Biotechnology
Machine learning for environmental data and needle free injections
The New Zealand data science programme, Taiao, aims to help researchers make sense of environmental data so they can make useful predictions to guide good decisions. Claire Concannon meets the team at… Audio
Fixing environmental problems one plant at a time
Biotechnologist David Leung finds ways to make plants solve environmental issues. Audio
Should ageing be treated like a disease?
We usually accept old age and ill-health as inevitably intertwined, but in the future that may not be the case, according to a geneticist based at Harvard Medical School. Dr David Sinclair attempts to… Audio
The future of donation? 3D printed heart
In a world first a 3-D printer has been used to create an entire heart made with actual human biological material. While the current state of the primitive organ can be compared to the heart of an… Audio
Can microbes help us grow more food?
Naturally occurring microbes living on plants can be used to boost the yield, nutrition and even taste of corn, soybeans, rice and tomatoes. This Way Up visits a biotech startup manipulating microbes… Audio
Electroceuticals: turning off disease
A US company has developed a pacemaker-like device to treat rheumatoid arthritis, as well as Crohn's disease, by hacking the nervous system with an electrical charge. Audio
Biodesigning our homes
New Zealand's inaugural Festival of Architecture kicks off around the country next week. Architect Joanna Aitken is presenting an exhibition called "How Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence can… Audio
Biopaints: coating cells to control them
A cure for cancer isn't that far away, reckons engineering professor Steve Henry. His local tech outfit has developed a way to change the appearance of cancer cells so that the immune system can… Audio
The genetic engineering ‘renaissance’
Kathryn Ryan talks to Raymond McCauley who was part of the team that developed Next Generation DNA sequencing - a technologically which has exponential decreased the cost of sequencing genes. Audio
Kaika Energy - from food waste to fertiliser and biogas
A group of Year 13 students from Kaikorai Valley College in Dunedin have created a biotechnology company and installed a biodigestor at school Audio
Biotech industry calls for eased restrictions on GMOs
NZBIO says the The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act hasn't kept pace with rapid developments in GM technology. It says the current legislation fails to take into account relative risk and… Audio
NZ surges up international ranking for biotech innovation
A scientific industry scorecard has ranked New Zealand number three in the world for having the right stuff to support a thriving biotechnology industry. Audio
Eye Research - Associate Professor David Ackerley
Work is well under way in a project to grow part of a human eye. The aim is to produce a retina. This could be used to help prevent degenerative blindness, one of the most common forms of vision loss… Audio
Martin Visser
Martin Visser is a Whanganui City Councillor. He is developing a social progress and life-quality survey of New Zealand towns and cities, based on the Harvard work of Michael Porter, and is… Audio
Listener Feedback to 29 March 2014 programme
Kim Hill reads messages from listeners to the Saturday Morning programme of 29 March 2014. Audio
Nick Agar - enhancement and ethics
Reader in Philosophy at Victoria University of Wellington whose main research interests are in the ethics of the new genetics and biotechnology. His new book is Truly Human Enhancement: A… Audio
Joanna Aizenberg: Biomimetics
Bio-inspired engineering Professor of materials science, chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, and a keynote speaker at the AMN6 conference in Auckland. Audio