Guest Author • Sep 30, 2020 •
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz I’m seeing quite a few “climate-friendly” products at the supermarket. Are consumers willing to pay more for … Read More
Guest Author • Dec 18, 2019 •
Sally Casswell, Massey University Earlier this month, the New Zealand government released draft legislation for how cannabis could be bought, grown and sold. It is a first glimpse at what New Zealanders will be voting on in next year’s cannabis referendum. Justice Minister Andrew Little said the primary objective of the draft bill was to reduce overall use … Read More
Jean Balchin • Apr 18, 2018 •
Who hasn’t seen Madagascar, the animated comedy depicting four hapless animals – a lion, a zebra, a giraffe and a hippo – stranded in Madagascar? I have eight younger siblings, and was forced to watch it myriad times. I have a perverse hatred for Alex the Lion, and have refused to watch any of the sequels. It is generally considered … Read More
Public Health Expert • Mar 14, 2018 •
Janet Hoek, Philip Gendall, Richard Edwards, Shayne Nahu, Nick Wilson From today, all tobacco products in New Zealand will start appearing in standardised, or plain, packages. In this blog, we discuss the importance of developing an on-going monitoring and evaluation plan around this intervention. We also explain why communications with smokers – whether on-pack or mass media – must be … Read More
Guest Author • Feb 21, 2018 •
David Tuffley, Griffith University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. We have all heard the dire predictions about robots coming to steal our jobs. Some would even have us believe these silicon bogeymen are coming to kill us. It plays straight into people’s darkest fears about technology. When … Read More
Jean Balchin • Feb 16, 2018 •
There may exist an association between intake of highly processed food in the diet and cancer. Published yesterday by The BMJ, the study suggests that while further exploration is needed, the rapidly increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods “may drive an increasing burden of cancer in the next decades.” What are Ultra-processed foods? Ultra-processed foods include packaged baked goods and snacks, … Read More
Jean Balchin • Jan 16, 2018 •
It’s 3:45 pm on a Tuesday afternoon when chaos erupts in the Vegetables aisle of New World as a particularly mischievous child upends a display of Wattie’s baked beans. Clutching a shopping basket to my chest and brandishing a roll of Budget toilet paper, I summon my courage and wade into the throng of trolleys and toddlers. Six minutes later, … Read More
Public Health Expert • Jun 28, 2017 •
Professor Janet Hoek and Professor Philip Gendall The NZ Government’s recently released Standardised Packaging Regulations contain some important advances over Australia’s legislation, but they also miss opportunities to recognise tobacco industry innovations. This blog discusses changes that establish a new benchmark and why these are important, but also examines how the regulations could have gone further and suggests … Read More
Guest Author • Oct 10, 2016 •
By Jonas House, University of Sheffield There’s a lot of hype around edible insects. Insects are being championed as a healthy and sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources in Europe and the US, and “ento-prising” new products are appearing almost every week. Cricket-based cocktail bitters, anyone? Of course, these new bug-based foods aren’t for everyone. In … Read More
John Kerr • Sep 23, 2016 •
A wacky New Zealand study has been recognised at the 26th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, a celebration of the odd, weird and quirky side of science. The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative – and spur people’s interest … Read More