News

Featured image: Radar-sensing albatrosses could become ‘patrollers of the Southern Ocean’

Radar-sensing albatrosses could become ‘patrollers of the Southern Ocean’

John Kerr • Jun 21, 2017

New technology which tracks how much time seabirds spend around fishing vessels could be recruited into the fight against illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean. The use of GPS trackers to chart the travels of wildlife is not exactly new, but developments in animal tracking now allow researchers to not only see where animals are, but also who else might … Read More

Featured image: NZ researchers line up worst island invaders

NZ researchers line up worst island invaders

John Kerr • Jun 14, 2017

New Zealand conservation researchers have assembled a rogues’ gallery of the worst invasive species for islands around the world. In a new article in Environmental Conservation, published this week, Dr James Russel from the University of Auckland and colleagues review the challenges of holding invaders at bay on small island states. Invasive species can have a detrimental impact on … Read More

Featured image: The first of us – oldest ever human fossil uncovered in Africa

The first of us – oldest ever human fossil uncovered in Africa

John Kerr • Jun 08, 2017

A new report of the oldest ever human fossil – estimated to be around 300,000 years old – dramatically pushes back our best guess of when Homo sapiens first walked the Earth. Two papers published in Nature today report the dating and analysis of several fossils discovered at the archaeological site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. An international research team … Read More

Featured image: New blog – A History of NZ Science in 25 Objects

New blog – A History of NZ Science in 25 Objects

Guest Work • Jun 06, 2017

Mention the words “New Zealand” and “science” in the same sentence, and one image automatically springs to mind; that of Ernest Rutherford, earnestly staring out from the $50 note. Yet there are many more diverse and compelling scientific and technological innovations throughout New Zealand history. From Tā moko uhi (chisels) and pioneering plastic surgery techniques, to disposable syringes and … Read More

Featured image: Avoiding the strange of climate change

Avoiding the strange of climate change

John Kerr • May 23, 2017

Children alive today will find themselves living in a totally different climate in the future, should greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked, warns a new study. Climate change does what it says on the tin – it changes the climate. The question of when and where we will start to notice those changes is tackled in a new, Kiwi-led study published … Read More

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Featured image: Antimicrobial resistance – what does it mean for NZ?

Antimicrobial resistance – what does it mean for NZ?

John Kerr • May 17, 2017

We may be a small country tucked away in the South Pacific, but that doesn’t mean New Zealand is immune to the global problem of ‘superbugs’, warns a new report.  A new evidence paper from the Royal Society Te Apārangi sums up the current knowledge on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in New Zealand and outlines efforts underway to prevent the … Read More

Featured image: NZ scientists leading de-extinction discussion

NZ scientists leading de-extinction discussion

John Kerr • May 11, 2017

If we could resurrect an extinct species like the moa or the mammoth, how would it fare out in the big bad world? This week the journal Functional Ecology published a special feature series on the ecology of de-extinction, including a number of articles by New Zealand authors. Sciblogs has dived into the de-extinction discussion with a special miniseries on de-extinction … Read More

Featured image: Depression among Māori, Pacific and Asian Kiwis flying under the radar

Depression among Māori, Pacific and Asian Kiwis flying under the radar

John Kerr • Apr 28, 2017

Māori, Pacific and Asian New Zealanders are more at risk of depression and anxiety disorders and yet are likely to be under-diagnosed, say the authors of a new study.  Around one in six  New Zealand adults are diagnosed with an anxiety or mood disorder in their lifetime. However some minorities are less likely to be diagnosed, despite appearing to have higher rates of … Read More

Featured image: Superbug death may herald ‘start of the post-antibiotic era’

Superbug death may herald ‘start of the post-antibiotic era’

John Kerr • Apr 21, 2017

Infectious disease experts are “deeply alarmed” by the death of a US woman due to a bacterial infection resistant to all available antibiotics. Writing this week in a  Medical Journal of Australia editorial, researchers warn that the case may herald “the start of the post-antibiotic era.” Professor Cheryl Jones, President of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID), and … Read More

Featured image: Counting the calories of cannibalism

Counting the calories of cannibalism

Jean Balchin • Apr 16, 2017

Human cannibalism is a deliciously fascinating topic. Identifying the motivations for human cannibalism remains a contentious issue. A recently-constructed nutritional template for the human body suggests that prehistoric human cannibalism was most likely motivated by something other than nutritional needs. Human flesh may have been cooked for greater calorific value. James Cole, from the University of Brighton found that the … Read More

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