UPDATED: We all know that our Crown Research Institutes carry out a lot of commercial work for clients, in fact they are encouraged to do so in the interests of returning a dividend to the Crown which funds them. But are those commercial relationships influencing the scientific advice that scientists give? Back in April, Massey […]
MoreMystery still surrounds exactly how a group of renegade farmers imported the calicivirus into New Zealand in 1997 and spread it around the South Island in a bid to kill the rabbits that were destroying their land. But 17 years later, scientists have been able to give some indication of the impact the illicit introduction […]
MoreThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group II report is out and paints a stark picture for agricultural productivity in a warming world. Over at the Science Media Centre, we gathered reaction from climate scientists here and in Australia and the UK. Much of the commentary focuses on things like climbing emissions, sea level […]
MoreFrom the first vat-grown hamburger to the discovery of the world’s largest volcano, scientists pushed back the limits of human knowledge in 2013 and developed technologies that could radically change how we live our lives. Over at the Science Media Centre, in conjunction with our colleagues at the AusSMC, we assembled the top 10 picks […]
MoreHe caused an uproar in science last year when he published a paper suggesting genetically modified maize and the RoundUp herbicide caused tumours in rats he used in his experiments. Now Gilles Seralini and colleagues have seen their paper in Food and Chemical Toxicology retracted by publisher Elsevier because of concerns over the “number of animals […]
MoreI spent a couple of hours last weekend browsing the stands at the Go Green Expo which filled the TSB Arena with vendors promoting “sustainability, organics and green living”. For me the expo represents the best and worst of the green movement. On one hand we had companies displaying photovoltaic panel kits to allow you […]
MoreIt has taken nearly two months, but Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has finally responded to criticisms of its regulation of GM foods after it was accused of “systemic neglect” in its regulatory regime by Canterbury University’s Professor Jack Heinemann. The response is well worth a read for Sciblogs regulars who have followed the […]
MoreBudget 2013 saw a net increase of around $50 million in science and innovation funding, according to Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce who tweeted the factoid in response to Sciblogger Siouxsie Wiles. $130 million of funding has been committed to boosting R&D efforts in companies and start-ups, $107m of which will come from the […]
MoreThe Government has announced the National Science Challenges – 10 areas of focus over the next four years – $73.5 million in new funding to address them ($133.5 million in total to be spent on research addressing them). The areas of focus are: 1. Aging well 2. A better start 3. Healthier lives 4. High […]
MoreSome of the world’s best known wine growing regions, California’s Napa Valley and France’s Bordeaux region among them, are in for a rough time thanks to climate change. In fact, the sources of the world’s most productive wine regions are likely to alter radically in the coming decades as climate change makes currently prime wine […]
More
PETER GRIFFIN 
You must be logged in to post a comment.