Health and Medicine

Anatomy of a microscope

“Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the grander view?” wrote Victor Hugo in Les Miserables. That tidbit of microscope trivia and others are nicely outlined in this infographic charting the history of the device that occupies lab benches the world over…

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Finding the right balance on Seven Sharp

The TVNZ current affairs show Seven Sharp has been criticised this year for dumbing down current affairs. A shake-up of the show is coming in the New Year, with seasoned broadcaster Mike Hoskings to anchor the show when it returns. But while the frivolous banter of the Seven Sharp presenters, social media pop-ups and soft […]

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Top 10 science stories of 2013

From 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 […]

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CUX1 – Cancer's one percenter

Scientists have identified a gene that is responsible for the development of tumours in one per cent of all cancer patients. The culprit is CUX1, which when deactivated allows a “biological pathway” to open up that causes tumour growth to increase. Researchers already knew about CUX1 but not that it was a driver of cancer […]

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Infographic: meningitis and the brain

An outbreak of meningitis at Princeton University in Ottawa, Canada has encouraged the university to offer free vaccinations to students. Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Different germs can cause it – usually bacteria or viruses and sometimes fungi. The Ottawa Sun created a full-page infographic to illustrate […]

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Every 13 seconds a person contracts HIV

December 1 was World AIDS Day. While AIDS isn’t a widespread disease in New Zealand – the incidence in the population is just 0.3 people per 100,000, it is a major killer in other parts of the world. This infographic charts the history of the disease and its current status… Click image to open interactive […]

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Controversial Seralini paper retracted

He 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 […]

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