Guest Work

By Prof. Jack Heinemann* Part 2: If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Scientists and non-scientists alike understand that gene function matters for the safety assessment of GMOs (de Cock Buning et al., 2006). Creating a new function in an organism using parts from that organism is still a new … Read More

3

­­ By Prof. Jack Heinemann* Part 1: While appearing to take concerns seriously, the promotion of cisgenics and intragenics by New Zealand science companies risks further public alienation. The debate on the safety and appropriateness of using genetically engineered/modified (GE) plants and animals for food or animal feed is frequently manipulated through semantics. Language and not substance has been … Read More

11

The final in a Statistics New Zealand series about the numbers in our world Let the sheep jokes end! The people are catching up. There are now fewer than eight sheep to every New Zealander. This is a far cry from the good old days when one of the few things foreigners knew about New Zealand was … Read More

Unlike the Kingdom of Bhutan we do not have a measure for happiness. But we are world leading in providing a range of social measures that provide a richer view of New Zealand and its people. One of these measures is the General Social Survey.  Statistics NZ’s field staff interviewed more than 8,700 … Read More

By Vicki Hyde On January 30, a concerted global mass overdose will take place, but no-one will die because the “medication” of choice will be homeopathic. Homeopathic medicine consists of water or water dripped onto sugar tablets; the UK-based 1023 campaign aims to highlight that fact and protest against pharmacies touting such a product as medicinal. To mark the … Read More

5

Then there’s the story about the man with his head in the oven and his legs in the freezer. He reckoned he’d be fine - his average temperature was about normal. Read More

6

When a planeload of 300 travellers stumble blearily from Customs into the international lounge, about 150 of them are starting their New Zealand holiday. Half of international visitors are here for a holiday A hundred will be greeted by friends and relatives – depending on how it goes they could be on holiday too. The … Read More

4

A running series from Statistics New Zealand helping us make sense of the Food Price Index and the Consumers Price Index… In 2009 we made fewer overseas trips than in the previous years, but numbers going to Australia dropped only a little and we’re still travelling more than we did in 2006. New Zealanders make almost two million overseas trips … Read More

6

An article from a summer series outlining the work of marine scientists published by NIWA. This summer, watch out when snorkelling around the New Zealand coastline, for our very own sea monster: Hippocampus abdominalis, the pot-bellied sea horse. ’Fully grown sea horses can be found at a depth of 5—10 metres, often amongst seaweeds, and are most active at … Read More

A running series from Statistics New Zealand helping us make sense of the Food Price Index and the Consumers Price Index… December is a busy travel month New Zealanders seem to have an annual urge to keep in touch, regardless of distance. If 2009 was anything like 2008, about 200,000 Kiwis were coming or going during … Read More

2