Soap, grass, mathematics, psychopaths and earthquakes... These are the top ten features from Our Changing World.
Salps - a surprising jelly-like relative
The ‘jelly soup’ that many New Zealanders experienced at the beach last summer was caused by blooms of salps, responding to warmer-than-average water temperatures.
A chain of baby blastozooids chain in the salp Salpa thompsoni before being released into the world. Photo: Mike Stukel / Florida State University
Cutting the grass? Cut it out!
Warmer weather goes hand-in-hand with fortnightly lawn mowing for lots of New Zealanders. But a number of ecologists are encouraging Kiwis to cut down or even cut it out entirely.
Photo: William Ray/RNZ
Maths, models & insights into the coronavirus pandemic
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, many of us have become obsessed with numbers. Mathematician Alex James is no different – but for her, there are some numbers that are more important than others.
Mathematician Associate Professor Alex James, from the University of Canterbury. Photo: UCNZ
Covid-19 and the science of soap
When it comes to virus-busting, soap is an oldie but a goodie - and particularly effective against coronaviruses.
Photo: Picture Partners
Voices from Antarctica: under the ice
Sea ice in Antarctica is home to an upside-down garden that is the powerhouse at the bottom of Antarctic food webs. But what will happen to this remarkable ecosystem in a warming world?
Less than one percent of ambient light makes it through the sea ice but it is enough to trigger a bloom of ice algae in spring. Snow on the ice surface creates the darker patches. Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0 Andrew Thurber - Deep-Sea and Polar Biology
Psychopathic traits - "everybody has them"
Blood-thirsty, axe-wielding, crazy-eyed and tormented. Are psychopaths all really like this or are they given a bad rap?
Horror films have shaped the notion of the psychopath. Photo: Creative Commons
A decade of earthquakes
Darfield. Christchurch. Cook Strait. Kaikōura. In the past decade, New Zealand has experienced four major earthquake sequences that have caused loss of life, as well as extensive damage to land and buildings.
Badly damaged structures are surrounded in rubble in Christchurch on February 23, 2011 a day after the city was rocked by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Photo: AFP
Probing the hidden continent of Zealandia
Ocean floor rock cores drilled into the sunken continent of Zealandia are revolutionising our understanding of Earth’s geological history and how continents form.
The JOIDES Resolution drilling ship is carrying out six two-month long research expeditions around New Zealand. Photo: IODP
Little bit of sea-level rise = lots more coastal flooding
Scientists warn that a small amount of sea-level rise could have big consequences for some low-lying parts of New Zealand.
Sea-level around New Zealand has risen by 20 centimetres in the past century, and is forecast to continue to rise. Photo: Dave Allen / NIWA
Rock wren - a little bird in NZ's big mountains
The rock wren is a little bird with large feet and several claims to fame: it belongs to an elite ancient group of birds and is New Zealand’s only truly alpine bird.
Male rock wren, at Homer Tunnel. Photo: CC BY 2.0 Andrew / Flickr
