Science and Society

Monbiot: All out war on science

The Guardian’s George Monbiot has a thoughtful column this week about the attacks on climate science and how they have widened to take aim at science in general. The last sentence of his column would seem to aptly sum up the state of public opinion on climate change: The battle over climate change suggests that […]

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$1 million given out in PM’s science prizes

It has been a big day in Auckland for a select group of scientists, students and science communicators who between them have been awarded $1 million cash towards research or personal development as part of the Prime Minister’s inaugural science prizes. Many will be glad to see Jeff Tallon and Bob Buckley rewarded for their […]

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Sciblogs going gangbusters after five months

When Sciblogger and SMC colleague Aimee Whitcroft and myself started developing Sciblogs in August last year little did we suspect that just five months down the track the site would feature over 30 blogs, 1600 posts and 2 finalists in the prestigious Research Blogging awards! Sciblogs was an experiment to try and engage science communicators […]

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Radio is best medium for science in NZ

Across public and commercial radio there’s more science journalism going on than ever before and thanks to the internet, it is becoming easier to find. The volume of content and the flexibility of the radio format which allows for longer interviews, mini documentaries and panel discussions means radio is emerging as the medium that best […]

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Tsunami – if the big one hit

New Zealanders in coastal areas are right now preparing for potential wave surges as tsunami warnings are in force for the entire coast of the country. This follows the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile last night – my colleagues at the Science Media Centre rounded up some analysis of the quake from British scientists last […]

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A beeping good idea for low-cost communication

Yesterday was intense. As a judge on the preliminary round of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, which pits teams of university students against each other in a bid to find the top four most innovative and potentially world-changing projects, it was a blur of powerpoint slides and Dragon’s Den-style questioning as we got through twenty 20-minute pitches […]

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20 years of DNA forensics in New Zealand

In the age of CSI-style crime dramas it is difficult to imagine a time when DNA evidence wasn’t part of any criminal investigation. But the first court case in New Zealand where DNA evidence was presented happened only as recently as 1990 and on the world stage, the first case involving DNA profiling went to […]

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