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One of the reasons Ricky Gervais and partner Jane Fallon are not having children is because the world is overpopulated. Photo / AP

LIFESTYLE

Birth strikers: The people skipping kids to save the planet

21 Jun, 2019 7:23pm
15 minutes to read

Is it as crazy as it sounds?

Poverty has been confirmed as a major driver of disproportionate obesity rates among Maori and Pacific pre-schoolers. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Poverty tied to high Maori, Pacific child obesity rates

17 Jun, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Study finds poverty one reason for ethnic differences in weight issues.

Department of Conservation ranger Paul Cashmore, right, inspects one of the wilding pines cut on Rainbow Mountain by Wiremu Redmond, left. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Wilding war: The pest that could swallow a quarter of NZ

16 Jun, 2019 12:40pm
8 minutes to read

Conservationists have swept a plant pest off Rainbow Mountain. But the battle isn't over.

A new report suggests that people around the world are consuming an average five grams of plastic each week - or the weight of an Eftpos card. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Eating a credit card each week: 5 bleak figures about ocean pollution

13 Jun, 2019 2:30pm
7 minutes to read

A new report finds we eat 5 grams of plastic a week. Here are four other shock statistics.

Fresh after Auckland declared a climate change emergency, cities have been warned their emissions could nearly double by 2050 without urgent action. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Climate warning: Cities' emissions could double by 2050

13 Jun, 2019 12:52pm
4 minutes to read

What people in cities use, eat and wear makes up a big amount of global emissions.

Scientists at the Wellington-based Malaghan Institute have been working on promising new CAR-T cell therapies to fight cancer. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Breakthrough cancer research gets $5m boost

13 Jun, 2019 11:54am
3 minutes to read

Scientists working on revolutionary cancer therapy get $5m boost from Govt.

The 5.5 quake was recorded near Big Bay in the far north of Fiordland at 3.24am on Sunday. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Quake mystery: Did 5.5 jolt really strike on big-risk Alpine Fault?

11 Jun, 2019 4:05pm
5 minutes to read

Scientists question whether a 5.5 quake did indeed strike on the big-risk Alpine Fault.

There have been more than enough alarming projections about the past two decades to show why climate change poses a huge threat to Auckland. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

Explained: What does Auckland's 'climate emergency' actually mean?

11 Jun, 2019 11:37am
7 minutes to read

What does a climate emergency declaration actually mean? Jamie Morton explains.

Dutch food technology company Mosa Meat suggest that products such as theirs will likely hit high-end restaurants around the world before dinner tables. Photo / Mosa Meat

BUSINESS

Meaty issue: NZ's place in a cow-disrupted future

9 Jun, 2019 5:00am
10 minutes to read

In a world seeing the rise of meatless meat, where does NZ's beef and lamb industry stand?

The HMNZS Wellington battled through 14m-high swells during a voyage to the subantarctic islands in 2014, forcing a turn-around back to Stewart Island. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Mega-wave warning: The seven-storey Southern Ocean giants

8 Jun, 2019 5:00am
15 minutes to read

They roll across the Southern Ocean like towering monsters.

Lake Taupō fills the hole left by the Oruanui eruption, more than 25,400 years ago. Photo / Marian Robertson

NEW ZEALAND

How much ash would a Taupō eruption spread?

7 Jun, 2019 11:00am
4 minutes to read

Layers of ash centimetres thick could fall on Auckland in a major Taupo eruption.

A lone trout fisherman winds-up for a cast out onto Lake Tarawera, near Rotorua, amid balmy weather on May 23. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Warmest autumn yet: Climate scientist

6 Jun, 2019 11:06am
3 minutes to read

Niwa reports 4th warmest autumn, but scientist's wider model reveals a record-breaker.

It might sound more science fiction than fact, but the era of 3D-printing new livers, kidneys and even hearts might arrive sooner than we think, a leading scientist says. Photo / Getty Images

LIFESTYLE

Why 3D-printed hearts are closer than we think

3 Jun, 2019 7:00pm
8 minutes to read

Professor believes tissue engineering will eventually remove the need for organ donors.

There were also concerns for the cancer-causing and gene-changing properties of the burning of fuel. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Traffic pollution levels in Auckland were compared with city in Japan - and the news isn't good

3 Jun, 2019 5:31pm
3 minutes to read

Auckland had higher levels of a harmful compound when compared with a Japanese city.

A weasel that was discovered in a trap on Mt Taranaki. A major project aims to make Taranaki prtedator-free. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Taranaki pest purge gives hope for NZ's 2050 mission

3 Jun, 2019 11:49am
7 minutes to read

Taranaki's $47m mission to become pest-free is being watched closely by conservationists.

Mohua vanished from Marlborough's Mt Stokes during a

NEW ZEALAND

Mohua wipe-out a grim warning ahead of NZ's 'mega mast'

3 Jun, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

A mountain unshielded by 1080 lost its resident mohua. Is history about to be repeated?

183 honours cover areas including arts, justice, community. from left: David Tua, Fran Walsh, Roger Hall and Yvette Corlett.

NEW ZEALAND

Queen's Birthday Honours: Stars of theatre, sport step into the spotlight

3 Jun, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Leading lights in show business and sport take centre-stage in Queen's Birthday Honours.

Threats against DoC staff have climbed dramatically over recent months - most of it centred around use of 1080 poison to protect our biodiversity from pests. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

DoC beefs up security as more staff attacked over 1080

2 Jun, 2019 12:30pm
5 minutes to read

Govt forced to spend millions on security as anti-1080 abuse against DoC staff rises.

The fluttering shearwater is relatively common, yet surprisingly little is known about the state of its population. Photo / Edin Whitehead

NEW ZEALAND

Taonga under threat: The six reasons our seabirds face extinction

2 Jun, 2019 10:39am
13 minutes to read

Up to 90 per cent of northern NZ's seabirds are in peril. A review lists six reasons why.

NEW ZEALAND

Northern seabird populations at risk of extinction

31 May, 2019 11:20am
2 minutes to read

Up to 90 per cent of northern NZ seabird populations at risk of extinction, review finds.

Threats against DoC staff have climbed dramatically over recent months - most of it centred around the use of 1080 poison. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Budget: Cash boost to keep DOC rangers safe from threats

30 May, 2019 4:51pm
3 minutes to read

Millions to be spent to keep DOC staff safe at a time of rising attacks over 1080 poison.

A scientists' group says the science sector is still strained by

NEW ZEALAND

Budget: Science funding not enough, group says

30 May, 2019 4:05pm
3 minutes to read

Scientists say Budget won't fix "excessive competition for too little funding".

Farmers will benefit from a new $229m package aimed at cleaning up waterways. Photo / Dairy NZ

NEW ZEALAND

Budget's environment spend: $229m to help clean up rivers

30 May, 2019 3:03pm
4 minutes to read

Govt to pump more than $200 million into a new programme aimed at cleaning up waterways.

Professor Rod Dunbar of Auckland University is researching immunotherapy and what it means for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

60 Kiwis will be told today they have cancer. This is why they should still have hope

20 May, 2019 11:43am
17 minutes to read

Immunotherapy was named our best hope against cancer five years ago. What's changed since?

The Predator Free 2050 effort aims to clear all rats, stoats and possums from the mainland by the middle of the century. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Why public buy-in is critical to NZ's great pest wipe-out

20 May, 2019 6:00am
4 minutes to read

NZ's bid to rid itself of pest predators could hit a wall if public concerns are ignored.

The gigantic Haast's eagle shared common ancestry with an Australian species - making it one of many examples of trans-Tasman bird pairings in our ancient history. Illustration / John Megahan

NEW ZEALAND

Moa's ark? Uncovering 'the Great Australianisation' of NZ

19 May, 2019 3:28pm
6 minutes to read

Rather than just a cut-off Moa's ark, ancient NZ was also a 'flypaper of the Pacific'.

Longfin eels, found in almost all types of waters throughout the country, are extraordinary creatures for many reasons. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

High-tech tags set to crack r-eely old mystery

19 May, 2019 12:56pm
3 minutes to read

Scientists finally set to solve an age-old mystery about a slimy resident of our streams.

Marine heatwaves - like the freak event that engulfed the entire country over the summer of 2017/18 (pictured) - are expected to grow more frequent under climate change. Photo / Niwa

NEW ZEALAND

Marine heatwaves: Why do they make our seas scorch?

19 May, 2019 11:28am
3 minutes to read

They melt mountains and turn our beaches into warm baths. What causes marine heatwaves?

A wave of fresh scientific findings has changed what we know about the Alpine Fault, culminating in a multi-agency effort to prepare the communities in the firing line. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

The Big One: What will an Alpine Fault quake feel like?

9 May, 2019 10:17am
14 minutes to read

Scientists reveal more about a fault set to unleash one of the biggest quakes NZ's seen.

An ecologist and long-time visitor is worried

NEW ZEALAND

In 2016 Kiwis crowdfunded to buy a beach. Now there's fears for its future

5 May, 2019 3:21pm
5 minutes to read

A long-visiting ecologist fears Awaroa Beach's people's paradise is being lost.

Former Auckland man Julian Coulston, 27, was married to his long-time partner Ayla Sharp on March 28. He died eight days later. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Young dad gets dream wedding week before death

5 May, 2019 1:05pm
4 minutes to read

Inspirational dad Julian Coulston married his best mate eight days before dying of cancer.

Duck shooters in many regions are in for a bumper season this year, Fish & Game says. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Hunting season shaping up to be quacker

3 May, 2019 5:00am
6 minutes to read

Going shooting this weekend? Here's everything you need to know ahead of opening morning.

Hydrogen is the smallest and lightest element in the universe - and when produced as green hydrogen, could be used to fuel large vehicles. Photo / 123rf

NEW ZEALAND

Is this what the clean, green future of NZ energy looks like?

23 Apr, 2019 5:00am
8 minutes to read

It's being touted as a low-emission wonder for NZ's energy future. What is green hydrogen?

NEW ZEALAND

Revealed: The spot that marks the true centre of New Zealand

21 Apr, 2019 11:22am
4 minutes to read

It turns out there's an exact middle of Middle Earth. Artist Billy Apple just marked it.

NEW ZEALAND

Breakthrough epilepsy finding could help kids around the world

21 Apr, 2019 10:42am
3 minutes to read

Breakthrough to boost treatment for most common neurological hospital emergency in kids.

Our national icon, the kiwi, is among 4000 species considered threatened or at risk. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Special Report: The tragedy of our environment in four dismal figures

18 Apr, 2019 11:00am
15 minutes to read

A sweeping audit has revealed an environment under attack from virtually every direction.

Aerial 1080 drops have proven key to the survival of kiwi chicks in a North Island forest, shows the first long-running study of its kind. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

When 1080 falls on forests, more kiwi chicks survive

17 Apr, 2019 1:18pm
3 minutes to read

Aerial 1080 drops have proven key to the survival of kiwi chicks in a North Island forest.

The Hikurangi Subduction Zone is a sprawling offshore fault, east of the country, that marks where the Pacific Plate dives - or subducts - westward beneath the North Island. Image / GNS Science

NEW ZEALAND

Study shows past rumbles on NZ's big quake danger zone

17 Apr, 2019 12:47pm
4 minutes to read

Scientists pull together most comprehensive picture yet of NZ's largest geological threat.

Current working figures show Kiwis eat 17.2kg beef, 5kg of lamb and 0.7kg mutton per capita. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Study: Bowel cancer risk with even 'moderate' amount of red meat

17 Apr, 2019 11:04am
7 minutes to read

Even a moderate amount of red and processed meat raises risk of bowel cancer, study says.

NEW ZEALAND

White Island's crater lake now less likely to overflow

17 Apr, 2019 10:13am
2 minutes to read

The risk of an overflow at NZ's rowdiest volcano appears to have cooled, scientists say.

Safeswim allows people to check where and when they can swim before heading to the beach. Image / Auckland Council

BUSINESS

Auckland's Safeswim app to be sold overseas as product

17 Apr, 2019 8:07am
2 minutes to read

Auckland's real-time Safeswim app to be sold overseas as a multi-million dollar product.

Nearly two thirds of GPs have had patients ask about medicinal cannabis over the past year, a new survey indicates. Photo / Helius Therapeutics.

NEW ZEALAND

Two-thirds of GPs quizzed about medicinal cannabis

17 Apr, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Nearly two thirds of GPs have had patients ask about medicinal cannabis in the past year.

Orange fronted parakeets are among the native species most threatened by this year's

NEW ZEALAND

DoC: Forest 'mega-mast' may spell local extinctions

14 Apr, 2019 12:00pm
7 minutes to read

Pest plagues are feared with biggest beech forest seeding event in nearly half a century.

Cats are highly efficient killers - and one study has suggested they're a bigger threat to birds, skinks, geckos and weta in cities than even rats and mice. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Is this how we stop the cat control debate turning feral?

14 Apr, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Working with cat owners, not against them, key to finding solutions that work.

Pre-school kids exposed to their parents' drug abuse or domestic violence are more likely to struggle with basic reading, writing and maths later on, new findings show. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Home truths: what hurts and helps Kiwi kids' development

12 Apr, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Kids from troubled homes struggle later - but in spite of poverty some beat the odds.

One of the newly-discovered squids, which belongs to the Histioteuthidae family. Photo / Richard Young

NEW ZEALAND

Creatures of the deep: Weird new NZ species discovered

11 Apr, 2019 2:32pm
4 minutes to read

Squid that resembles a character from The Muppets among just-discovered NZ sea creatures.

NEW ZEALAND

Rising NZ emissions sparks call for transport crackdown

11 Apr, 2019 12:48pm
4 minutes to read

Pressure needs to be put on the transport sector over rising emissions, scientist says.

Overnight, scientists will give the world its first actual glimpse at a black hole. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Q&A: Why tomorrow's black hole reveal is big news

10 Apr, 2019 2:25pm
4 minutes to read

Scientists are about to reveal what a black hole looks like - and it's a big deal.

NEW ZEALAND

NZ study: NZ glaciers' 'huge loss' of ice in just 42 years

9 Apr, 2019 8:47am
5 minutes to read

Rampant glacier loss shows NZ may become 'land of the short white cloud', scientist says.

A world-first study aims to reveal the bacterial boost that vaginally-born babies may get in early life. Photo / Getty Images

LIFESTYLE

Breakthrough NZ research: How C-section babies may miss health benefits

8 Apr, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

World-first study to reveal the health benefits of non-Caesarean births.

Conservation hero Sir Rob Fenwick has spent a decade as chairman of Kiwis for Kiwi. Photo / Brett Phibbs

NEW ZEALAND

Conservation hero's departing words: NZ will save the kiwi

7 Apr, 2019 3:12pm
5 minutes to read

Stepping down from Kiwis for Kiwi, Sir Rob Fenwick is optimistic our national icon's safe.

Mount Taranaki has a 50 per cent chance of erupting in the next 50 years, scientists say. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Why a big Mt Taranaki eruption just got more dangerous

7 Apr, 2019 1:38pm
5 minutes to read

Deadly pyroclastic flows from Taranaki eruptions can spread further than once thought.

The Archey's frog is the country's smallest native frog, growing to only 37mm in length. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Coromandel haven for rare frogs gets Govt protection

7 Apr, 2019 10:14am
2 minutes to read

A Coromandel forest home to some of rarest frogs in the world granted new protection.

A swarm of East Coast quakes has just been triggered by one of the largest

NEW ZEALAND

Swarm of quakes triggered by major 'slow slip' NZ event

5 Apr, 2019 10:40am
4 minutes to read

Silent, slow-burning earthquakes can displace faults over days and months.

Scientists have offered more insights into how our kiwi became flightless. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Is this the reason our national bird can't fly?

5 Apr, 2019 7:00am
3 minutes to read

The reason kiwi are flightless likely lies in their molecular roots, scientists say.

New research announced by Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa today indicated that, for the first time, fewer than two per cent of Kiwi teens aged 14 to 15 now smoked daily. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Smoking among young teens nearly stubbed out - survey

4 Apr, 2019 11:12am
4 minutes to read

Smoking among young teen students appears close to being stubbed out, new survey shows.

NEW ZEALAND

EPA sweep finds banned chemical at six airports

4 Apr, 2019 10:04am
4 minutes to read

Officials surprised to discover foams containing a long-banned chemical at six airports.

NEW ZEALAND

Report card on NZ's vanishing nature: Must try harder

4 Apr, 2019 1:00am
3 minutes to read

More work urgently needed to arrest decline of NZ's vanishing nature, report finds.

NEW ZEALAND

Q&A: Sir Peter Gluckman talks science, Facebook and climate change

3 Apr, 2019 4:14pm
11 minutes to read

The PM's first chief science advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, talks about his career.

Kerikeri firefighters extinguish a blaze next to State Highway 10 at Bulls Gorge in the Far North last month. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Second-hottest March another sign of climate change

3 Apr, 2019 1:31pm
5 minutes to read

NZ's second-equal hottest March another clear sign of climate change, scientists say.

It's estimated that the material value of some 95 per cent of plastic packaging is currently being lost to the economy. Photo / File

BUSINESS

Top thinker: Why NZ's economy has to go 'circular'

3 Apr, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

A circular economy could solve NZ's waste woes and free up billions, a top thinker says.

Beekeepers have reported losing around 10 per cent of their hives last year - with wasps and suspected weather-driven starvation among the reasons. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

NZ beekeepers lost 10 per cent of hives last year - survey

2 Apr, 2019 4:41pm
2 minutes to read

Beekeepers have reported losing around 10 per cent of their hives last year.