Alison Ballance

Jim Mills began studying red-billed gulls at Kaikoura back in 1964 - and, he's still at it! Red-billed gulls are the small ones that always turn up when you settle down with your picnic at the beach… Audio

Queues are an unavoidable part of modern life. At the bus stop, the cafe, the traffic lights, on the internet. Most of us just find them a nuisance, but University of Auckland mathematician Ilze… Audio

Little spotted kiwi are the smallest of our five kiwi species, and every one of the 1700-or-so birds alive today is descended from just five birds. Audio

For many years the Heathcote-Avon estuary was the dumping ground for Christchurch's sewage. Then, in 2010, the wastewater was diverted well out to sea, via a long pipe. David Schiel from the… Audio

Te Papa holds the world's largest collection of Maori woven cloaks, dating back several hundred years. But age and a condition known as 'vinegar syndrome' are taking their toll, and many of the cloaks… Audio

Quick painless injections that don't need a needle? Audio

The eighteenth mystery sound from the Our Changing World opening theme Audio

The challenge is to build a bridge using just MDF and glue and then test it to destruction. Audio

Every weekend keen birders Colin Hill and Steve Wratten head to Lake Ellesmere in search of wading birds. Audio

It's a big task keeping an eye on our marine borders to keep out unwanted pests. Audio

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, affects up to 20% of all New Zealanders. Unfortunately for sufferers tinnitus can't be cured, but it can be managed and Alison Ballance heads to the University of… Audio

If you find it hard to speak, then you'd imagine it would be even harder to sing. But for many people living with stroke or Parkinson's disease the opposite turns out to be true. Auckland's… Audio

Each year 22 regional science and technology fairs, involving thousands of students, take place around New Zealand. Lydia Kingston, a year 13 student from Queen Margaret College won the overall prize… Audio

There are 1000 or so species of seaweed in New Zealand, including many more species of karengo than previously recognised Audio

Whether it's delicate pink filaments or large brown leathery straps, seaweeds in all their forms and colours are a feature of our rocky coastline. And no one knows more about New Zealand seaweeds than… Audio

Plant and Food Research is helping the safety of New Zealand's shellfish industries by ensuring that the greenshell mussels and oysters that are produced are free from anything that might cause… Audio

Alison Ballance met with Mark and fellow trustee Harley Spence on a cold windy day on Wellington's south coast. Audio

Fighting the obesity epidemic - with future foods to help us eat less, new smart foods. Audio

The late Sir Paul Callaghan was a scientist with a vision - that New Zealand could be a place 'where talent wants to live'. To encourage young scientists to be part of this vision he approached the… Audio