as hard as CO2?

The new discovery reveals how the ability of bacteria to transfer genes is determined by previously unknown rules that are stamped into the recipient's DNA. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Could we stop the spread of problem genes?

19 Jun, 2018 3:50pm
3 minutes to read

Breakthrough could point the way to stopping the spread of genes that pose a threat to us.

According to backyard counts, numbers of the common garden native bird silvereye, or waxeye, has declined by nearly half. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Why garden birds are our 'backyard barometers'

19 Jun, 2018 3:37pm
3 minutes to read

A new report is good news for the greenfinch - but worrying for the tiny waxeye.

NEW ZEALAND

Are video game 'loot boxes' making our teens gamblers?

19 Jun, 2018 2:10pm
3 minutes to read

Video game "loot boxes" with random rewards inside could be triggering gambling habits.

Cotinine - the main metabolite of nicotine - was detected among 11 per cent of adults and 2 per cent of children - and only Māori children. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

What everyday chemicals are Kiwis being exposed to?

19 Jun, 2018 12:47pm
3 minutes to read

Lead - at safe levels - was found in the blood of all Kiwis surveyed in a major new study.

Kiwi scientists believe it might be possible to catch the earliest signs of dementia - potentially even decades before diagnosis. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Could we spot dementia decades before diagnosis?

18 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Imagine being able to spot dementia 30 years in advance. Scientists think it's possible.

Coral growth is being hampered by a combination of disease, poor water quality, fishing and climate-change-driven impacts like coral bleaching - as seen here in the Maldives. Photo / Paul Muir

NEW ZEALAND

Coral reefs growing slower than sea-level rise

17 Jun, 2018 1:17pm
3 minutes to read

Another potential problem posed for low-lying tropical islands under climate change.

Kākā were compared to chiefs in ancestral sayings, while moa were used as a metaphor for loss. Photo / Leon Berard

NEW ZEALAND

What early Māori can teach us about NZ's paradise lost

17 Jun, 2018 11:32am
5 minutes to read

The tragic decline of NZ's native species was apparent even to our earliest settlers.

NEW ZEALAND

The complex cues behind 'hangryness'

16 Jun, 2018 5:00am
9 minutes to read

You're spoiling for a spat, but all you really need is a sandwich. Why do we get "hangry"?

The QEII National Trust is mulling legal action against Auckland Council over a decision to scrap the rates discounts its members long received. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

QEII Trust mulling legal action over rates row

14 Jun, 2018 6:00pm
3 minutes to read

The QEII National Trust pondering court action over council move to scrap rates discounts.

Under the Resource Management Act, councils have delegated responsibility for the everyday management of land, freshwater and other resources. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Thousands of RMA breaches - prosecutions falling

14 Jun, 2018 3:56pm
4 minutes to read

Why are thousands of breaches under the Resource Management Act not being prosecuted?

Storm-driven ocean swells have been driving a catastrophic disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves over recent decades. Photo / Nick Roden/Australian Antarctic Division

NEW ZEALAND

Ocean waves in Antarctica can trigger ice shelf collapse

14 Jun, 2018 2:05pm
4 minutes to read

Ocean swells have been driving a catastrophic disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves.

What happens in only the next decade could determine the fate of Antarctica - and the world. Photo / Regina Eisert

NEW ZEALAND

Global warming causing Antarctic ice to melt three times faster a year

14 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

What happens in the next decade could determine the fate of Antarctica - and our coasts.

Lake snot poses no known health threat - but can clog fishing and boating equipment. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Lake snot-making algae now in Lake Taupo

13 Jun, 2018 5:32pm
3 minutes to read

An algae species that creates mucus-like lake snot has likely now spread to Lake Taupo.

The research drew on a highly successful marine predator seabird - the Australasian gannet - as a biological monitor of the marine environment and food sources. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Warmer water worsens fish nutritional quality - study

13 Jun, 2018 4:29pm
3 minutes to read

Warmer-water events can worsen the nutritional balance of fish, new study finds.

Plastic pollution has now reached the pristine waters of Antarctica. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Has our action on plastics come too late?

13 Jun, 2018 10:26am
10 minutes to read

With plastic now being found in Antarctica's pristine waters, has action come too late?

Scientists have applauded the appointment of respected biochemist Professor Juliet Gerrard as the next science adviser to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Scientists applaud pick for Gluckman's successor

12 Jun, 2018 5:02pm
3 minutes to read

Respected biochemist Professor Juliet Gerrard stepping into PM's science adviser role.

Scientists believe the lake activity is part of a heating cycle that's long been observed at Mt Ruapehu, which officially remains at the second lowest Volcanic Alert Level. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Tremors, rising lake temps signal 'unrest' at Mt Ruapehu

9 Jun, 2018 12:00pm
2 minutes to read

Scientists believe the lake activity is part cycle that's long been observed at Mt Ruapehu

Scientists have worked out how Polynesian architects were able to mount 13-tonne red hats on Easter Island's mysterious statues. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Weird Science: Another Easter Island mystery solved

9 Jun, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

How did Easter Island's statues get hats? And what can it teach us about climate change?

By the time the wider public came to know Dame Tariana Turia, she'd was already recognised within Maoridom as a trail-blazing leader. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

'Exceptional, courageous' leader honoured

8 Jun, 2018 10:30pm
7 minutes to read

Dame Tariana Turia's decades of tireless work have been recognised with a top honour.

The lesser short-tailed bat exists today in two sub-species - one considered nationally endangered and the other declining. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

What NZ bats can teach us about old-fashioned romance

8 Jun, 2018 11:06am
4 minutes to read

In a dating age dominated by Tinder, NZ's bats prefer to do romance the old-fashioned way.

Farming groups are heartened to see the Government considering approaching shorter-lived gases differently than carbon dioxide. Photo / DairyNZ

NEW ZEALAND

Greenpeace want ag emissions in carbon act

7 Jun, 2018 6:24pm
4 minutes to read

Greenpeace says NZ's new climate policy should be aiming for gold, not bronze.

NEW ZEALAND

NZ's bold new climate bill: four big ways it matters

7 Jun, 2018 12:30pm
10 minutes to read

NZ's new climate bill has huge implications - but doing nothing would be worse, Shaw says.

NEW ZEALAND

Why 2018 has been our fourth warmest year so far

6 Jun, 2018 3:29pm
3 minutes to read

The January-through-May period was the fourth warmest of any recorded in NZ, Niwa says.

An Earth day lasted three quarters as long 1.4 billion years ago - partly because the moon was closer and changed the way Earth spun around its axis. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Think days are short now? They once lasted just 18 hours

6 Jun, 2018 12:15pm
6 minutes to read

Around 1.4 billion years ago, a day on Earth lasted just 18 hours, scientists say.

A male cave weta's super-long hindlegs effectively shelter females from pesky bugs that scuttle around them as they wait in the darkness. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

When ladies get bugged, weta blokes put their best leg forward

6 Jun, 2018 11:01am
2 minutes to read

Male cave weta with longer legs are more likely to get the girl. Scientists explain why.

NEW ZEALAND

Rising lake temps signal 'minor unrest' at Ruapehu

6 Jun, 2018 10:06am
2 minutes to read

Mt Ruapehu's crater lake temperature rising in step with an increase in volcanic tremors.

Climate change is expected to result in more large storms, compounding the effects of sea level rise. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

DB, Les Mills, Phil Goff among call for climate action

6 Jun, 2018 9:57am
3 minutes to read

More than 200 businesses, leaders and community groups sign letter backing zero carbon.

Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage wants to phase out single use plastic bags - but no decision has yet been made by the Government. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Minister downplays reports of imminent plastic-bag ban

5 Jun, 2018 5:19pm
3 minutes to read

Eugenie Sage wants to phase out single-use plastic bags but no decision has been made.

A binary star evolution within a globular cluster. These star-packed balls could be billions of years younger than we think. Image / Mark A Garlick, University of Warwick

NEW ZEALAND

Stellar discovery could prompt a rethink on the universe

5 Jun, 2018 4:52pm
3 minutes to read

NZ astrophysicist in discovery that could change what we understand about the universe.

The famous kauri tree Tane Mahuta, in Northland's Waipoua Forest. Kauri have just been classified as threatened by the Department of Conservation. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

After 20 million years, kauri are officially 'threatened'

5 Jun, 2018 4:38pm
3 minutes to read

They've dominated our forests for 20 million years. Now kauri are officially threatened.

NEW ZEALAND

Could some quakes come with warning signals?

5 Jun, 2018 3:42pm
3 minutes to read

Scientists have discovered seismic warning signals that can precede an earthquake.

Rodent detection dogs Will and Ahu and their trainer and handler Miriam Ritchie working on the South Georgia Heritage Trust's Rat Eradication Project at Discovery Point in South Georgia, Antarctica, in February.

THE COUNTRY

NZ experts rid remote South Georgia Island of pests

5 Jun, 2018 3:00pm
3 minutes to read

NZ pest control expertise has rid South Georgia Island of predators.

An artist's impression of a volcanic eruption in the Waitemata Harbour near the Auckland City waterfront. Aucklanders are very aware of the threat, Colin Wilson says. Image / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Our next big eruption: can we predict it?

5 Jun, 2018 11:28am
8 minutes to read

Is it possible to anticipate when New Zealand's next big volcano will blow?

NEW ZEALAND

Global cancer rates: How does NZ compare?

5 Jun, 2018 10:58am
6 minutes to read

New Zealand's dismal cancer statistics have been highlighted in a global index.

Volunteers Isaac Rule, Craig Connor-Woodley and Matt Lane shift silt from a Christchurch driveway following the February 22 2011 earthquake. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

How the ChCh Earthquake 'fused' residents to their city

5 Jun, 2018 10:09am
3 minutes to read

Researchers have explored the "identity fusion" forged by the Christchurch Earthquake.

AgResearch scientist Dr Gosia Zobel with some of the goats used in a new study exploring the moods and personalities of farm animals. Photo / Aotearoa Science Agency

NEW ZEALAND

Farm animals' feelings focus of pioneering NZ study

5 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Farms animals have a world of emotions - and scientists say we need to understand them.

NEW ZEALAND

Researchers moot new way to treat methane

4 Jun, 2018 9:00pm
5 minutes to read

A new study has suggested a fresh way to account for key greenhouse gas methane.

Dubbed public enemy number one by the Department of Conservation, the stoat has also taken a toll on many threatened bird species. Photo / Patrick Garvey

NEW ZEALAND

NZ's natural born killer: The war on stoats

4 Jun, 2018 12:14pm
7 minutes to read

They're the wiliest of our bird-killing pests. How can we possibly hope to beat the stoat?

Jools Topp and Lynda Topp, of folk-comedy duo The Topp Twins, are to be made dames. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the pair as

NEW ZEALAND

Topps! Watershed year for women in 2018 QB Honours

4 Jun, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

For the first time more women than men are recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event occurred 66 million years ago, wiping out dinosaurs. Scientists now say the episode also destroyed forests and birds in them. Image / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Dinosaur-killing asteroid also wiped out forests, birds

3 Jun, 2018 4:38pm
4 minutes to read

Forests and birds living in them were also wiped out by the dinosaur-killing K–Pg event.

Tragic images like this one powerfully illustrate the problem of plastic in our oceans - but properly tackling the problem requires a shift away from focusing on lone animals. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Plastic pollution: Why tragic photographs aren't enough

3 Jun, 2018 4:24pm
5 minutes to read

Tragic images of ocean life swimming in plastic belies a bigger problem, researchers say.

NEW ZEALAND

Has New Zealand failed its environment?

3 Jun, 2018 2:40pm
10 minutes to read

50 years on from the Manapouri saga, NZ's laws have failed its environment, writer argues.

Department of Conservation ranger Miriam Ritchie, with dogs Will and Ahu at an elephant seal colony on South Georgia. Photo / Oliver Prince

NEW ZEALAND

The Kiwis behind the world's biggest rodent eradication

3 Jun, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

9000km away from home, Miriam Ritchie and her dogs helped make South Georgia rodent-free.

Rangers on Mt Taranaki opened one of their traps to discover this weasel. A major new project has been launched in Taranaki to make the region predator free. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Can NZ really kill every rat, possum and stoat?

2 Jun, 2018 2:00pm
11 minutes to read

Nearly two years into the war, are we any closer to being rid of predators by 2050?

Sharks have this incredible ability to pick up nanoscopic currents while swimming through

NEW ZEALAND

Weird Science: Why sharks have a 'sixth sense'

2 Jun, 2018 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Imagine having superhuman hearing. That's kind of what sharks have, scientists say.

Northern areas like Auckland may get a warmer-than-average winter this year. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Chance of a milder winter for much of North Island

31 May, 2018 2:31pm
2 minutes to read

Winter might end up on the warmer side for the north and west of the North Island.

China's decision to stop accepting recyclable items like plastic earlier this year has had an effect on the market. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Recyclables stockpiled around country 'not sustainable'

31 May, 2018 11:18am
3 minutes to read

China's new ban on many recyclables has caused bigger headaches than expected for NZ.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage (right), Taranaki Regional Council chairman David MacLeod and Predator Free 2050 Limited board chair Jane Taylor. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Taranaki's bold bid to be first predator-free region

30 May, 2018 1:24pm
3 minutes to read

Taranaki is making a play to be the first region to rid itself of pest predators.

A programme at South Westland's Landsborough valley is DOC's longest study charting the response of birds to pest control. Photo / DoC, Neil Sloan

NEW ZEALAND

Hope as native bird numbers double

28 May, 2018 5:00am
3 minutes to read

A 20-year DoC project in the South Island valley shows the value of pest control.

Pursuing goals that are at odds with each other could be a recipe for unhappiness. Photo / 123RF

LIFESTYLE

Why pursuing your goals could actually make you unhappy

26 May, 2018 9:37am
6 minutes to read

If you are constantly juggling a set of goals, it could be a recipe for unhappiness.

Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka, has some of the clearest waters ever measured, along with largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Footage reveals stunning clarity of famous NZ springs

25 May, 2018 11:32am
3 minutes to read

Footage has revealed the spectacular clarity of one of NZ's largest freshwater springs.

NEW ZEALAND

Prestigious UK science journal publishes in te reo

25 May, 2018 9:30am
3 minutes to read

A major UK scientific journal has featured a research paper summarised in te reo Māori.

A Bullers Shearwater photographed on the Poor Knights Islands. A number of the birds caught on the cruise ship died. Photo / File / Graeme Taylor

NEW ZEALAND

Cruise ship slaughter: Seabirds die in boxes

25 May, 2018 8:34am
3 minutes to read

Calls for improvements after seabirds die aboard cruise ship after being placed in boxes.

Milford Sound received 810,000 visitors over the year to March - and more than 4,500 on its busiest days. Photo / Mike Scott

NEW ZEALAND

The impact of 1.7 million tourists on beautiful New Zealand

24 May, 2018 5:37pm
3 minutes to read

Tourism to our national parks continues to grow. Is it sustainable for our environment?

NEW ZEALAND

NZ's climate faces wilder, wetter, warmer, future

24 May, 2018 9:00am
4 minutes to read

A top panel has laid out starting points for NZ to prepare for a warmer, wilder future.

NEW ZEALAND

Saving our native species comes with winners and losers

23 May, 2018 5:30pm
4 minutes to read

Wiping out our predators is good for our threatened species - yet some more than others.

Kiwis use an estimated 1.6 billion plastic bags every year. Now researchers have urged caution around those labelled as

NEW ZEALAND

Are 'biodegradable' plastic bags any better for the planet?

23 May, 2018 11:00am
4 minutes to read

Not enough is known about how these materials break down in the environment.

Data and the future of food as we know it are the focus of a major collaboration with Singaporean scientists. Photo / 123RF

BUSINESS

Food, data focus of $60m Singapore collaboration

22 May, 2018 4:32pm
2 minutes to read

New $60m NZ and Singapore science collaboration to focus on data and the future of food.