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The forces behind beach ‘foam’

14 February 2012 11:23am | NIWA

Ever wondered what that brownish foam is that you sometimes see clinging to sandy beaches? It’s easy to think the foam is a sign of pollution, but in fact it’s a natural phenomenon associated with certain kinds of beaches, and the tiny organisms ... More >>

New seafood research group for Plant & Food Research

13 February 2012 3:10pm | Plant and Food Research

New seafood research group for Plant & Food Research Auckland, New Zealand. 13 February 2012 … Plant & Food Research, the Crown Research Institute tasked with innovation for the plant and seafood-based food industries, has strengthened ... More >>

More trapping on Adele Island after rat found

10 February 2012 12:35pm | Department of Conservation

Efforts are being stepped up to protect native wildlife on Adele Island after a rat was found dead in a trap on the Abel Tasman National Park island sanctuary. More >>

Discovery of how infection triggers blood stem cell growth

10 February 2012 11:06am | University of Auckland

Research at The University of Auckland has shed light on an area of medicine which has intrigued the international scientific community for decades. Scientists at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences have identified a molecular mechanism which ... More >>

Experts Set Sail To See How the Ocean Creates Clouds

09 February 2012 5:22pm | NIWA

Next week, NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa will set sail for the Chatham Rise, for an international study of how microscopic organisms in the surface waters may affect the creation of clouds. This work is important because, “We need to understand ... More >>

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Outlook

09 February 2012 4:40pm | NIWA

New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and New Zealand MetService have issued a tropical cyclone outlook on behalf of collaborating organisations from the southwest Pacific, including Australia, the USA, the Pacific ... More >>

Our Far South voyage to highlight threatened pristine ocean

09 February 2012 3:10pm | WWF-New Zealand

Our Far South, a voyage to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands, will set sail tomorrow ( Fri 10 Feb) to highlight the global importance of this last great unspoiled wilderness and the urgent need to protect it from growing human-made threats. More >>

Our Far South voyage sets sail

09 February 2012 3:04pm | NIWA

Fifty intrepid travellers set off from Bluff tomorrow, onboard the Spirit of Enderby, a Russian ice-strengthened ship, destined for Antarctica and the sub-Antarctica. Organised by Dr Gareth Morgan, the Our Far South voyage aims to raise New Zealanders’ ... More >>

Open letter: potential harm in changes to ethics committee

09 February 2012 2:17pm | Joint Media Statement

An open letter regarding the changes to ethics committee processes and the potential for harm to research participants More >>

International experts to see how the ocean creates clouds

09 February 2012 1:02pm | NIWA

Log onto Facebook, contribute to scientific research

09 February 2012 11:59am | Victoria University of Wellington

Logging on to Facebook could soon be a way of contributing to important scientific research, as well as finding out what’s going on in your world. Researchers at Victoria University are developing a Facebook application that, once downloaded, ... More >>

Mummified seals in Antarctica help to predict climate change

08 February 2012 1:22pm | University of Waikato

An international team of Antarctic researchers think climate change in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys may affect the area more rapidly than previously expected. More >>

Why the Person You Love the Most Also Drives You Mad

08 February 2012 1:15pm | Herrmann International

Frustrated Kiwi lovers are being encouraged to use this Valentine’s Day to rediscover why they fell in love, by looking at their relationship through a different part of their brain. More >>

Boaties beware of the hitch-hiking, waving ‘alien’ invader

07 February 2012 3:32pm | NIWA

Boaties, beware this summer of a weird hitch-hiker waving at you in the water, as a peculiar marine amphipod crustacean, Caprella mutica, may be freeloading on your boat hull. These skeleton shrimps are spreading rapidly around New Zealand, relying ... More >>

President of the European Research Council at Conference

07 February 2012 2:07pm | Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand

Prof Helga Nowotny, the President of the European Research Council , will be in Wellington to speak at the inaugural Asia Pacific Science Policy Studies Research Conference , 8-10 February. More >>

El Niño / La Niña to become more dominant

06 February 2012 9:14am | University of Auckland

El Niño / La Niña to become more dominant in New Zealand with climate change More >>

SMC Briefing: Innovation - learning from the Europeans

03 February 2012 6:01pm | Science Media Centre

Innovation has become a major touchstone for policymakers and scientists as New Zealand makes changes to some of its state science infrastructure to better support research and development - including restructuring Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) into the ... More >>

Scientists occupy Wall Street Journal

03 February 2012 5:17pm | Science Media Centre

A group of expert climate researchers has rounded robustly on 16 scientists who complained in the Wall Street Journal (No Need to Panic About Global Warming) that presidential candidates should understand that the statement that "nearly all scientists demand ... More >>

Small Reduction in Quake Probabilities

03 February 2012 3:37pm | GNS Science

Updated computer modelling shows a small decrease in the probability of aftershocks in Canterbury for the next 12 months compared to figures released late last year. More >>

2012 Science Festival appoints new Associate Director

03 February 2012 3:26pm | The New Zealand International Science Festival

MEDIA RELEASE – Friday 3 February 2012 2012 Science Festival appoints new Associate Director New NZISF associate director Laura Madden describes herself as “passionate about science and master of GTD” (getting things done). The young, British-born ... More >>

Rethink needed on water allocation in New Zealand

03 February 2012 2:55pm | University of Waikato

A Waikato University academic warns that New Zealand needs to rethink its water allocation system, or risk stifling economic and cultural development. More >>

Reducing cadmium’s threat to the New Zealand economy

03 February 2012 2:02pm | Lincoln University

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that can accumulate in agricultural soil and cannot be broken down by natural processes. Some fertilisers contain cadmium as an impurity and this is difficult to remove before application. More >>

‘Supergiant’ amphipods discovered 7 kilometres deep

03 February 2012 9:45am | NIWA

A recent expedition to one of the deepest places on Earth has discovered one of the most enigmatic creatures in the deep sea: the ‘supergiant’ amphipod. More >>

New web portal provides universal access to NIWA datasets

01 February 2012 2:15pm | NIWA

A new Internet-based information portal developed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) allows anyone, at any location, to view details on a growing range of environmental data held by the Crown Research Institute. More >>

Countdown to Extinction Continues for World’s Rarest Dolphin

01 February 2012 12:44pm | NABU International - Foundation for Nature

New Zealand - Another one of the world's last 100 Maui’s dolphins died in a fishing net in New Zealand. Its death is a another stark reminder that measures to protect the world’s most endangered marine dolphin against fisheries bycatch are inadequate ... More >>

Maui’s death in set net takes species closer to extinction

01 February 2012 11:59am | WWF-New Zealand

Reports that an endangered Maui’s dolphin has been killed in a fishing net off the coast of Taranaki should serve as a wake up call that current protection measures are insufficient and a total ban on set nets is needed throughout their current and ... More >>

Countdown to Extinction Continues for World’s Rarest Dolphin

01 February 2012 11:49am | NABU International - Foundation for Nature

Another one of the world's last 100 Maui’s dolphins died in a fishing net in New Zealand. Its death is a a stark reminder that measures to protect the world’s most endangered marine dolphin against fisheries bycatch are inadequate to prevent their ... More >>

Gluckman: Rotary National Science & Technology Forum

31 January 2012 1:53pm | Prime Ministers Science Advisory Committee

You are here because of your interest in being the scientists of the next generation. But what I want to talk to you about tonight is what science is in the twenty-first century. More >>

Kakapo dies; another to go on display for Waitangi Day

31 January 2012 1:41pm | Department of Conservation

The death of another adult kakapo – the second this month – makes the opportunity for the public to see a live one on display this weekend even more special. More >>

Science Festival awards Life Membership to Prof Jean Fleming

28 January 2012 11:28am | The New Zealand International Science Festival

Prof Jean Fleming was awarded a life membership of the New Zealand International Science Festival at the festival’s annual general meeting held in Dunedin on Thursday 26 January 2012. More >>

Computer model warned scientists week before big Feb quake

27 January 2012 3:58pm | Science Media Centre

Scientists have confirmed in a new research paper on last year's disastrous February 22 Christchurch aftershock that computer modelling showed a week beforehand that there was a 25 percent chance of "a magnitude 6 or greater earthquake occurring in ... More >>

A wee trick for getting rid of rats

27 January 2012 9:37am | Victoria University of Wellington

Developing new weapons to control the deadliest predator of New Zealand native birds is the goal of a research project underway at Victoria University. Researchers from five different disciplines at Victoria are collaborating to pinpoint the make-up ... More >>

BRAT now available online

26 January 2012 1:19pm | Plant and Food Research

Auckland, 25 January 2012 A new tool is set to help the wine industry more accurately train staff to make visual estimates about the severity of bunch rot among the vines. The Bunch Rot Assessment Trainer or BRAT is a Visual Estimation Tool (VET) developed ... More >>

Another wet and windy spell between the highs

25 January 2012 1:29pm | MetService

After some fine weather across most of New Zealand in the last couple of days, the rollercoaster ride of weather systems continues with another active weather front bringing a spell of unsettled weather nearer the end of the week. More >>

After 100 Years, Chance to Relive Scott’s Last Expedition

25 January 2012 11:53am | Aurora Expeditions

Aurora Expeditions are proud to partner with London’s Natural History Museum on their new exhibit, Scott’s Last Expedition. Discover the extraordinary expedition that sparked a legacy which continues to resonate in the public’s imagination 100 ... More >>

Director of Largest IPv6 Network to Keynote NZ Conference

24 January 2012 2:59pm | Hurricane Electric

Fremont, California-based Hurricane Electric, the world’s largest IPv6-native Internet backbone and colocation provider, today announced that its Director of IPv6 Strategy, Martin Levy, will deliver the keynote address at the NZNOG conference 2012, which ... More >>

Is it a fish, is it a bird? ...It’s an eagle ray!

24 January 2012 10:00am | NIWA

They fly like birds under water and create strange pits in the sand. Eagle rays can be seen around New Zealand’s coast in the summer months, when they come in to breed. Like their larger cousins, the longtail and shorttail stingrays, they have a sting ... More >>

Dental detection may send heads home

20 January 2012 5:29pm | Science Media Centre

Waikato University researcher, Nicky Cameron, has road-tested technology she says could be used to identify the origins of preserved Maori heads -- including many of those being returned to New Zealand from overseas museums. More >>

Plant & Food Research launch new blog site

20 January 2012 4:09pm | Plant and Food Research

New Zealand Crown Research Institute, Plant & Food Research, has launched a new blog at www.plantandfood.info aimed at communicating more of the Institute’s news, events and research activities with the public. The new More >>

New flowering plant discovered in Fiji

20 January 2012 2:52pm | IUCN

A new flowering plant belonging to the Medinilla plant group has been discovered in the highlands of Matasawalevu village, on the island of Kadavu in Fiji. The plant was found during a biodiversity assessment of the Nakasaleka district carried out ... More >>

Polycom Announces Cloud Strategy

20 January 2012 2:22pm | Polycom

Polycom® RealPresence™ Cloud, powered by RealPresence™ Platform, provides service providers a fully managed wholesale video collaboration service to accelerate time-to-market with subscription-based offerings More >>

NanoCamp 2012 – the future of science

20 January 2012 11:27am | Victoria University of Wellington

Fifteen secondary school students from throughout New Zealand descended on Victoria University of Wellington this week for the 2012 NanoCamp. More >>

Stay Alert – Eat an Egg

18 January 2012 3:05pm | Egg Producers Federation

New research at Cambridge University in the UK has found that going to work on an egg may be sound advice: scientists there have discovered that egg proteins help people stay awake and alert during the working day. The study, published in the November ... More >>

English Wikipedia to go dark Jan 18 over SOPA/PIPA

17 January 2012 3:54pm | Wikimedia Foundation

On January 18, 2012, in an unprecedented decision, the Wikipedia community has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. ... More >>

Beautiful sea shells on the sea shore

17 January 2012 11:30am | NIWA

When you leave the beach this summer, the memory of a great holiday can be savoured with a sea shell. Lift it up to your ear, and you hear the roar of the sea once more. More >>

Valuable information gained from Chatham research cruise

17 January 2012 10:36am | Chatham Rock Phosphate

The information gathered during the pre-Christmas cruise by Chatham Rock Phosphate scientists will guide the development of a mining strategy, managing director Chris Castle said today. More >>

New variety of corn could benefit New Zealand farmers

16 January 2012 6:01pm | GE Free NZ

A new variety of corn that is suitable for organic and biological farming systems could benefit New Zealand farmers who rely on corn seed imports. More >>

Research helping combat drug addiction

13 January 2012 10:20am | Victoria University of Wellington

Research helping combat drug addiction Better help with battling drug addiction could be at hand as a result of research underway at Victoria University of Wellington. Dr Bronwyn Kivell, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, is screening ... More >>

Companion to the stars

12 January 2012 11:00am | University of Canterbury

University of Canterbury astronomers Dr Michael Albrow and Dr Karen Pollard are part of an international team that has just released its findings that, on average, every star in the Milky Way has at least one companion planet. More >>

A Wet and Windy End to the Week

11 January 2012 4:03pm | MetService

An active area of low pressure over the Tasman Sea could bring a brief spell of heavy rain across parts of New Zealand late Thursday into Friday. This weather system could also bring gale force winds in exposed places with the strengthening northwesterly. More >>

1st Terabit/s Superchannel Transmission over 10,000km - NEC

11 January 2012 9:22am | NEC

NEC News Release NEC Demonstrates First Terabit/s Superchannel Transmission over 10,000km Tokyo, January 10, 2012 – NEC Corporation (NEC) has announced the successful experimental demonstration of 1.15-Tb/s ultra-long haul optical transmission over ... More >>

VortexDNA: Space Weather Data for Predictive Analytics

10 January 2012 2:30pm | VortexDNA

As earthquakes continue to shake Christchurch New Zealand, home of VortexDNA, the technology company today unveiled its Space Weather Service. The service supplies data to insurance companies and others, to enable them to make better predictions. More >>

DairyNZ Scientist Discovers a New Piece of Fertility Jigsaw

10 January 2012 2:08pm | DairyNZ

After examining more than 20,000 genes, a DairyNZ scientist has discovered why some cows are better at getting pregnant than others. DairyNZ scientist Caroline Walker has discovered there are about 1,500 genes affecting the uterus that are altered ... More >>

Timely ends: telomere length in early life predicts lifespan

10 January 2012 11:42am | University of Glasgow

New research led by a team at the University of Glasgow shows that a good indicator of how long individuals will live can be obtained from early in life using the length of specialised pieces of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres occur at the ends of the ... More >>

Rock lobster with your summer salad - NIWA Feature Story

10 January 2012 10:29am | NIWA

NIWA Summer Series No.3 Rock lobster with your summer salad Written by Dr John Booth More >>

2012 Award Winner Seeks To Save NZ’s Eroding Coastline

06 January 2012 12:00pm | Quinovic

A German University of Victoria Wellington Doctoral student hopes to find ways to overcome one of this country’s significant environmental challenges - the continuing erosion of coastal sand dunes. More >>

The Fraudsters Who Invent the “Science” of Climate Change

06 January 2012 10:37am | Kevin Hearle

Rael Jean Isaac Interviews Donna Laframboise, author of The Delinquent Teenager Who Was Mistaken for the World’s Top Climate Expert , available from Amazon or, a digital edition, from IvyAvenue.com, 2011 More >>

Weird and wonderful - Tropical visitors

04 January 2012 10:52am | NIWA

When you are at the beach this summer, don’t be surprised if you’re swimming next to a sea snake with a paddle for a tail, a big-headed-turtle, or a magnificently coloured flat-faced fish. New Zealand’s got its share of weird and wonderful marine ... More >>

NZ conservationist celebrated in pioneering publication

03 January 2012 1:50pm | Matt Von Konrat

A newly described species of a liverwort (very simple, small plants, and probably common ancestors of all land plants) from New Zealand marked a pioneering effort by international plant scientists to enter a brave new world in the realm of the ... More >>