Greg Bruce goes to university to learn how ideas are made.

Scientists have discovered something strange deep in the jungle of Madagascar: the "ghost snake".

As investigators share their latest breakthroughs at Brain Research NZ's annual conference, Jamie Morton took a close look at 10 new Kiwi-led advances.

Can tales of fantasy provide real, useful coping mechanisms to kids muddling through difficult times?

Scientists who trekked to the Mount Everest region of Nepal last May have discovered the amazing effects meditation has on brain activity.

A cure for asthma is on the horizon after scientists discovered a genetic switch which prevents the condition.

A US researcher has discovered how to control multiple robotic drones using the human brain.

Investigation by a team of Kiwi researchers has found solid evidence to back an intriguing approach used to alleviate phantom limb pain in amputees.

A Dunedin-based neurosurgeon is investigating whether tiny devices implanted in the brain can stop alcoholics' cravings.

Kiwi scientists have developed a world-leading tool to accurately predict the risk of heart attack and stroke.

An ancient, metre-tall human discovered by a Kiwi and dubbed "the Hobbit" was an entirely separate species and not simply a deformed forebear of our race today.

130 scientists, entrepreneurs and policy leaders held an invitation-only, closed-door meeting at Harvard University to discuss an ambitious plan to create synthetic human genomes.

Growing Up in New Zealand study director Susan Morton is tracking the development of almost 7000 children born seven years ago in the Upper North Island.

It's a dilemma faced by many new parents: do they get up in the night to comfort their crying babies - or let them sob themselves to sleep?

UK law bans labs from growing embryos for longer than 14 days as after two weeks, it is deemed that an individual has started to develop.

Intense training amid 35C heat and 80 per cent humidity may sound like hell to most of us, but to elite athletes it could mean all the difference in making it to the podium.

Being almost too exhausted to write this very article about tiredness is painfully ironic, writes new dad Jamie Morton.

The shedding of emotional tears is unique to humans, but our evolutionary, psychological and biological reasons for "crying it out" remain a mystery.

COMMENT: We believe that random funding is a fair and transparent way to choose between equally qualified applicants, writes Kath McPherson.

With no cause and no cure, autism remains one of the most mind-bogglingly complex disorders for researchers to tackle.

Bugs capable of everything from curing diseases to mopping up pollution are a step closer after scientists created an artificial lifeform in a lab.

Scientists believe by 2045 they will have achieved immortality.

Reseachers from across the world have attended a major conference in Christchurch showing off their latest theories, technology, data, and videos furthering the state-of-the-art in human robot interaction.

The "root of all evil" has been discovered by scientists who found that part of the brain fires up before nefarious acts are carried out.

The best things in life are not only free - they also arrive before we hit middle-age, it seems.

Viagra could be given to women in childbirth to reduce complications and save babies' lives.

A device that sends an electric current into nerve fibres found in the ears could help millions of people with depression.

Adult play is a booming branch of the wellness industry, but can it really relieve stress? Cherrill Hicks finds out.

A new paper from researchers at Johns Hopkins University suggests that learning to ignore certain things is a powerful tool for helping people focus.