Science related stories and commentary
The fifth in a summer series created by NIWA Next time you head down to the beach for a swim scientist Els Maas would be delighted if you spare a thought for the invisible workhorses of the ocean. The NIWA microbiologist is the only person in New Zealand studying the processes of billions and billions […]
MoreKen Ring has discovered Twitter – and yet another channel to embarrass himself with his pseudoscientific theories. This time, Ring is linking recent whale strandings at Farewell Spit with the seismic activity that had my fellow movie-goers scurrying out of a showing of The Book Thief at 3.52pm on Monday afternoon in Wellington. It’s an […]
MoreI went for a walk around central Wellington last night, something I often do to make my Fitbit pedometer register the 10,000 steps it recommends I take every day. The rain had stopped, but it was windy. As I walked down Willeston St. scraps of trash were blowing about. I passed a collection of plastic […]
More“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…
MorePart 1 of a summer series published by NIWA Forecasting whether we’re in for a hot, dry holiday or wet, humid conditions this summer can be a complex and tricky business. While modern state-of-the-art high-resolution forecasting models, like those run by NIWA’s supercomputer, have demonstrated significant accuracy and continue to improve each year, Mother Nature […]
MoreThe 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 […]
MoreThe death of Horowhenua child Ethan Wyman from a brain tumor is tragic news. A family is grieving, the students of Te Horo School have lost a friend and classmate. Ten year-old Ethan apparently slept with an iPod device beneath his pillow, likely listening to music or playing games on it after hitting the sack […]
MoreYou may have seen our list of what we thought were the top 10 international and New Zealand science stories of 2013. Well, my colleagues at the Australian Science Media Centre also came up with a list of what they considered to be the weirdest science stories of the year. Yep, some research published in […]
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 […]
MoreDecember 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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PETER GRIFFIN 
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