Grant Jacobs • Aug 13, 2018 •
A lot has been said about a recent court case ruling about Monsanto’s Roundup. Let’s look just at the role of IARC and Eugenie Sage’s call for the New Zealand Environment Protection Agency (NZ EPA) review their stance on Roundup. The role IARC seems to be very little understood. Many media reports (worldwide) on this court case offer a throw-away … Read More
Robert Hickson • Aug 01, 2018 •
Auckland Council’s long term spatial plan to 2050 is out. There seems to be lots of good data released with it that is worth exploring. But the thing getting the most attention at the moment is one of five scenarios in the brief Possible futures part that was released along with the plan. The “Two speed … Read More
Alison Campbell • Aug 01, 2018 •
Except, perhaps, if it’s used to develop critical thinking skills. But I don’t think that’s what happened on the occasion reported under the headline Creationism taught in science class at Villa Education Trust school: [A student who’d studied at] Mt Hobson Middle School said Darwinism was taught as an unproven theory and students were shown a video purporting to … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 26, 2018 •
Dr Duncan Steel A few minutes after 8am this Saturday those further south in New Zealand will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a rare celestial event: a selenelion (or selenehelion). What is that? It’s when the eclipsed Moon can be seen on one horizon, whilst the rising Sun can also be observed near the opposite … Read More
Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Jul 23, 2018 •
The Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund is now in its third round, with applications closing this week, which seems like a good time to celebrate some of the great journalism that’s been enabled by the fund. It’s the first independent journalism fund dedicated to furthering coverage of the science-related issues that impact New Zealanders. Dr Rebecca Priestley, winner … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Jul 23, 2018 •
In an unassuming building at the top of Tory Street in Wellington lies buried treasure: the remains of a lost world that rivals Smaug’s hoard, but the equivalent of the five armies is closing in. The proposed restructure of our national museum means we are in danger of losing the key to unlocking the secrets these biological taonga hold. Read More
Sarb Johal • Jul 16, 2018 •
In this Psychology Report, I am interviewing renowned psychologist Emeritus Professor Michael Corballis. He has recently won the Rutherford Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand for his work on asymmetry of the brain, but also his work on language, and that’s what I’m focusing on today in our interview. One view … Read More
John Pickering • Jul 16, 2018 •
I’d like to say the end is nigh for the performance-based research fund (PBRF), full stop. A few months ago, I demonstrated how the expensive and tedious production of evidence portfolios by 7000 academic staff will do nothing to change the redistribution of research funding – the purported reason for PBRF. So, I’d like to … Read More
Helen Petousis Harris • Jul 13, 2018
In the tiny Pacific Nation of Samoa, on Friday 6 July 2018, two babies died shortly after receiving MMR vaccine. How could this happen? Lots of discussion is going around about this tragedy, and even more questions. Here are some responses to the things I have been asked this week summarised under the headings below. About MMR vaccines How … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 11, 2018 •
Karen Nimmo So the psychological recovery begins. With the physical ordeal behind them, the 12 Thai footballers and their coach who survived underground terror and a high-risk rescue must now re-engage with life. Physical injuries will heal; hopefully any infections will too. But the invisible wounds will bear tending for the rest of their lives. It is not possible to … Read More