Senior scientists have criticised an American university for allowing research on a pandemic strain of flu virus that escapes the human immune system.

A controversial scientist has deliberately created a pandemic strain of flu that can evade the human immune system.

More than a third of all Maori today are children, which could lead to a rise in racial intermarriage and other changes that could shape the country, a demographer says.

This winter was not a good one for farmers in the Fertile Crescent.

The Asian population could hit 800,000 in 10 years and more than two-thirds will be living in Auckland, a Chinese conference this weekend will be told.

The population gain from migration has climbed to a 13-year high as the net loss of people to Australia dwindled to just 210 last month, the lowest for at least 18 years.

This week's Budget was notable for its carefully telegraphed surpluses and the relatively moderate election sweeteners included in its slightly looser fiscal outlook, writes Bernard Hickey.

The 2013 Census contains a huge amount of fascinating information that highlights the difficulties facing businesses, particularly in the Auckland area, writes Brian Gaynor.

Scientists have issued a new warning to the world’s coastal megacities that the threat from subsiding land is a more immediate problem than rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Nasa has revealed that one twin will be put in a rocket and the other kept on the ground as part of a study on the effects of orbiting the Earth.

What I want to think about is how grateful I am to the refugees who come and settled in NZ and how angry I am at the disregard with which we treat them, writes Dr Avril Bell.

In the final of our four part series, we look at how NZ's high rate of intermarriage is literally closing ethnic gaps - which casts doubt on distinct catagories of 'Maori families'.

Modern civilisation is heading for collapse within a matter of decades, according to a scientific study funded by Nasa.

It's no secret that Auckland is a diverse city full of different cultures and new research has shed light on exactly how it and the rest of the country are changing.

The equivalent of the population of the Wellington region dies each year in China because of air pollution, according to the country's former Health Minister.

The South Island has had bigger median income gains than the North over the past seven years, Census figures show.

NZ's population has passed the 4.5 million mark, according to Statistics NZ - meet the baby that pushed us over that milestone.

Personal income has fallen dramatically in South Auckland compared to more affluent Auckland areas, according to the latest Census data.

New Zealand has more ethnicities than there are countries in the world, the 2013 census has revealed.

About 280,000 New Zealanders are waiting for elective surgery, and more than half are not on waiting lists, new research shows.

Editorial: It has been a long wait for a clear measure of New Zealand's population. Now the census confirms it's 4.24m, it's time to think about how to increase that headcount.

Maori will be outnumbered by Asians as the second-biggest ethnic group in New Zealand within the next decade, a leading academic says.

Statistics New Zealand has released key census information on the country's population, its mix of ages and sexes, and where people choose to live.

New Zealand's population is now 4.24 million and is getting older and more ethnically diverse, this year's census has shown. Click here to see an interactive map from the data.

Small is beautiful, but it can also be precarious, and New Zealand will need to work hard to stay in the Prosperity Index's top five. Rod McNaughton.