An elixir of youth remains a distant dream but medicines to help us live longer and better are moving closer.

Scientists have discovered that a conversation on the phone can be as good as a hug in terms of boosting the "love hormone" oxytocin.

John Key says research, science and technology will get the biggest boost after health and education in next week's Budget.

Scientists have found that washing your hands frees you of taking the blame for any unhappy outcome of a difficult decision.

Merely putting sugar into your mouth boosts muscle strength for three minutes, New Zealand research has shown.

A new vaccine therapy, derived from rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD), could offer hope for colorectal cancer sufferers, researchers say.

Young children should not watch any TV because it sets them up for obesity and poor academic performance at school, say experts.

Researchers want to hear from serial sex cheats and others with trouser-trouble, to deepen their understanding of what they call "hypersexuality".

Rays that cause skin cancer also make New Zealand sauvignon blanc unique, according to new research.

Genetically modified cows were born with ovaries that grew so large they caused ruptures and killed the animals.

An apparently healthy man has become the first person in the world to be prescribed a medicine based on an analysis of his genome.

A corn infection that US farmers have spent millions trying to eradicate, is in fact packed with unique proteins, minerals and other nutritional goodies, tests have found.

Results from the pig-cell trial so far indicate improved control of blood-sugar levels and reduced need for insulin injections.

The US will be a hitch-hiker on other nations' space programmes, writes Gwynne Dyer.

Images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, which NASA claims is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun.