Our Changing World

Kākāpō chick numbers continue to climb. The latest tally is 64 chicks, including one named Kotahitanga, meaning unity and solidarity. Ep 14 of the Kākāpō Files. Read more Audio

The heaviest elements on the periodic table have only ever existed fleetingly in the lab, so Allan Blackman from AUT has grouped them all together in episode 9 of Elemental. Read more Audio

Barium is never found on its own in nature, as it loves buddying up - but a version of it is found in hospitals. Allan Blackman from AUT reveals barium's secrets in episode 8 of Elemental. Read more Audio

Thirty four kākāpō chicks are putting on plenty of weight in wild nests as the rimu fruit ripens, and 23 chicks are also being hand-reared, in episode 13 of the Kākāpō Files. Read more Audio

No one has ever seen astatine, which shares the distinction of being one of the rarest naturally-occurring elements on earth. Find out more with Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 7 of Elemental. Read more Audio

An ESR software package that analyses complex crime scene samples containing DNA from multiple people, has won the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Prize. Read more Video, Audio

James Renwick loves talking about the science underlying climate change, and this willingness has won him the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize. Read more Audio

Modelling granular materials such as corn and salt has earned Onslow College physics student Finn Messerli the school's third Prime Minister's Future Scientist Award. Read more Audio

2018 Prime Minister's Science Prizes awarded to crime-busting software used in forensics labs, a climatologist, a young physicist, a primary teacher and a bioengineer. Read more Video, Audio

Arsenic is a well-known killer that was once dubbed 'succession powder'. Join Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 6 of Elemental, a journey through the periodic table. Read more Audio