Science
Controversy over adding salt to tea
It's a scandal of international proportions. A professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania claims to have found the recipe for a perfect cup of tea.
It involves a pinch of salt and… Audio
Restoring Wellington’s seaweed forests
Giant kelp is disappearing from Wellington Harbour. Love Rimurimu is aiming to restore lush underwater kelp forests with an ambitious and collaborative replanting effort. Claire Concannon dives in to… Audio
Women in botany celebrated at Wellington Botanic Gardens
Though often overlooked because of their gender, women botanists have made huge contributions to our knowledge of the natural world over the last 300 years. Audio
Lava cave found in Auckland every month
Researchers and Auckland Council are working collectively to completely map a field of hundreds of lava caves under the City of Sails.
Our Changing World: Love Rimurimu
Giant kelp is under pressure. Can an ambitious underwater forest planting effort help restore this disappearing ocean ecosystem? Audio
New Zealander's winning futuristic climate change story
Kiwi Melissa Gunn is one of the winners of an international short story competition, Imagine 2200: climate fiction for future ancestors, run by American magazine Grist. Audio
Otago Uni biologist made a Fellow of the ISC
Evolutionary biologist Distinguished Professor Hamish Spencer has received international recognition as a new Fellow of the International Science Council (ISC). He's received the highest honour to be… Audio
Shower Thoughts: Why do we value gold?
It's not the rarest, brightest or most practical metal yet for millennia humans have dug and dug and dug in search of this precious resource. Audio
Japan's lunar craft lands successfully but can't generate solar power
Japan has become the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon but the probe is not generating solar power, its space agency says.
Nisha Shankar: How to train an astronaut
Nisha Shankar is chief training officer at NASA's Johnson Space Centre. She takes astronauts who are fresh out of basic training and teaches them the skills they need to thrive on the International… Audio
Summer science: AI and medicinal cannabis
In the final instalment of the summer science series, science communication students tackle two controversial topics: medicinal cannabis, and AI consciousness. Audio
Charlie Lee: Measuring Antarctic ice melt
When it comes to Antarctic ice melt, how do we attribute retreat to climate change? For Dr Charles Lee, a microbial ecologist, the answer lies in measuring moss. Audio
Cloned monkey created to speed up medical research
Chinese researchers have cloned the first rhesus monkey, a species which is widely used in medical research.
Newborn giraffe at Auckland Zoo tops 1.7 metres
The calf is the fifth for its mother, Kiritka.
Scientists say one-in-three chance 2024 another year of record heat
This year has a one-in-three chance of being even hotter than 2023, the world's hottest on record, scientists in the US say.
Huge ancient lost city found in the Amazon
A huge ancient city hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation has been found, and changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon.
Mysterious 'Big Ring' found in space 'must surely be telling us something' - astronomer
Scientists have discovered a gigantic, ring-shaped structure in space which according to our current understanding of the universe, should not exist.
Ancient DNA reveals surprising origins for disease
Genetic variants that now increase the risk of MS once served to protect people from animal-borne diseases, a new study has found.
Summer science: Hybrid wildlife and mātauranga Māori
Should we intervene to prevent hybridisation between an endangered species and its common relative? In this week's summer science episode, two students from the Department of Science Communication at… Audio
Peregrine mission has 'no chance' of soft lunar landing
The company behind the mission said there was about 40 hours' worth of propellant left, following a leak - not enough to land on the moon.