Latest Sci-Tech Headlines
'We Don't Have A Digital Ambition' - Tech Leaders On Lack Of National Plan
Tuesday, 29 April 2025, 6:09 pm | RNZ
"The overwhelming sentiment? Disappointment and a sense of invisibility," a report says. More >>
Hato Hone St John’s Digital And Data Win Big At Veeam Data Resilience Awards
Tuesday, 29 April 2025, 2:16 pm | Hato Hone St John
HHStJ’s Digital and Data general manager Sarah Ellison says, “Winning this award validates the countless hours spent solving complex problems, embracing change, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible through technology”. More >>
One Tree Hill Terraces Too Steep To Weather Storm
Monday, 28 April 2025, 1:28 pm | University of Auckland
“These landslides appear to be unprecedented, at least in living memory, so we thought it was worth investigating and documenting for the future,” Brook says. More >>
Medicare LCD Effective; Pacific Edge Seeks Recoverage
Monday, 28 April 2025, 10:06 am | Pacific Edge
Pacific Edge filed for a preliminary injunction and undertook political advocacy efforts directed at the incoming political appointees within CMS2, HHS3 and OGC4 that included substantial support from the American Urological Association (AUA). More >>
Several US-based Environmental Science Databases To Be Taken Down – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 24 April 2025, 5:04 pm | Science Media Centre
This comes amid wider concerns about publicly available scientific data in the US being taken down and measures to cut research funding, including at NOAA, by the current government. More >>
Only 18% Of Critical Vulnerabilities Truly Worth Prioritising According To Datadog Report
Thursday, 24 April 2025, 2:13 pm | Datadog
The report also found that exploitable vulnerabilities are especially prevalent in Java applications. To better understand the severity of a vulnerability, Datadog developed a prioritisation algorithm that factored in runtime context to its Common ... More >>
Yubico Is Committed To Driving Positive Change Through Its Secure It Forward Program
Thursday, 24 April 2025, 12:05 pm | Yubico
Since launching in 2021, Yubico has donated more than 65,000 keys to nonprofits and advocacy groups in over 20 countries, including The Anti-Defamation League, Freedom of the Press, The Legal Aid Society, and Civil Rights Defenders. More >>
How Can We Balance AI’s Potential And Ethical Challenges?
Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 9:17 am | Independent Media Institute
While AI is transforming industries with powerful capabilities, challenges like data quality, bias, transparency, and privacy concerns must be addressed to ensure fairness and accuracy, especially in areas like fraud detection. More >>
New Study Reveals How Solar Coronal Holes Spray Solar Wind Like A Sun Garden Hose
Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 8:19 am | Skoltech
A pioneering study led by solar physicists has revealed how coronal holes propel fast solar wind streams of charged particles that race across our solar system. More >>
Motorola Launches Mic & AI Tech To Boost Evidence Gathering
Tuesday, 22 April 2025, 4:12 pm | Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions launches SVX and Assist, converging two-way radio with body camera and AI into one integrated device for public safety. Simplifying tech for police officers to revolutionise how they protect and serve More >>
Will A New Chief Science Advisor Be Appointed Soon?
Monday, 21 April 2025, 5:46 pm | RNZ
The role has been vacant since Dame Juliet Gerrard stepped down in June last year. More >>
Māori Concerns About Misuse Of Facial Recognition Technology Highlighted In Science
Thursday, 17 April 2025, 4:13 pm | Nga Pae o te Maramatanga
Her commentary is timely as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner looks to implement a Code of practice to regulate biometric data processing. Kukutai says our Privacy Act is unique internationally because it requires the Privacy Commissioner to take ... More >>
French Expert Examines ‘Global Threat’ Of Microplastics
Thursday, 17 April 2025, 3:19 pm | University of Auckland
Recycling is not an effective solution, because micro and nano-sized plastic particles are still emitted during plastic production, throughout its use and after it is turned into new plastic products. More >>
Mystery Molars Lead To Discovery Of Giant Crayfish In Ancient Aotearoa New Zealand
Thursday, 17 April 2025, 10:55 am | Canterbury Museum
This world-first discovery could change the way fossils are identified across the globe. More >>
Has MBIE Short-Circuited Good Process In Recent Government Reforms?
Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 5:17 pm | PSGR
New Zealand charity seeks public inquiries to investigate the conduct of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the responsible Minister, the Hon Judith Collins in their undertaking of Gene Technology Regulatory reform and Science ... More >>
UC-led Study Provides New Insights Into Ross Ice Shelf Melt
Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 9:52 am | University of Canterbury
A new UC study uncovers hidden melt beneath Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf, shedding new light on climate change impacts and rising sea levels. More >>
From Past To Future: AI Brings New Light To Solar Observations
Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 7:57 am | Skoltech
A deep learning framework transforms decades of solar data into a unified, high-resolution view — adjusting instruments, overcoming limitations, and helping us better understand our star. More >>
Bubbling Gas Seep Draws International Interest
Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 8:10 pm | Linda Hall - Local Democracy Reporter
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council groundwater scientist Tom Wilson said while the earliest research study he had seen on this gas seep was 1989, locals had known about it for a long time. More >>
Australia Ahead On GenAI Curve, But Skills And Security Threaten To Curb Value
Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 11:21 am | Nutanix
Seventh annual Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Index finds Australia ahead of global peers in GenAI strategy implementation, yet lags in technical readiness to extract gains. More >>
Trust In Media Stabilising, Report Shows – Expert Reaction
Monday, 14 April 2025, 11:37 am | Science Media Centre
Authors of the 'Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand' report say it’s an early sign of stabilisation after five years of sharp decline. The report also found that approximately 60% of New Zealanders are ‘uncomfortable’ with news produced by ... More >>
As More Communities Have To Consider Relocation, We Explore What Happens To The Land After People Leave
Saturday, 12 April 2025, 5:04 pm | The Conversation
Managed retreat can be traumatic and hard. But with good planning, the land left behind can serve new purposes, and make public what was once private. More >>
How To Build AI Agents That Integrate With SOAR Tools
Saturday, 12 April 2025, 1:48 pm | Hugh Grant
Building AI Agents for Cybersecurity Automation Using SOAR Platforms More >>
NZ Experts Aid Global Report On Hydrogen Storage Tech
Saturday, 12 April 2025, 6:49 am | University of Canterbury
With the right infrastructure, hydrogen can be used to power transport, buildings, and industry. It can be used to store electricity for peak winter electricity demands, to generate off-grid electricity, and decarbonise industrial chemical manufacture. More >>
Satellite TXT expands, how Egmont Village got a fibre network
Friday, 11 April 2025, 8:27 pm | Bill Bennett
This week: One NZ extends Satellite Txt to prepaid customers. In Taranaki, Primo is wiring Egmont Village with underground fibre and city-style pricing. Early wildfire detection, media law reform, and smarter traffic in Auckland. More >>
The Risks Of Pine Carbon Farms – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 10 April 2025, 11:33 am | Science Media Centre
The new report, Alt-F Reset: Examining the drivers of forestry in New Zealand, says that Radiata pine is really the only economical tree for carbon farming. The Science Media Centre asked experts to comment. More >>
Fluoridated Water For Half A Million More Kiwis – Expert Q&A
Thursday, 10 April 2025, 11:17 am | Science Media Centre
The SMC asked local and international experts about what this might mean for public health, and the science around fluoridation. Feel free to use these comments in your reporting or follow up with the contact details provided. More >>
State Of NZ’s Environment – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 10 April 2025, 10:13 am | Science Media Centre
Our environment 2025 is a three-yearly report highlighting the effects of our land use on the rest of New Zealand’s ecosystem. The Science Media Centre asked experts to comment. More >>
Global EV Adoption Fails To Cut CO - Study
Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 2:00 pm | University of Auckland
Using data from 26 countries over 15 years, they found a surprising trend: higher EV uptake was linked to increased CO emissions. The reason? In a number of countries, EVs are still being powered by electricity generated through burning fossil fuels ... More >>
Company Claims To Have “De-extincted” The Dire Wolf – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 10:06 am | Science Media Centre
The creature is a genetically modified wolf made by Colossal Biosciences, a company valued at $10 billion. More >>
UC Home To Only Modular Quake Simulator In The World
Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 8:59 am | University of Canterbury
A new modular “shake table” used for earthquake simulations at the University of Canterbury is the only one of its kind in the world. More >>
Cyber Threats Escalate: U.S. Tops Hacktivist DDoS Targets, But Australia And NZ Remain In The Crosshairs
Tuesday, 8 April 2025, 2:27 pm | Radware
While much of the global spotlight remains on attacks against U.S. infrastructure, it would be a mistake for Australia and New Zealand to consider themselves safe from similar threats. More >>
New Satellite Data Shows NZ’s Major Cities Are Sinking – Meaning Rising Seas Will Affect Them Sooner
Monday, 7 April 2025, 7:19 pm | The Conversation
Calculating the dual effect of rising seas and sinking land gives coastal communities a more accurate projection of the impacts of sea-level rise. More >>
Attachment Styles Shape Adoption Of AI Counselling Tools
Monday, 7 April 2025, 5:29 pm | University of Canterbury
Attachment styles and level of trust in AI influence how willing people are to use it as a counselling tool, a new UC study has found. More >>
Climate Change Conditions Impacting Critical Element For Plant Growth, Fertiliser Need
Monday, 7 April 2025, 3:23 pm | AgResearch
New research published in Global Change Biology journal by scientists from AgResearch and Lincoln University has found that the test used in New Zealand to estimate the amount of available P in the soil may be underestimating the true accessibility of ... More >>
NTU Singapore Scientists Create ‘Fungi Tiles’ With Elephant Skin Texture To Cool Buildings
Saturday, 5 April 2025, 12:41 pm | Nanyang Technological University
In laboratory experiments, the scientists found that the cooling rate of their elephant skin-inspired mycelium tile was 25 per cent better than a fully flat mycelium tile, and the heating rate was 2 per cent lower. More >>
2degrees fined $325,000 for misleading ‘free’ Aussie roaming claim
Friday, 4 April 2025, 8:02 pm | Bill Bennett
This week's newsletter covers Amazon’s satellite launch, the future of 24-30 GHz spectrum. Plus, Motorola’s new budget phones, the decline of folding phones and 2degrees’ $325,000 fine. More >>
Commvault And SimSpace Team Up On Cyber Battle Simulation
Friday, 4 April 2025, 3:53 pm | Commvault
Commvault® Recovery Range™, powered by SimSpace, is the first to integrate realistic attack simulations with essential cyber recovery exercises to unlock a new era in cyber preparedness . More >>
Nitrogen And Argon Plasma Boosts Performance Of Carbon-Based Supercapacitor Electrodes
Friday, 4 April 2025, 8:37 am | Skoltech
Supercapacitors are energy storage devices often used in tandem with lithium-ion tech. Unlike conventional batteries, they deliver — or harvest — energy nearly instantaneously, so they can enable the quick burst of power required to lift a load, ... More >>
F5’s Multi-terabit VELOS Hardware Powers AI Workloads For Service Providers And Large Enterprises
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 1:26 pm | F 5
AI applications are highly distributed, with vast amounts of valuable data traveling in complex patterns. As organisations accelerate their use of AI, high-performance traffic management and advanced security are critical. More >>
Co-existence With Genetic Modification Possible In New Zealand: Review
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 12:49 pm | AgResearch
Genetic modification and gene editing have enabled major gains in the performance of crops globally, and opportunities to enhance pasture plant species are now being tested. More >>
Autodesk Offers New Features To Enhance Sustainable Building Practices
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 11:29 am | Autodesk
The new ReCap Mesh Revit plugin will support efforts to minimise environmental impact and reduce resource consumption. This plugin enables the integration of large quantities of reality capture data into Revit without affecting project performance. More >>
Hub Launched To Empower Architects And Engineers To Build Above Code
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 8:18 am | Natural Hazards Commission
“Many people don’t know they can ask for more from their buildings. The point of Design.Resilience.NZ is to become is a one-stop-shop for anyone who is interested in building, buying or upgrading a home to above code minimum,” NHC’s Principal ... More >>
Aspiring Materials Critical Minerals Pilot Production Plant Opens In Christchurch
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 7:12 am | Aspiring Materials
Aspiring Materials’ world leading technology turns a low value waste resource into high value critical minerals and essential materials and will deliver both regional economic growth and jobs. More >>
Flooding From Underneath: New Tool Reveals Shallow Groundwater Elevations
Tuesday, 1 April 2025, 12:44 pm | NIWA
Groundwater flooding is often overlooked as a threat, however it is a hazard that traditional flood defences such as stopbanks and seawalls cannot contain because the water comes up from underneath. More >>
ManageEngine Expands Its Integration Network With 100+ Prebuilt Integrations For Enterprise Identity Management
Tuesday, 1 April 2025, 12:38 pm | ManageEngine
ManageEngine has announced that AD360, its identity and access management (IAM) platform, is further expanding its integration offerings, by adding over 100 new prebuilt integrations. More >>
Meerkat Mayhem: Phishing-As-A-Service Unleashed
Tuesday, 1 April 2025, 11:55 am | Infoblox
The threat actor behind these campaigns, dubbed "Morphing Meerkat", creatively employs Domain Name System (DNS) mail exchange (MX) records to dynamically serve fake login pages, spoofing over 100 brands, and steal login credentials this way. More >>
Research Exposes Challenges In Flood Evacuation Planning
Tuesday, 1 April 2025, 11:42 am | University of Canterbury
The research highlights the urgent need to integrate both water depth and velocity – together with the behavioural aspect of evacuees – into flood-evacuation planning to ensure safer routes and better-informed emergency responses. More >>
The Transformative Power Of Urban Food Forests
Tuesday, 1 April 2025, 11:31 am | University of Auckland
Five years ago, Kelly learned about syntropic agroforestry at a workshop at PermaDynamics in Northland. It’s a new technique for growing trees and food that is inspired by pre-modern farming in Europe and contemporary indigenous practices in Brazil. More >>
Study Reveals Bizarre Compounds Of Oxygen And Carbon With Explosive Potential
Monday, 31 March 2025, 9:03 pm | Skoltech
The team’s analysis uncovered an entire “molecular zoo” numbering some 224 oxocarbons, of which only 78 had been reported in earlier papers and still fewer had been investigated at that level of detail. More >>
Neural Network Learns To Hesitate For Accuracy In A New Skoltech Study
Monday, 31 March 2025, 9:00 pm | Skoltech
The new technology can be applied in critical areas where the reliability of artificial intelligence is important, including medical diagnostic systems, industrial automation, technical control systems, and autonomous solutions. More >>
Rocket Lab’s Neutron Rocket On-Ramped To U.S. Space Force’s $5.6b National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Program
Monday, 31 March 2025, 8:16 pm | Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab’s launch vehicle for the program will be Neutron, its 13-ton reusable carbon composite medium-lift launch vehicle being rapidly developed to meet the demand for high assurance national security missions, and for single and multi-satellite ... More >>
Estuaries Are Literally In Hot Water, Says Researcher
Monday, 31 March 2025, 8:51 am | University of Auckland
The researchers will spend three weeks studying two New Zealand estuaries – probably Whangateau Harbour on Auckland’s east coast, where a massive cockle die off occurred in 2009, and a west coast estuary with dark sediment. More >>
Invertebrates Consuming 1080 Poison Baits In New Zealand Forests
Sunday, 30 March 2025, 3:42 pm | Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa
What we need most, right now in this moment, is for the next generation of entomologists, ecologists and conservationists to take off the blinkers of their predecessors. We need them to study the facts without the stranglehold of industry and government ... More >>
Life X DNA Brings At-Home Genetic Testing To Melbourne And Brisbane
Friday, 28 March 2025, 2:21 pm | Life X DNA
Each kit examines over 20 million SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and uses AI-powered analysis to produce personalised reports. More >>
Comcom revisits fibre rules as competition intensifies
Friday, 28 March 2025, 11:19 am | Bill Bennett
The Commerce Commission kicks off a review of fibre broadband regulations to keep pace with market changes, including growing competition from wireless and satellite. Meanwhile, mobile termination rates could be deregulated after 14 years, and Apple ... More >>
Download Weekly Extra: InternetNZ disrupted
Friday, 28 March 2025, 11:15 am | Bill Bennett
Free Speech Union moves threaten to derail InternetNZ’s planned constitution update. This has implications for the non-profit’s main role managing the .nz domain registry and its other work. More >>
Click, Click, Click... First Shark Sounds Recorded
Thursday, 27 March 2025, 5:32 pm | University of Auckland
Researchers at Leigh Marine Laboratory in Auckland have upended the notion sharks are silent. More >>
Apple iPad Air M3: best tablet for creators in 2025
Thursday, 27 March 2025, 2:09 pm | Bill Bennett
Sitting between the iPad and the iPad Pro, the iPad Air balances price and performance. It’s 2025’s best tablet if you want to do more than basic browsing, viewing and listening but don’t need high-end performance. This post examines the iPad Air ... More >>
New Deep Sea Mining Study Shows Ecosystem Recovery From Mining Could Take Centuries
Thursday, 27 March 2025, 1:23 pm | Greenpeace
The study warns that ecological recovery would likely take centuries or longer, adding to the multitude of existing warnings from scientists that deep sea mining could have severe and long-lasting impacts on the deep. More >>
Wasp Numbers Explode After Long, Hot Summer
Thursday, 27 March 2025, 12:37 pm | University of Auckland
New Zealand has five species of these brightly coloured invaders from Europe and Asia - the German and common wasp, and three species of paper wasp. All have painful stings for humans and nasty effects on native species. More >>