Issue 207 16-22 November
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Green Growth
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Green
Growth report launched
A new report
which lays out a landscape of environmentally conscious
business opportunities to boost New Zealand's economy has
largely garnered support from science experts.
Titled 'Green Growth: Opportunities for New Zealand', the report from the Pure Advantage group gives a comprehensive analysis of green growth export opportunities for NZ including sustainable agricultural products and services, geothermal energy, biotechnology, and forestry, including second-generation biofuels.
In the domestic economy, opportunities include improvements in building and transport energy efficiency and electricity grid technology.
You can read the full report and executive summary on the Pure Advantage website.
Pure advantage - a group of Kiwi business leaders pushing for a more environmentally sustainable approach to business - commissioned the 'big picture' macroeconomic report, undertaken by University of Auckland Business School and London-based consultancy Vivid Economics.
The authors note that while some steps can be undertaken by the just the private or public sector others with require commitment from both industry and government.
In the political sphere, the report has been welcomed by the major parties, with National, Labour and the Greens backing the recommendations to varying degrees.
The Science Media Centre contacted experts from range of fields for independent comment on the report. Despite a number of specific criticisms from experts, there was widespread support for the report's recommendations.
Prof Shaun Hendy, Industry and Outreach Fellow, Industrial Research Ltd (IRL), comments:
"Greening [primary] industries is important, but more attention could have been paid to opportunities to grow our economy via greener, knowledge-intensive sectors. ...
"We should base green growth on knowledge not nature."
Prof Jacqueline Rowarth, Professor of AgriBusiness at the University of Waikato, comments:
"The main recommendations in the Green Growth report are spot on - increasing research and development (R&D) to the OECD average and high level support for NZ's brand... anything less is economic treason."
You can read further commentary and analysis as well as a
round up of media coverage on the Science Media
Centre website.
Briefing: Unravelling
your genome
Sequencing a human genome in
2001 would have put you back $95 million, but these days it
can be done for under $10,000. This week the Science Media
Centre explored what this increasingly available technology
means for society.
At a
Science Media Centre held on Tuesday briefing experts
outlined the current state of genomics and personalised
medicine in New Zealand and examined the legal and ethical
implications of current and future sequencing
technologies.
The technology required to sequence your genome - your entire genetic blueprint - is now more accessible than ever. Already companies are offering sequencing services for private citizens. But what can these data tell you - or your insurance provider, the courts or a snooping neighbour - about your health?
Speakers included Dr Tony Lough, Chief Executive of New Zealand Genomics Limited, Assoc Prof Cristin Print, University of Auckland, and Prof Mark Henaghan, University of Otago,
Prof Mark Henaghan said that information interpreted from genomic data, such as risk of developing a particular condition, could be factored into insurance policies in the future:
"There's a real issue here of whether or not insurers should require people to have these [genetic] tests. I don't think they should, but I think if people do have this information insurers should be entitled to take it into account,"
"What we really need in place are some protections to make sure that insurers don't overly bias against people who have had such tests."
Despite potential societal concerns, Assoc Prof Cris Print, highlighted the potential for New Zealand to be leader in genomic research:
"We've got a very diverse population, we have all sorts of different ethnicities in our population, we've got genomic scientists in New Zealand that are quite well connected internationally ... we've got this number eight fencing wire mentality where we make things work."
You view the briefing here and read some of the resulting media coverage here.
Quoted:
New Zealand Herald
"I think one
thing that is very clear is that the public are not
informed, we need a lot of public debate and discussion. For
example seeking informed consent from a patient is very
difficult at present when you are describing complex genomic
disorders.
"The technology is racing along
so quickly and there are huge benefits to be had but I think
where patients are concerned we need to be cautious and get
it right."
Assoc Prof Cristin Print, University of Auckland, on genomics in medicine.
SMC summer internship on
offer
The Science Media Centre is
looking for a summer intern / volunteer to lend a hand with
day-to-day operations of the centre.
The successful candidate will join a fast-paced, savvy editorial team finding unexpected angles on science stories for the media and tracking down experts who can offer an evidence-based steer on breaking news and controversial topics.
You'll need to be:
• a
confident, skilled and snappy writer
• interested in
science, environment, health, tech, ag and other
research-driven topics
• solidly-skilled in website
content management; reliable and highly self-motivated
• available to help out in our central Wellington
office for a minimum of 15 hours a week in Jan-Feb 2013.
For more information, contact Dacia Herbulock at the
Science Media Centre on 04 499 5476. To apply, please
send an expression of interest and
CV with "SMC summer internship" in the subject
line, no later than 3 Dec 2013.
More
information about this opportunity can be found here.
On the science
radar...
Belly button bacteria, the real Magneto, scar-free robo-surgery, brainwave music, moonbase plans and spending 'dirty money'.
ATI
named Callaghan Innovation
The Advance Technology Institute that the
government is establishing will be called Callaghan
Innovation, in honour of the late Physicist Prof Sir
Paul Callaghan.
Speaking at a function at Parliament on
Wednesday night, Science and Innovation Minister Steven
Joyce said naming the new Advanced Technology Institute
after the late Sir Paul Callaghan was recognition of his
passion for commercialising scientific research.
"Sir Paul was one of New Zealand's greatest scientists.
He believed that science was not only about great ideas but
about getting value from those ideas through innovation and
commercialisation. His views reflect the ambition of the ATI
and we are grateful to the Callaghan family for allowing us
to name the new institute in his honour," Mr Joyce
said.
You can read more in
a press release here. A round up of media coverage can be found
on the Science Media Centre site.
New from the SMC
Briefings: Unravelling your
genome: Experts discuss Green
growth:
In the
news: Callaghan Innovation:
Mapping milk origins:
New Kiwi research can identify
where milk has come from - bad news for overseas
knock-offs.
Lost moa:
Freelance geologist David Bressan, blogging for Scientific
American, writes about the early investigations into
'giant birds' reported by
European settlers in New Zealand.
Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's posts:
Don't worry Kyoto (National's Only Looking
Out For Its Friends) - Gareth Renowden is
unimpressed with the current government's lack of commitment
to the Kyoto Protocol.
Hot Topic
Pinhole cameras and eclipses -
Marcus Wilson sheds some light on the the eclipse and how to
view one without burning your retinas to bits.
Physics
Stop
The Challenge of Science Challenges
- The Great New Zealand Science Project gets a
once over from Robert Hickson, who warns that the challenges
set forth must be a achievable.
Ariadne
Dear journalists and editors,
(again) - Media need to view alternative
medicine and treatments, such as iridology, with a critical
eye, writes Grant Jacobs.
Code for Life
Research highlights
Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.
A picture paints a thousands words:
Health warning labels on cigarette packages that use
pictures to show the health consequences of smoking are
effective in reaching adult smokers, according to the
results of a new study. New research shows which kind of
pictures appears to work best among adult smokers in the US,
including smokers from disadvantaged groups where smoking
rates are highest.
American Journal of Preventative
Medicine
Drought
overestimated: Drought over the past 60 years may
have been overestimated, reports a new study. The findings
suggest that drought has been too heavily weighted due to an
oversimplified model of drought severity. The model
previously used breaks down when considering radiation,
humidity and wind speed. To resolve this the authors use
more accurate, comprehensive and physically based modelling
which shows that there has been little change in drought
from 1950 to 2008.
Nature
Killing
seizures with a virus: Two new gene therapy
techniques show promise for treating epilepsy. One approach
stops induced seizures in rodents by over-expressing a
potassium ion channel in the brain, while the other uses
laser light to activate a protein called halorhodospin in
the brains of rodents. Both approaches used lentiviruses to
deliver genes to a specific part of the brain to, as one of
the authors states: "Effectively cure these animals".
Science Translational
Medicine
The leggiest of them
all: New research has unveiled more about the
biology and habitat of the rare millipede Illacme plenipes
(literally meaning "in highest fulfillment of feet") - which
can have up to an astounding 750 legs. Not only is this
species the leggiest animal known on the planet, it also has
surprising anatomical features: body hairs that produce
silk, a jagged and scaly translucent exoskeleton, and
comparatively massive (given its diminutive size) antennae
that are used to feel its way through the dark because it
lacks eyes.
ZooKeys
Cricket
ears could help humans: The discovery of a
previously unidentified hearing organ in the South American
bushcrickets' ear could pave the way for technological
advancements in bio-inspired acoustic sensors research,
including medical imaging and hearing aid development. The
cricket's ear is remarkably similar to the mammalian ear due
to its three-part structure. Perspective article also
available.
Science
Policy updates
Some of the policy
highlights from this week:
Having a LAWF: The Land and
Water Forum this week published its third and final report on how
freshwater management in New Zealand can be
improved.
Mussel investment: The
Government is supporting a $26 million initiative that seeks
to boost aquaculture by
domesticating the New Zealand Greenshell
Mussel.
Upcoming sci-tech events
• NZ Rocketry Challenge Competition Launch Day
- 17 November, Auckland.
• Festival for the Future - 16-18
November, Wellington.
• NZ Meteorological Society
Conference - 19-20 November, Wellington.
• PLUG IN - Electric vehicle
symposia - 22 November, Auckland; 23, Wellington.
For these and more upcoming events, and more
details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.
ENDS