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Our Changing World

English, Sciences, 1 season, 1089 episodes, 1 day, 2 hours, 56 minutes
About
Stories about science and nature from out in the field and inside the labs across Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Lead bullets - a health risk for humans and kea

Every year in New Zealand, recreational hunters shoot more than half a million wild game. Most are shot with lead-based ammunition. Now, researchers are investigating what happens to that lead, and how much of it is getting into the food chains of humans and the endangered kea. Alison Ballance speaks to scientists at Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology, and kea conservationists and predator control experts at the Department of Conservation to learn more.
10/23/202426 minutes, 55 seconds
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Can birds adapt their nest building for a warming world?

To keep their eggs safe, some birds build simple cup-shaped nests. Others craft elaborate fully enclosed domes, with porches, fake entrances and ledges. But is this intricate construction of nests a set, encoded behaviour? Or can birds adapt in different conditions? Researchers are keen to learn about flexibility in nest design, to better understand how different species might be able to respond as the climate changes.
10/16/202426 minutes, 36 seconds
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Why we are still monitoring the ozone hole

Almost 40 years on from the first reports of the Antarctic ozone hole, and 35 years since the Montreal Protocol to ban CFCs came into effect, what’s going on with the ozone hole? How does it form? How do we measure it? And having solved the CFC problem, why are we still monitoring ozone so closely? Claire Concannon heads to NIWA's Atmospheric Research Station in Lauder, Central Otago, to find out.
10/9/202426 minutes, 39 seconds
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Looking after our four-legged friends

We love our four-legged friends. It’s estimated about a third of New Zealand households share their home with at least one dog, and two thirds of dog owners consider their furry friends to be family members. Some dogs work, others keep us company, make us laugh, get us walking twice a day, and shower us with unconditional affection….. But are we looking after all their needs? Claire Concannon speaks with a dog welfare expert about the science behind how we know our dogs love us, and what to do to make sure we are looking after them.
10/2/202432 minutes, 22 seconds
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Anxiety and the brain-body connection

We all experience anxiety – when our brains look into the future and imagine bad things happening. It’s normal and has helped keep us alive as a species. But levels of anxiety are rising, particularly in young people, and at the severe end of the spectrum clinical anxiety prevents people from going about their lives. This Mental Health Awareness Week we meet a team of researchers at the University of Otago investigating the brain-body connection in anxiety, and how different potential treatments might help.
9/25/202427 minutes, 7 seconds
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The teamwork that solved a life-and-death puzzle

It’s been almost 30 years since a team joined forces to investigate a particularly aggressive form of stomach cancer that was afflicting one Tauranga whānau. Kimi Hauora Health and Research Clinic in Tauranga and University of Otago geneticists together found the cancer-causing genetic change, helping save thousands of lives worldwide. Justine Murray is at Mangatawa Marae with Maybelle McLeod and Erin Gardiner to reflect on that time, and Professor Parry Guilford discusses those first formative years.
9/18/202426 minutes, 3 seconds
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Some of the light we cannot see

This week, we’re hanging out in the terahertz area of the light spectrum. Sandwiched between infrared light and microwaves, terahertz has been the long-forgotten cousin of the light family. But no longer! At the Australian Synchrotron, intense and focused beams of terahertz light are used to test new materials for carbon capture, clean energy applications, and the next generation of computing.
9/11/202426 minutes, 23 seconds
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The 'science shed' across the ditch

Electrons! High speeds! Intense beams of light! Claire Concannon takes a tour of our nearest particle accelerator - the Australian synchrotron in Melbourne. Designed to create high-energy x-ray light useful for science, the synchrotron enables an incredible diversity of research. And, because of long-standing funding support, New Zealand scientists can also use it. Claire finds out what interesting research questions some visiting New Zealanders are shining a light on.
9/4/202428 minutes, 57 seconds
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Genomics and the future of gene technology in Aotearoa

Advances in the field of genomics (the study of DNA and genomes) have meant big leaps in our ability to sequence, understand and manipulate the genomes of living things. Damian Christie explores research happening now in New Zealand in this area. Plus, with a recent announcement that the government is introducing new legislation, what's next for regulation of gene technologies in Aotearoa?
8/28/202431 minutes, 14 seconds
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What else can we learn from wastewater?

Wastewater testing became part of our daily lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, but what else can it tell us about what's happening in our communities? From looking for illicit drugs, to monitoring alcohol consumption and health biomarkers, Claire Concannon meets scientists tapping into the rich research potential of what's in our pee.
8/21/202428 minutes, 11 seconds
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Imagining the next generation of robofish

They will look like fish, swim like fish and even sense like fish. Liz Garton meets a research team designing robofish and smart wetsuits to monitor the state of our oceans. 
8/14/202429 minutes, 34 seconds
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Our musical minds

Making and processing music is something unique to human brains, says Dr Sam Mehr. But why are we so attuned to rhythms, melodies and matching tones? Claire and Sam take a deep dive into the universal language of music, and how our minds make sense of it.  
8/7/202434 minutes, 24 seconds
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Bonus: Kākāpō update with Dr Andrew Digby

Claire Concannon and Dr Andrew Digby talk about all things kākāpō: that habitat trial and where the birds are now, the next breeding season, and Andrew’s hopes for the future of this iconic manu.  
7/31/202441 minutes, 14 seconds
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A year of mainland kākāpō

In July 2023 four male kākāpō were released into the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari – part of a new habitat trial to investigate suitable locations for the growing kākāpō population. But after a further six were introduced, the kākāpō began to wander – beyond the fence. A year on, and several escapes later, what’s been learned? And what’s next for kākāpō in Maungatautari?  
7/31/202428 minutes, 46 seconds
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Stories from Our Changing World: A year of kakapo

It's been one year since kakapo returned to mainland Aotearoa at the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. Claire Concannon finds out what mischief they've been up to, and what's next for the iconic parrot.
7/31/202412 minutes, 25 seconds
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A voyage of deep-sea discoveries

An expedition to the Bounty Trough off the Otago Coast uncovers a treasure trove of deep-sea creatures – including some species new to science. Veronika Meduna meets slimy fish, snails, and tiny shrimp-like critters from the ocean depths. 
7/24/202432 minutes, 24 seconds
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Turning food waste into wealth

Avocado seed powder to make snacks, fish waste skin for wound healing, and bioactive compounds made from brewer’s spent grain – Claire Concannon visits a food lab at AUT turning food waste into wealth.  
7/17/202425 minutes, 32 seconds
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Stories from Our Changing World

Claire Concannon heads along to the food technology lab at the Auckland University of Technology to speak with one researcher who is aiming to turn food waste into wealth.
7/17/202410 minutes, 45 seconds
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Looking to the future for a low-lying wetland

Climate-change-induced sea level rise is happening. What will this mean for our low-lying wetlands? Will they get eroded away – releasing more carbon? Or will they grow at the same rate, and hold their ground? And what will this mean for the critters that live there? A team are investigating at an Otago wetland that might be the first in New Zealand to make this change.   
7/10/202428 minutes, 48 seconds
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Our Changing World for 3:35pm Wednesday 10th July 2024

Claire Concannon visits an Otago wetland to meet those investigating its future as sea levels rise.
7/10/202410 minutes, 31 seconds
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The world through squid eyes

We might think deep-sea squid look a bit strange, but if they have the capacity for it, they would likely consider us monsters! Claire speaks to a squidologist and a PhD candidate about their research trying to understand more about the lives of deep-sea squid.
7/3/202427 minutes, 37 seconds
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The annual snowline survey

Jump onboard an alpine flight to photograph some glaciers! The annual snowline survey has been running since 1977, but today new techniques are allowing researchers to go beyond 2D photos to make 3D models of the glaciers. Claire Concannon joins the team for a long day of flying and photographing.   
6/26/202430 minutes, 25 seconds
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Introducing: Turning The Tide

A new six-part video series highlights the state of our oceans, and efforts from researchers, Māori and other partners to develop sustainable solutions.
6/24/202454 seconds
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Targeting a bacteria, and health inequities

Māori and Pacific peoples are three to six times more likely to develop stomach cancer than New Zealanders with European ancestry. Claire Concannon visits a research team taking aim at this disparity.
6/19/202428 minutes, 20 seconds
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Drones for pest control

Aotearoa is a country plagued by pests, but conservationists are hoping advances in drone technology could turn the table. Producer William Ray looks at how drones are being trialled in controlling everything from microscopic diseases to elusive wallabies, and wilding pine trees. 
6/12/202425 minutes, 33 seconds
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Inside Auckland's lava caves

Caves created by rivers of lava underlie New Zealand’s biggest city. A new research project is documenting Auckland's lava caves, hoping to protect this hidden geological heritage and understand what future eruptions might have in store. 
6/5/202426 minutes, 31 seconds
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The race to save Papua New Guinea's frogs

A deadly frog fungus has decimated frog populations around the world, but frog biodiversity hotspot Papua New Guinea remains untouched – for now. In this episode of ABC podcast Pacific Scientific, James Purtill discovers the amphibian treasures of the world’s largest tropical island, and what conservationists are doing to protect them.
5/29/202428 minutes, 55 seconds
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How much of our extreme weather is due to climate change?

This week, Phil Vine dives into the science of climate attribution. How much is climate change affecting extreme weather events? And how can this new science prepare us for the future? 
5/22/202424 minutes, 57 seconds
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Fungal foray-ing and the search for new antibiotics

Could the answer to one of our most pressing health needs be hiding in Aotearoa’s bush? On Our Changing World this week, Liz Garton heads out on a foray to discover some of our fungal gems, and she finds out what we're doing to uncover their potential antibiotic properties.
5/15/202426 minutes, 11 seconds
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Understanding our nearshore island volcanoes - Whakaari and Tūhua

A multi-year research project aims to find out the risks from two Bay of Plenty offshore island volcanoes: Tūhua / Mayor Island and Whakaari / White Island
5/8/202427 minutes, 29 seconds
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The 2023 Prime Minister’s Science Prizes: Communicating volcano science and sampling soils

Meet two winners of the 2023 Prime Ministers Science Prizes. In the wake of the 2019 Whakaari eruption, Professor Ben Kennedy engaged communities with the science of volcano hazards – mahi that earns him the 2023 Science Communication Prize. Meanwhile, Future Scientist prizewinner 17-year-old Sunny Perry has developed a helpful soil map.  
5/1/202429 minutes, 57 seconds
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Turning the tide – what it takes to take out rats

Kate Evans visits a passionate team as they carpet a remote volcanic island in Tonga with poisoned bait, hoping to eradicate rats. What does it take to complete this kind of project, what are the chances of success, and what will it mean for the island’s ecosystems if they manage to remove the rats once and for all?  
4/24/202429 minutes, 16 seconds
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Summer 34 – Three decades of albatross research

Journalist Rebekah White meets two people who have been counting albatrosses on remote islands in the subantarctic for more than three decades. Their research shows that at least one species is en route to extinction. A few changes to the way we fish could save it.
4/17/202429 minutes, 27 seconds
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Taking on water - marine protection in Aotearoa

New Zealand once led the world in marine protection. Now it looks like we will fail to meet our international promise to protect 30 percent of our ocean estate by 2030. Why is stopping fishing so politically fraught? How might our ideas about marine protection need to change? And why, when our seas are in need, is it taking us so long to learn to talk to each other?
4/3/202430 minutes, 51 seconds
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The mystery of how godwits sleep in flight

Kuaka bar-tailed godwits make the longest non-stop flights, and researchers are using hi-tech tags to solve the mystery of how and when they sleep. 
3/27/202426 minutes, 35 seconds
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A tale of two islands – erect-crested penguins

The Bounty Islands are tiny in terms of area – just some bits of granite jutting out of the ocean. But they are huge in terms of seabirds. James Frankham joins a team researching the erect-crested penguins who breed in this remote archipelago. Recent counts suggest the penguins of the Bounties are doing fine. But this is not the case on the Antipodes Islands, and the researchers desperately want to know why. 
3/27/202428 minutes
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The stuff of life

What roles do our ocean ecosystems play in capturing carbon? Kate Evans speaks to iwi Māori working to improve the health of an estuary in the Bay of Plenty, and to scientists studying the fiords of New Zealand’s southwest coast. There’s potential for huge amounts of carbon to be locked away, if we don’t mess it up.  
3/20/202432 minutes
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Fish out of water

People and livestock gobble so much fish that the seas soon won’t keep up. Is the answer to grow fish on land? Kate Evans meets scientists figuring out the puzzles of how to farm some of New Zealand’s iconic ocean creatures.
3/13/202432 minutes, 33 seconds
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Kina-nomics

Kina numbers are exploding on some of our reefs, decimating seaweed habitats. Could this problem be solved by eating them? Kate Evans investigates the potential of kina-nomics.
3/6/202428 minutes, 22 seconds
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The undersea orchestra

Crackle, pop, woof, crunch, click. In the ocean, an undersea orchestra is in full swing. Journalist Kate Evans discovers who’s playing in it and why, and what happens when human noise drowns out this symphony in the sea. 
2/28/202431 minutes, 13 seconds
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Watching the weather in the far southern seas

A group of young New Zealanders and two meteorologists travel to South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean to collect weather observations – continuing the scientific legacy of early Antarctic explorers like Shackleton.
2/21/202430 minutes, 18 seconds
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New Zealand’s Antipodes Islands – remote, wild, and special

An ambitious project to rid the remote Antipodes Island of introduced mice proved successful in 2018. Claire Concannon visits the spectacular subantarctic island to meet the locals – from penguins to megaherbs – and the people studying the wildlife. Plus, we learn about what's at stake in the next island eradication challenge for New Zealand.
2/14/202435 minutes, 44 seconds
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The fate of the West Antarctic ice sheet in a warming world

How fast - and how completely - could Antarctica's smaller western ice sheet melt in a warming world? An international science team, led by Aotearoa New Zealand, set out to investigate whether two degrees of warming could already be a tipping point for the frozen continent.
2/7/202428 minutes, 54 seconds
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Pollen, asthma and allergies

Allergenic pollen is a big trigger for New Zealand’s high rates of hay fever and asthma. But for 35 years, we’ve had no current data on pollen levels. Until now. Justin Gregory talks to a team who want to change that.
1/31/202429 minutes, 41 seconds
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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 the wonderful world of seaweeds.
1/24/202429 minutes, 49 seconds
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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.
1/17/202428 minutes, 15 seconds
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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 the University of Otago tell stories of science controversy: the conservation conundrum of hybrids, and the relationship between western science and mātauranga Māori.
1/10/202425 minutes, 34 seconds
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Summer science: Kākā in Wellington

Kākā numbers are skyrocketing in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington thanks to conservation efforts. The summer science series continues with a walk through Zealandia to find out why you shouldn't feed these inquisitive parrots.
1/3/202412 minutes, 30 seconds
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Summer science: Seabirds in Auckland

The summer science fun continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Voices. Meet Gaia Dell-Arriccia, a scientist originally from the south of France who studies the seabirds that live around Auckland's coastlines.
1/3/202414 minutes, 50 seconds
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Summer science: Death rays and radio inventions

The summer science series kicks off with an episode from award-winning podcast Black Sheep, about a backyard inventor called Victor Penny who sparked sensational headlines about death ray inventions in 1935.
12/27/202353 minutes, 3 seconds
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The giant dinosaurs of Patagonia… and maybe Aotearoa?

This week on Our Changing World RNZ podcast producer, and occasional dinosaur correspondent William Ray visits Ngā Taniwha o Rūpapa Dinosaurs of Patagonia, a special exhibit at Te Papa Museum to discover the surprising link between the giant dinosaurs of Patagonia, and prehistoric New Zealand.
12/20/202328 minutes, 26 seconds
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Underwater slips and slides

Off the coast of New Zealand, deep underwater, the seafloor shifts in landslides and slow-motion earthquakes. Claire Concannon meets two researchers investigating geological phenomena that could pose a tsunami risk to Aotearoa New Zealand.
12/13/202329 minutes, 44 seconds
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On alert – the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre

Go behind the scenes at the National Geohazard Monitoring Centre, where a team of analysts are on alert 24/7 for earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis and landslides. What happens when a natural disaster strikes?
12/6/202327 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monitoring the Makarora mohua

Mohua are bright yellow forest birds – but despite their eye-catching plumage, they can be tricky to spot flitting high in the forest canopy. Claire Concannon visits the Makarora mohua population, where a team of conservationists and scientists are testing acoustic machine learning to identify individual birds.
11/29/202330 minutes, 8 seconds
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A new way to help honey bees

Varroa mite parasites cause major problems for honey bees – and beekeepers. Now, New Zealand researchers are investigating a new type of RNA-based treatment that could make treating varroa mite infestations easier, as well as better for the bees and the environment.
11/22/202328 minutes, 2 seconds
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OCW recommends: The Turning Point

New video series: A turning point in the fight to preserve Aotearoa's natural environment.
11/19/202359 seconds
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Plasma rockets in space

Claire Concannon meets GERALDINE, the Gigantic and Extremely Radical Atmosphere-Lacking Device for Interesting and Novel Experimentation. Plus, a team of scientists and engineers designing plasma rocket thrusters for space travel with super-conducting magnets.
11/15/202325 minutes, 42 seconds
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Helping to revitalise Moriori culture

A Moriori musician, an ethnomusicologist and the Hokotehi Moriori Trust are part of a team helping to revitalise Moriori culture with 3D-printed replicas of traditional bone flutes from Rēkohu the Chatham Islands. Claire Concannon finds out more about the Moriori, music and manawa project.
11/8/202327 minutes, 30 seconds
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Forecasting in changing times

In the last week, Hurricane Otis hit southern Mexico with little warning, and Cyclone Lola set a record for the earliest category five cyclone in the southern hemisphere. Climate change is making work tricky for weather forecasters. What might be in store for our upcoming El Niño summer? 
11/1/202326 minutes, 51 seconds
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The potential of plankton

Could your burger one day come with a plankton patty? Alison Ballance visits the Cawthron Institute's collection of more than 750 different strains of microalgae, where scientists are investigating these teeny organisms for new food ingredients and powerful painkillers.
10/25/202326 minutes, 55 seconds
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Life in the fast and slow lanes of braided rivers

In the ever-shifting streams and channels of a braided river, creatures must adapt to change. Claire Concannon joins a researcher on the spectacular Cass River near Tekapo for a spot of electrofishing and bird counting – part of a project seeking to understand this complex ecosystem and the threats it faces.
10/18/202327 minutes, 48 seconds
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Why are penguins so cool?

Giant penguins weighing up to 150 kilograms once roamed the waters around New Zealand. Claire Concannon speaks to a palaeontologist and learns about penguin evolution, extinct species that dwarfed today's emperors, and why Aotearoa is such a great place to study these birds that 'fly' through the water. 
10/11/202328 minutes, 17 seconds
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Muscles young and old

What happens to our muscles as we age? Claire Concannon finds out why muscles get weaker as we get older, and speaks with a researcher investigating why Olympic athletes live up to three years longer than the general population. Claire also meets a scientist studying what happens to muscles in children with cerebral palsy, seeking clues that could help.
10/4/202325 minutes, 17 seconds
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The Southland underdog

The southern New Zealand dotterel is a true underdog of the bird world, with just 126 individuals at last population estimate. Claire Concannon tags along with a team of researchers attaching trackers to the birds. Their mission is to figure out where the dotterels go to breed, so these "plump little tomatoes" can be protected from introduced predators.
9/27/202328 minutes, 39 seconds
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The recipe for food pairing

Broccoli and chocolate. Prawns and vanilla. According to food pairing theory, these culinary matches should go together as well as macaroni and cheese, or peanut butter and jam. But do they really? Senior producer Justin Gregory meets two researchers digging into the sensory science of food.
9/20/202327 minutes, 6 seconds
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The Great Ireland vs New Zealand Bird-off: Part 2

The Great Ireland vs. New Zealand Bird-off returns for part 2 to decide once and for all which island nation boasts the best birds. Our avian aficionados return to argue their case in front of judge Claire Concannon. Who will fly to victory? Listen to find out – plus learn about the crazy life cycle of the cuckoo and the weird feathers of the kiwi, among many fascinating facts and tales from the world of birds.
9/13/202333 minutes, 40 seconds
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The great Ireland vs. New Zealand bird-off: Part 1

Welcome to the great Ireland vs New Zealand bird-off. Two islands, a world apart – but which country has the better birds? Two bird nerds champion their nation's birds across four categories in an avian battle for the ages, with Claire Concannon judging the best of the feathered best. Which country will emerge victorious? Listen to find out.
9/6/202332 minutes, 3 seconds
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Retraining the tinnitus brain

We’ve probably all experienced a little bit of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, at some stage in our lives. But for some people this phantom sound in their brain can be loud, and permanent, and completely debilitating. Claire Concannon speaks to a group of scientists at the University of Auckland who've been researching ways to help for years, and have developed a digital therapy with promising trial results.
8/30/202328 minutes, 26 seconds
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Exercise on the brain

Dr Kate Thomas has exercise on the brain. As an exercise physiologist, she researches how exercise and fasting can change the energy sources our brain uses. And as an ultramarathon runner, she chases that runner's high on gruelling mountain races. 
8/23/202328 minutes, 18 seconds
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Earthquake engineering meets breast cancer screening

How can swaying buildings help diagnose breast cancer? Katy Gosset meets a team of engineers taking inspiration from earthquake engineering to design a new, cost-effective device to help detect breast cancer. Listen to find out how the device works, and how it could help more women get tested sooner.
8/16/202326 minutes, 2 seconds
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Takahē dreamers

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the rediscovery of the takahē. Claire Concannon sits down with former Our Changing World presenter and takahē superfan Alison Ballance to chat about her new book, Takahē: Bird of Dreams. Plus, we replay Alison's 2018 episode marking the 70th anniversary of the momentous rediscovery, and discuss what's happened in takahē conservation since.
8/9/202335 minutes, 10 seconds
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The petrel patrol

Every year, tens to hundreds of seabirds fall out of the sky across Auckland city. Disoriented by the bright lights, Cook's petrels crash-land and collide with buildings – but a dedicated group of volunteers hit the pavement to rescue them. Join us on 'Petrel Patrol' and go behind the scenes at a bird hospital, where squid smoothies and bath time help the seabirds find their wings again.
8/2/202326 minutes, 41 seconds
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The science of snow

Are all snowflakes really unique? What makes some snow better for skiing? And what's the difference between snow and hail? Join Alison Ballance and Katy Gosset as they hit the slopes of Mt Ruapehu and discover a science wonderland of snow.
7/26/202330 minutes, 23 seconds
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Inside the nuclear fusion reactor ITER

Nuclear fusion is a holy grail for researchers seeking clean energy. This week we head to the south of France with ABC science journalist Carl Smith in this episode from the Strange Frontiers series. Here, a multi-billion-dollar collaboration between several countries called ITER is trying to make industrial-scale nuclear fusion a reality. 
7/19/202328 minutes, 46 seconds
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Our taiao, our tohu - protecting the Waihi estuary

Tauranga-based producer Justine Murray dons some gumboots and meets some teeny-tiny cockles as she joins a team surveying the Waihi estuary. Professor Kura Paul-Burke is weaving mātauranga Māori and western science together to address questions that local iwi have about the health of the estuary, and what can be done to improve it.  
7/12/202329 minutes, 6 seconds
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The puzzle of the silent mind

Have you ever had a catchy tune you just can't get out of your head? Most of us can imagine sounds – music, voices, environmental noise – to varying degrees. But about 1% of people can't imagine sounds at all. This lack of auditory imagery is called anauralia. Claire Concannon meets a team of researchers investigating this newly described phenomenon, and speaks to a musician who experiences anauralia.
7/5/202333 minutes, 22 seconds
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Neurogenetic conditions in Aotearoa

In September 2022, two New Zealand patients became the first in the world to participate in a phase 1 clinical trial testing a new therapy for a rare neurogenetic condition called myotonic dystrophy. Claire Concannon learns about the trial, and how a new Neurogenetic Registry and Biobank covering 70 conditions is helping to connect New Zealand patients with international research.
6/28/202326 minutes, 32 seconds
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Blinded by the light

Here in Aotearoa, it's the winter solstice: the shortest day (and longest night) of the year. We're marking the occasion with an episode celebrating the starry night sky. Podcaster Max Balloch looks up in search of stories told through constellations, and finds that light pollution is smudging out the stars for many New Zealanders. What can be done to restore our connection with the night sky?
6/21/202326 minutes, 47 seconds
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Positive emotions in animals

Rats giggle. Dogs wag their tail. How do other animals express joy? You can't ask them, so researchers have to find other sneaky ways of figuring out animal emotions. Professor Ximena Nelson is studying how curious and intelligent kea, New Zealand's alpine parrots, might show positive feeling.
6/14/202329 minutes, 13 seconds
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Digital twins and beating hearts

There's nothing like a good birthday party, especially one filled with games and fun activities. The Auckland Bioengineering Institute might have missed their 20th birthday due to Covid-19, but they were determined to throw a good ole shindig. Claire Concannon visits to find out what they've been up to for the past 20 years, and what the plan is for the next two decades.
6/7/202327 minutes, 4 seconds
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Battling weeds with biocontrol

In Aotearoa we talk a lot about mammalian predators attacking our native wildlife, but other insidious pests are quietly taking over – weedy plants. Tackling these weeds using chemical and mechanical means only gets us so far, so researchers and conservationists also look towards the plants’ natural enemies to help. Claire Concannon visits a group of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research scientists investigating biocontrol agents to assist in the fight.
5/31/202331 minutes, 22 seconds
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The complexities of soil

This week we're digging up the dirt on the surprising complexity of soil. From top-notch compost to dung beetles to kauri dieback, join us on a fascinating tour of the world beneath our feet with presenters at the Wild Dunedin Festival of Nature.
5/24/202329 minutes, 25 seconds
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Freshwater friends at Zealandia

Claire Concannon meets the latest addition to the Zealandia ecosanctuary family - toitoi, or common bully. Zealandia CEO Dr Danielle Shanahan explains why these little fish will be an important part of the freshwater ecosystem, and what their ambitious 100 year plans are to restore the mouri or lifeforce of the entire Kaiwharawhara catchment.
5/17/202327 minutes, 29 seconds
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Freshwater friends at Zealandia

Claire Concannon meets the latest addition to the Zealandia ecosanctuary family - toitoi, or common bully. Zealandia CEO Dr Danielle Shanahan explains why these little fish will be an important part of the freshwater ecosystem, and what their ambitious 100 year plans are to restore the mouri or lifeforce of the entire Kaiwharawhara catchment.
5/17/202328 minutes, 53 seconds
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Head knocks in junior rugby

What are the risks of head injury for players of contact sports like rugby? Research is increasingly linking head knocks with neurodegenerative diseases later in life. Claire Concannon meets a research team analysing every rugby training session and match across an entire season with high-tech mouthguards.
5/10/202328 minutes, 53 seconds
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Special edition: Prime Minister's Science Prizes 2022

Meet the winners of the 2022 Prime Minister's Science Prizes! We go behind the scenes with the Emerging Scientist, Science Teacher and Future Scientist winners to learn about cutting-edge research, inspiring teaching and intriguing mahi worthy of these prestigious awards. 
5/1/202335 minutes, 41 seconds
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Blooming cyclones

Tropical cyclones can cause rampant destruction, but sometimes, these wild weather systems can seed life at sea too. This week we meet a storm-chasing researcher in search of phytoplankton blooms – like one that formed in the wake of 2019 Cyclone Oma.
4/26/202330 minutes, 23 seconds
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Seeds of hope for seagrass meadows

Grab your gumboots! Alison Ballance squelches out into Nelson's mudflats with a team of Cawthron Institute researchers in search of cryptic seagrass flowers – and their seeds. Collecting the seeds is step one in an ambitious project to restore Aotearoa's ailing seagrass meadows.
4/19/202330 minutes, 32 seconds
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Kiwi return to the wilds of Wellington

The birds are back. After a long absence, 11 kiwi have returned to the outskirts of Wellington – with a little help from some human friends. Veronika Meduna heads into the field to see how the work of the Capital Kiwi Project is paying off.
4/12/202328 minutes, 49 seconds
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The unwelcome visitors

The Rotopiko peat wetlands are a haven for rare and threatened wildlife. But when a flock of introduced birds numbering in the hundreds of thousands moves in – threatening the very nature of this special place – a group of people come up with some crazy-but-genius ideas to protect the wetlands and wildlife. Claire Concannon investigates.
4/5/202327 minutes, 10 seconds
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What will happen to alpine plants in a warming world?

As mountains get warmer with our changing climate, what will happen to the iconic alpine plants that live at high altitude? Claire Concannon visits the moonscape slopes of Mt Ruapehu with a team of researchers using an experimental set-up that's part-greenhouse, part-UFO.
3/29/202330 minutes, 32 seconds
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The Noises Islands – Part 2

This week, Claire Concannon returns to the Noises Islands in the Hauraki Gulf. While conservation action on the islands has led to thriving terrestrial ecosystems, under the water, it's a very different story. Listen to learn how the marine environment has declined around the Noises, and what might be done to reverse it.
3/22/202329 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Noises Islands: Part 1

The Noises are a conservation success story in the Hauraki Gulf. Claire Concannon joins a team surveying the wētāpunga, seabirds, and other flora and fauna that now thrive on these predator-free islands.
3/15/202329 minutes, 52 seconds
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Sleeping on the job

We all get some – but are you getting enough? Claire Concannon investigates the science of sleep and meets a pilot-turned-sleep-researcher helping the aviation industry ensure crew on long-haul flights get some shut-eye.
3/8/202330 minutes, 56 seconds
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Bats vs cats

New Zealand's native long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, is going strong in Franklin, south of Auckland. But these tiny mammals are threatened by introduced predators, especially cats. Producer Liz Garton goes on a bat hunt and learns about locals' efforts to keep their pekapeka neighbours safe.
3/1/202332 minutes, 22 seconds
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When plans change

Not everything goes to plan on research trips. And when the trip is to a remote island aboard a navy ship designed to help with disaster relief, and happens to overlap with one of the worst weather disasters in New Zealand... well, things are going to change. Claire Concannon tells the story of Operation Endurance 2023 on Campbell Island.
2/22/202329 minutes, 13 seconds
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A pair of tyrants

This week we're travelling back in time 66 million years ago with producer William Ray, to a time when dinosaurs roamed. Join William as he meets two Tyrannosaurus rex fossils at the Auckland Museum and uncovers the story behind the bones.
2/15/202326 minutes, 12 seconds
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The sex life of spiders

They can hunt, they can fish, they build little nurseries for their babies. Oh and some of them also engage in a bit of sexual cannibalism. Claire Concannon goes on a nighttime stroll in Kirikiriroa Hamilton to meet some fascinating spiders, and learn all about the weird world of spider reproduction. 
2/8/202331 minutes, 4 seconds
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Bonus: Bug of the Year 2023 causing lab tension

With the Bug of the Year 2023 competition coming to the closing stages, it's not surprising that things are getting heated. In this breaking news story we learn how voting preferences have caused a rift in the Painting lab.
2/8/20237 minutes, 1 second
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The secret life of sea sponges

What do marine biologists get up to? Some Evans Bay Intermediate school students are learning all about it at the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Lab. Claire Concannon tags along to listen in, and to catch up with Professor James Bell to learn more about his research on sea sponges.
2/1/202327 minutes, 40 seconds
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Green data storage, green walls

Claire Concannon investigates how luminescence and specialised materials could be key to our growing data storage needs, and visits a test site for native vertical gardens that could cloak the walls of Wellington's city buildings.
1/25/202329 minutes, 47 seconds
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Summer science: Two stories from the ocean

In the final instalment of our summer science series, we bring you two stories from the ocean. First we have a story on marine noise pollution from Victoria University of Wellington Centre for Science in Society student, Xanthe Smith. Then, we have an episode on pāua from RNZ podcast Voices, presented by Kadambari Raghukumar.
1/18/202327 minutes, 40 seconds
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Summer science: Rabbits and other pests

We continue our summer science series with an episode from RNZ’s The Aotearoa History Show. In the first episode of season two, the show burrows into the story of rabbits and other pests introduced to New Zealand.
1/11/202328 minutes, 57 seconds
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Summer science: The hunt for New Zealand's tenth meteorite

As part of our summer science series we bring you an episode of The Otago Chronicles podcast, hosted by Max Balloch. In this episode, Max talks to Associate Professor James Scott from the University of Otago Department of Geology about looking up at the night sky and the hunt for what would’ve been New Zealand’s 10th meteorite.
1/4/202314 minutes, 6 seconds
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Gene editing for pest control and the genetics behind weight gain

Two stories about genetics produced by students at the University of Otago's Department of Science Communication. Amanda Konyn investigates whether gene editing has a role in future pest control, while Richard Marks explores why the "eat less, move more" approach to weight loss isn't really working.
12/21/202228 minutes
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An eye in the sky to detect methane emissions

MethaneSAT is the first New Zealand government funded space mission. A joint project between the United States' Environmental Defense Fund and New Zealand, the project will see a methane sensing satellite launched into orbit. Science journalist Peter Griffin finds out why and how.
12/14/202227 minutes, 39 seconds
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Conservation successes in the Cook Islands

The kākerōri or Rarotongan flycatcher is a South Pacific conservation success story. Once reduced to just 29 birds, it has been rescued from the brink of extinction by a rat control programme managed by the land-owners of the Takitumu Conservation Area in the Cook Islands. Alison Ballance visits to find out more.
12/7/202224 minutes
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Planning for Aotearoa's genomic medicine future

If the future of healthcare is personalised genomics, how can we ensure that it is used to lessen inequities, rather than strengthen them? This week, Our Changing World speaks to two of the co-leaders of the Rakieora programme – a pilot to develop a New Zealand specific national database for genomic research.
11/30/202228 minutes, 55 seconds
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Genome sequencing and the pandemic

Genome sequencing has become a household term during this pandemic. This week, we explore how it became an important tool in the fight against Covid-19.
11/23/202227 minutes, 48 seconds
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Sunfish secrets

Sunfish are the world's largest bony fish species – and yet scientists know little about their lives. This week, Our Changing World meets a sunfish researcher unravelling mola mysteries and dives into the weird world of sunfishes as a museum specimen is examined and prepared.
11/16/202225 minutes, 40 seconds
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Sunshine science: the power and peril of the sun’s rays

Summer is on its way, and this week we're exploring both the power and the peril of the sun. First, we visit the Ultrafast Laser Lab to learn about efforts to create better solar panels. Then, we hear about one professor's quest to teach kids about sun safety using an ultraviolet dosimeter you can wear on your wrist like a watch.
11/9/202229 minutes, 56 seconds
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What feathers can tell us about the past lives of seabirds

Behind the scenes at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, a "menagerie" of specimens is a treasure trove for curator Dr Matt Rayner, who is researching how the Hauraki Gulf's seabirds are faring using clues from very old feathers.
11/2/202226 minutes, 39 seconds
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Why has this river of Antarctic ice stalled?

How do you drill through 600m of thick Antarctic ice? Using hot water, of course. In this episode from the 2020 series Voices from Antarctica, Alison Ballance joins researchers hoping to solve the puzzle of why a giant river of ice has stalled.
10/27/202227 minutes, 28 seconds
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Space sounds and jungle noises: The otherworldly song of Weddell seals

Weddell seals have returned to breed near Scott Base in Antarctica after a decades-long absence. On land, they're blubbery lumps. But underwater, they're graceful dancers and ethereal singers. A team of scientists is finding out more about the under-ice lives and habits of Weddell seals. Alison Ballance joins them in this episode from the award-winning series Voices from Antarctica.
10/20/202228 minutes, 39 seconds
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Deep dives and epic journeys: Return of the emperor penguins

A team of NIWA scientists eagerly awaits the return of 19 emperor penguins carrying high-tech data loggers and video cameras. What will the data captured reveal about the penguins' secret lives at sea?
10/13/202230 minutes, 17 seconds
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Emperor penguin secrets

Revisit the frozen continent with us in this mini rerun of the Voices from Antarctica series. This week, Alison visits Cape Crozier to meet a colony of emperor penguins – and the team of scientists studying them.
10/6/202228 minutes, 55 seconds
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The prickly prize of ongaonga

It's spectacularly spiky and delivers a painful – or even deadly – sting. Why are a team of conservationists growing and planting up Orokonui Ecosanctuary near Dunedin with more and more native tree nettle, ongaonga? It's all because of a pretty little pollinator called the kahukura, or red admiral butterfly, and its prickly preferences. Claire Concannon visits Orokonui to learn more about the ongaonga-kahukura relationship, as well as new research investigating whether these native butterflies are the victims of a sneaky ecological 'trap'.
9/28/202234 minutes, 19 seconds
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A send-off for SOFIA, the flying observatory

We're saying farewell to the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (aka SOFIA) this month. The mission, which was partially based in Christchurch, wraps up after a decade of observing comets, stars, planets, and the moon. In July 2017, Alison Ballance boarded the Boeing 747 with a flying telescope for one of its research flights.
9/21/202230 minutes, 7 seconds
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Future forest industry

In a future that is free of fossil fuels, where will we source all the products that we get from the petroleum industry? Scientists at the forest research institute Scion think that trees might provide the solutions we need.
9/14/202226 minutes, 44 seconds
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Fascinating fungi and pesky pathogens

In a room in the Manaaki Whenua building in Auckland are rows and rows of shelves, with cardboard boxes containing an array of weird and wonderful dried fungi. Claire Concannon visits to learn how and why these specimens are kept, and finds out about its sister culture collection, which is helping in the defense against invading plant pathogens.
9/7/202231 minutes, 1 second
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Bringing back nature to Nelson

Alison Ballance visits the Brook Waimārama sanctuary, and discovers that the old saying “many hands make light work” is particularly true when it comes to community conservation. A relatively new fenced sanctuary, the Brook Waimārama team is now at the exciting stage of bringing native wildlife back into the area, including orange-fronted parakeets -  kākāriki karaka - and giant land snails.
8/31/202229 minutes, 8 seconds
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Plasma jet technology and encouraging Pacific students in science

Claire Concannon catches up with Dr. Taniela Lolohea of Auckland University of Technology. He is researching in the relatively new field of low temperature plasma surface coatings, and explains how it can be used to create customised surfaces for many purposes. But he is also investigating ways to encourage more Pacific students in science, including by developing projects that might be more attractive for them.
8/24/202230 minutes, 13 seconds
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Investigating the virosphere

While we might have heard all we ever want to know about viruses in the last few years, the truth is, known viruses represent less than zero point one percent of the estimated total of viruses out there. Claire Concannon meets a team from the University of Otago trying to increase our knowledge of virus diversity, so that we can better understand their evolution.
8/17/202226 minutes, 55 seconds
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For the love of seabirds

Edin Whitehead inherited a love of birds from her father and became captivated by the majesty of seabirds on a trip to the Subantarctic Islands. Now a PhD student at the University of Auckland, she is trying to figure out how best to help the birds of the Hauraki Gulf, who are facing many threats, including warming waters. 
8/10/202227 minutes, 44 seconds
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The Living Laboratories project

The Auckland University of Technology Living Laboratories project is all about investigating how best to grow back native forest. At Pourewa creek, this collaboration between AUT and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei involves planting blocks with different nursery plants and measuring individual tree growth and biodiversity indicators over time. They hope to figure out the recipe to cheaper and faster regeneration of native bush.
8/3/202226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Secrets of Antarctic microbes

The most extreme places in Antarctica give rise to the toughest and weirdest types of life. From creatures living a very different chemical life to ours at underwater methane seeps to the secret tools bacteria use to keep their DNA safe from the harsh conditions of the dry valleys.
7/27/202232 minutes, 38 seconds
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Why the Tongan volcano triggered a worldwide tsunami

The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha‘apai in January triggered a tsunami of unprecedented proportions, impacting the entire Pacific. How did this volcanic eruption lead to a tsunami detected across the globe, including as far away as the Mediterranean? Science communicator Ellen Rykers speaks to the scientists unravelling the secrets of this rare phenomenon.
7/20/202227 minutes, 2 seconds
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The battling beetle

With their antler-like mandibles, Helm's stag beetles often get stuck in to one another. But they are fighting a bigger battle too - against predators and habitat loss. PhD student Luna Thomas is studying these little known endemic insects. She hopes her work will add to our sparse scientific knowledge, and maybe help some of the other native stag beetle species, some of which are critically endangered.
7/13/202226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Machine learning for environmental data and research into 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 the University of Waikato where the programme is hosted.  And a group in the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are researching a new needle-free jet injector design that they think might lead to a happier future for those with needle phobia.
7/6/202230 minutes, 48 seconds
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The resilience of crayfish in Tauranga Harbour

PhD student Kiamaia Ellis describes crayfish as a ‘vulnerable tāonga species’. Local iwi in Tauranga believe the crayfish population is decreasing because of urban, industrial and harvesting pressures. But Kiamaia is keen to be a part of the solution, so she’s studying the resilience of pēpi kōura / baby crayfish. She wants to understand how these tiny species – that take eight years to become an adult – are able to thrive based on a kaitiakitanga or guardianship approach.
6/29/202227 minutes, 48 seconds
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Helping seabirds return to Karioi

Working with the community and local schools, the Karioi Project aims to turn the tide on biodiversity loss in their area. In recent years they've rallied around the grey-faced petrel, or ōi, who they hope to help return to the maunga.
6/22/202226 minutes, 35 seconds
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The promises and perils of chemistry research

Two stories about the promise and perils of chemistry research. From a team recreating Renaissance beauty recipes in the hopes of rediscovering a 'miracle ingredient', to a researcher investigating New Zealand's deadliest synthetic cannabinoid.
6/15/202230 minutes, 14 seconds
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Digging into the past of sleeping giant faults

The Nevis Fault is a sleeping giant fault, one that awakens only every 10,000 years or so. This week, a team of geologists use paleoseismic trenching to answer questions about this fault and to figure out the pattern of past earthquakes.
6/8/202226 minutes, 51 seconds
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The 2021 Prime Minister's Science Prizes

It's Prime Minister's Science Prize time! We meet some of the people awarded the 2021 prizes for their mahi.
6/1/202230 minutes, 49 seconds
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Biodiversity and the city

Researchers from the University of Waikato are tackling the tricky question of how to restore native biodiversity in our urban areas.
5/25/202229 minutes, 57 seconds
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The red seaweed of Otago Harbour

We join Marine Science PhD student Namrata Chand on her Autumn field work collecting seaweed samples to learn more about this 'underdog of the ocean'.  
5/18/202226 minutes, 38 seconds
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Business not as usual for heart health

Pūtahi Manawa / Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa has an ambitious goal - to close the inequity gaps in heart health. Researchers in this Centre of Research Excellence explain the gaps that exist & how they plan to address them.
5/11/202228 minutes, 20 seconds
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Naturally rare and threatened

Claire Concannon meets with some of the people working to protect Aotearoa’s naturally rare ecosytems and the endangered plants found within them.
5/4/202230 minutes, 4 seconds
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2022 a boomer year for kākāpō

Alison Ballance joins the kākāpō recovery team on Pukenui Anchor Island to hear how the 2021/2022 kākāpō breeding season is going.
4/27/202229 minutes, 49 seconds
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Frozen in time

A visit to Scott's Terra Nova hut to learn about the care given to the objects by Antarctic Heritage Trust conservators. This is an edit of the Antarctic Heritage Trust's podcast 'Frozen in Time: Scott's Antarctic Legacy'.
4/20/202228 minutes, 33 seconds
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Researching best care for the smallest of patients

Justin Gregory finds out about a study investigating how pre-term babies are fed during their first few weeks, and whether there is a better way.
4/13/202228 minutes, 4 seconds
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Getting ready for our warmer future

Stories about looking our warming world in the eye, and preparing for what is coming next. Collecting data about extreme temperatures in estuaries to help manage shellfish populations. Plus what might managed retreat of marae threatened by sea level rise mean for Māori communities.
4/6/202227 minutes, 56 seconds
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The future of cancer treatment

At the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research a team of scientists are working on what they believe will be the future of cancer treatment in New Zealand.
3/30/202230 minutes, 5 seconds
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The energy problem

Two stories on addressing our energy problem - using AI to maximise locally produced renewable energy and reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia production.
3/23/202230 minutes, 39 seconds
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The first glance

A story of a community taking the lead to investigate their own history. Near the small fishing village of Moeraki, whānau members are doing the work of excavating, sorting, and identifying artifacts from an old Māori archaeological site.
3/16/202226 minutes, 23 seconds
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When good science takes time

This sea week Our Changing World joins Dr. Kim Currie on the Munida transect time-series - a long running investigation of how the chemistry of the oceans off New Zealand is changing.
3/9/202230 minutes, 9 seconds
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Conservation benefits

Creating safe spaces for wildlife to thrive means benefit for the local community too. This week, two stories on that theme.
3/2/202227 minutes, 9 seconds
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Finding faults and eavesdropping on earthquakes

Alison Ballance catches up with two earthquake researchers. Geologist Carolyn Boulton is a ‘fault finder’, interested in how faults slide. And geophysicist Martha Savage eavesdrops on the earth to better understand why earthquakes do what they do.
2/23/202228 minutes, 31 seconds
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Multi-talented macroalgae

Claire visits a macroalgae research facility in Tauranga to learn how and why the team there are growing large quantities of seaweed and freshwater macroalgae.
2/16/202229 minutes, 53 seconds
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Honey fingerprints and plant powers

Claire learns about honey fingerprinting while Katy Gosset meets a scientist studying the anti-microbial properties of some native plants.
2/9/202230 minutes, 14 seconds
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Hunting for meteorites

Claire joins a meteorite hunt on the South Island’s West Coast and learns what these rocks from space can tell us about the early formation of our solar system.
2/2/202230 minutes, 8 seconds
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Tuning in to nature

The story of titipounamu, New Zealand's smallest bird, on Otago Peninsula, told by Karthic SS, a wildlife film maker and podcast producer based in Dunedin.
1/26/202226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Summer Science: Voices - To spray or not to spray

Summer science continues with a play of a science related episode from RNZ's Voices podcast. In 'To spray or not to spray' we meet Tim Vandervoet as he investigates ways to reduce insecticide use in orchards. 
1/19/202213 minutes, 39 seconds
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Summer Science: What's in the water? All about the Pb in our H20

Centre for Science Communication student Laura McDonald speaks to Dr. Mike Palin about lead contamination in the environment.
1/12/202214 minutes, 33 seconds
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Summer Science: Black Sheep - Invasive: the story of Stewart Smith

Summer science continues with a play of a science related episode from RNZ's Black Sheep podcast. Invasive tells the story of one man who released thousands of invasive fish into New Zealand's rivers, lakes and streams.
1/5/202243 minutes, 42 seconds
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Summer Science: There's something in the water

Centre for Science Communication student William Bowden speaks to Dr. Mike Joy & Dr. Tim Chambers about the issue of nitrates in New Zealand's waterways.
12/29/202113 minutes, 5 seconds
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Unwelcome visitors

How to deal with unwelcome visitors. Katy Gosset learns about a native fungus that might help in the battle against wilding pines. And two national research programmes combine on an expedition to protect our oceans from plastics and invasive species.
12/22/202130 minutes, 16 seconds
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Using chemistry to uncover the past

Chemical isotope analysis is a powerful technique - Dr. Charlotte King explains to Claire how she uses it to reconstruct past lives of forgotten people from the Otago gold rush.
12/15/202129 minutes, 5 seconds
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Introducing Sci Fi Sci Fact

Sci Fi / Sci Fact is a new podcast series in which scientists from New Zealand's MacDiarmid Institute talk to RNZ host Bryan Crump about whether some of science-fiction's most popular concepts could actually come true.
12/9/20213 minutes, 58 seconds
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Keeping an eye on river flow

Two stories on keeping an eye on river flow - helping fish to migrate back upstream, and development of a national river flow forecasting tool.
12/8/202130 minutes, 14 seconds
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Listening to the hum of the Alpine Fault

A team of scientists are installing an array of seismic sensors along the South Island's Alpine Fault. Claire Concannon joins them to find out how and why.
12/1/202127 minutes, 19 seconds
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Restoration - battling predators and planting trees

Katy Gosset speaks to a PhD student designing new tech to catch predators and Claire Concannon meets the team who are working to restore a unique landscape on the South Island's West Coast.
11/24/202126 minutes, 8 seconds
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100 years of radio and the spectrum of light

On the 100th anniversary of radio in Aotearoa, Claire Concannon learns about the very first broadcast, explores how radio works, and finds out about current research into communicating using light.
11/17/202127 minutes, 14 seconds
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Sniffing out cancer

Claire visits the team at K9 Medical Detection Charitable Trust to learn how their dogs are being trained to detect bowel and prostate cancer.
11/10/202128 minutes, 6 seconds
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Tōtara treasure hunt

Claire Concannon hits the Central Otago hills with Botany PhD student Ben Teele to imagine the landscape as it use to be, and to follow the clues to find leftover pockets of tōtara trees.
11/3/202128 minutes, 53 seconds
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Favourite plants

Claire Concannon hears how the the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network's favourite plant competition is shaping up, while Katy Gosset learns about research to improve the quality and growth efficiency of grapevines.
10/27/202130 minutes, 10 seconds
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The details behind the data

This week on Our Changing World, Aotearoa Science Agency's Damian Christie speaks to three scientists about the world of data.  
10/20/202128 minutes, 47 seconds
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The New Zealand genetic frontotemporal dementia study

Claire Concannon hears from Dr. Brigid Ryan of the University of Auckland about the New Zealand genetic frontotemporal dementia study and speaks to some of the family members involved in this unique research study.
10/13/202128 minutes, 38 seconds
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Using bioengineering to enhance healthcare

Stories about the potential of bioengineering to transform health care. A new tracheostomy kit design that has halved the time for emergency operations and 3D bioprinting of tissues to help healing.
10/6/202128 minutes, 52 seconds
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Physics on ice

Stories of physics research in Antarctica - into, under, and from within the ice. Claire finds out about measuring sea ice thickness and supercooling. Katy Gosset learns how scientists detect neutrinos from outer space.
9/29/202139 minutes, 40 seconds
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Brain stories - Parkinsons disease & perceiving masked emotions

Claire Concannon learns about experiments aimed at slowing Parkinson's Disease progression. Sonia Yee explores research into our perception of emotions in a mask-filled world.
9/22/202130 minutes, 44 seconds
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The kākā's return

The return of South Island kākā to the the Ōtepoti Dunedin area has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Claire Concannon hears about the tragedies and the triumphs, and the plans for what comes next. 
9/15/202128 minutes, 2 seconds
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Wading into mangrove research

Native mangroves in Aotearoa are expanding, putting them in conflict with some local communities & councils. A wade into the research about the value of mangroves & how they are managed.
9/8/202127 minutes, 42 seconds
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Caring for the forest

Katy Gosset finds out how researchers investigate the plant penetration powers of myrtle rust. Claire Concannon speaks with the caretaker of a tropical forest and hundreds of butterflies
9/1/202129 minutes, 43 seconds
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Surveying the skies

Two stories of looking to the skies. Claire Concannon joins a hunt for planets outside of our solar system. Katy Gosset reveals the results of the annual New Zealand Garden Birds Survey.
8/25/202131 minutes, 43 seconds
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A new way to make vaccines

This week, how information flows in the cell from DNA to proteins, and how scientists have tapped into this to enable a new way to make vaccines using messenger RNA.  
8/18/202126 minutes, 34 seconds
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Forty feathered needles in a forest haystack

How do you find a tiny robin in a whole lot of forest? Researchers have been tracking the movements of forty North Island robins, or toutouwai, that have been reintroduced to a large reserve area near Palmerston North. Claire Concannon finds out how these Massey University researchers monitor them, and what they are learning.
8/11/202130 minutes, 1 second
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Mind Games

How do you get in the zone to achieve your very best in an activity? And does a cheering crowd help? This week, two stories about the psychology of performance - the advantages of being at home, and how to find your flow.
8/5/202129 minutes, 32 seconds
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Running low on energy

Researchers from the University of Waikato talk about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) – a condition in which athletes don't take in the right amount of calories to do the exercise they are doing. Katie Schofield & Holly Thorpe explain why the problem is much more complex than just calorie intake, and why it is important to research this condition in a multidisciplinary way.
7/28/202126 minutes, 52 seconds
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The spectrum of research

Scientific research can be thought as on a spectrum from blue sky to applied - this week, two stories that span this. Claire Concannon learns about a blue-sky research project on bacterial evolution while Katy Gosset watches testing of a new system of base isolation designed to help homes during earthquakes.
7/21/202130 minutes, 28 seconds
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Breaking down bird song

On this week’s Our Changing World - how songbirds learn their song, and how researchers in the Southern Hemisphere are trying to correct a long-standing male bias in the songbird world.
7/14/202130 minutes, 39 seconds
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Crafty Mathematics

Mathematical equations can help us get new perspectives, but sometimes can be difficult to understand. This week, one story about how maths has helped the understanding of a enigmatic quirk of heart rate control and another on how crafts can be used to better understand maths.
7/7/202130 minutes, 19 seconds
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Designing a pressure sensor for the brain

Researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are working on what they hope will be the first New Zealand designed Class 3 medical device – a pressure sensor for the brain, to help people with hydrocephalus. The team explain the sensor design, how it works and how they test it.
6/30/202127 minutes, 8 seconds
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Conservation communities

Two stories of Aotearoa New Zealand conservation communities who are caring for the flora and fauna in their backyards. Claire learns about the Catlins Bats on the Map project while Katy learns about saving scurvy grass.
6/23/202130 minutes, 32 seconds
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When disease research gets personal

Claire Concannon meets a group of researchers who are determined to do the best science they can, to try to help the people they love.  
6/16/202130 minutes, 41 seconds
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The winding paths of science

Two stories about science pathways - Katy Gosset heads to the University of Canterbury STEM careers fair to find out what the future might be for science students, while Claire Concannon learns about the weird world of parasite life cycles.
6/9/202130 minutes, 51 seconds
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4: What’s in it for Us?

In the series finale, Hope, we get a glimpse of what a predator-free Aotearoa could look like, and look at the breakthrough technologies and innovations taking us towards that goal.
5/30/202129 minutes, 5 seconds
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3: Predator Free 2050 & Māori

Community-led projects are leading the charge to halt biodiversity decline, while researchers make break-throughs in their quest to remove predators and protect borders from reinvasion.
5/23/202126 minutes, 30 seconds
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2: Remove and Protect

New Zealander’s have drawn a line in the sand, announcing they will rid the nation of rats, stoats and possums by 2050, but what will it take to get there?
5/16/202127 minutes, 12 seconds
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1: Dealing with Loss

Loss looks at the devastating effect introduced mammals have had on New Zealand's unique wildlife.
5/9/202127 minutes, 8 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 6: southern island sanctuary

Alison Ballance revisits a favourite story from the archives: southern island sanctuary for rare birds.
5/6/202131 minutes, 13 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 May 2021

In her final trawl through the audio archives, Alison Ballance heads to Putauhinu Island, a southern sanctuary for rare birds.
5/6/202132 minutes, 6 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 5: kauri dieback disease

Alison Ballance revisits a 2013 feature on kauri dieback disease and talks to Nick Waipara to find out how the northern kauri forests are coping with the disease in 2021.
4/29/202131 minutes, 14 seconds
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Our Changing World for 29 April 2021

Alison Ballance revisits a 2013 story about kauri dieback disease and gets an update of the disease's impact in 2021.
4/29/202130 minutes, 38 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 4: ocean acidification

Alison Ballance's foray into the vaults finds a feature on ocean acidification, The Acid Test and adds a 2021 update.
4/22/202145 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 April 2021

In this week's retrospective, Alison Ballance revisits an ocean acidification special feature called The Acid Test.
4/22/202145 minutes, 57 seconds
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2020 Prime Minister's Science Prize winners

There are some familiar names as well as some new faces among the winners of the 2020 Prime Minister's Science Prizes.
4/15/202132 minutes, 6 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 April 2021

2020 Prime Minister's Science Prize winners talk about their research and teaching.
4/15/202131 minutes, 57 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 3: Voice of the Iceberg

Alison Ballance digs into Our Changing World's Antarctic treasure chest and finds part 2 of Voice of the Iceberg.
4/8/202126 minutes, 26 seconds
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Our Changing World for 8 April 2021

Alison Ballance digs into the Our Changing World archives for an Antarctic blast from the past with Voice of the Iceberg 2: Revelation.
4/8/202126 minutes, 31 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 2: Kaikōura earthquake science

Alsion Ballance revisits a story looking at the complexity of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
4/1/202132 minutes, 42 seconds
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Our Changing World for 1 April 2021

In this week's retrospective, Alison Ballance looks at the 'big ones': a big earthquake in Kaikōura in 2016 and a big science effort to understand it.
4/1/202131 minutes, 21 seconds
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Science journalist Alison Ballance hangs up her boots

With more than a thousand conservation stories under her waterproof parka, science journalist Alison Ballance is retiring from RNZ's Our Changing World programme. 
3/25/202123 minutes, 51 seconds
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Alison Ballance retrospective 1: shags & eagle rays

Alison Ballance looks back at the 1,000+ stories she has made, and revisits stone-eating spotted shags and urban eagle rays
3/25/202129 minutes, 20 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 March 2021

Alison Ballance plays favourites from the archives - stone-eating spotted shags and urban eagle rays.
3/25/202130 minutes
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More seabirds for Mana Island

The story of a seabird translocation to Mana Island, involving fluffy white-faced storm petrel chicks, artificial burrows and sardine smoothies.
3/18/202126 minutes, 43 seconds
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Our Changing World for 18 March 2021

Seabird species are being reintroduced to Mana Island to help restore the ecology of the island.
3/18/202127 minutes, 8 seconds
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In search of what is out there

The Far Out Ocean Research Collective has been surveying for whales and dolphins in the seas off Northland.
3/11/202130 minutes, 19 seconds
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Our Changing World for 11 March 2021

Rare dolphins and whales were among the discoveries when the Far Out Ocean Research Collective surveyed the seas off Northland.
3/11/202130 minutes, 22 seconds
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A new test for IVF embryos

Fertility researchers are developing a new way of testing IVF embryos that have too many chromosomes.
3/4/202119 minutes, 49 seconds
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Glaciers as barometers of climate change

Shaun Eaves talks about glaciers in the North Island and how evidence left behind by glaciers can help reconstruct past climates.
3/4/202116 minutes, 1 second
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Our Changing World for 4 March 2021

Developing a new test for detecting IVF embryos carrying too many chromosomes, and what past and present glaciers can tell us about climate.
3/4/202135 minutes, 4 seconds
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Mapping NZ's underground water

Much of New Zealand's freshwater flows underground, and a team from GNS Science is in the process of mapping it.
2/25/202121 minutes, 37 seconds
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Collaborating to move freshwater species

University of Canterbury freshwater biologists are using a joint mātauranga Māori and western conservation science framework for their work translocating species.
2/25/202115 minutes, 52 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 February 2021

Mapping the hidden reservoirs of underground water across New Zealand and a mātauranga Māori view on moving freshwater species.
2/25/202136 minutes, 51 seconds
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Weka: a wily but wary bird

Ornithologist and author Ralph Powlesland is intimately acquainted with the weka families on the regenerating Marlborough Sounds farm where he lives.
2/18/202120 minutes, 5 seconds
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Disaster law

University of Canterbury's John Hopkins and Toni Collins explain disaster law and shortcomings in NZ's legal system highlighted by the Canterbury earthquakes.
2/18/202124 minutes, 32 seconds
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Our Changing World for 18 February 2021

The natural history of Marlborough's weka and disaster law: what it is and its role in disaster resilience.
2/18/202142 minutes, 46 seconds
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Liquefaction: lessons from the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes

Misko Cubrinovski is interested how the ground and the structures on - and in - it behave during an earthquake.
2/11/202123 minutes, 29 seconds
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Fixing environmental problems one plant at a time

Biotechnologist David Leung finds ways to make plants solve environmental issues.
2/11/20219 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 11 February 2021

Liquefaction lessons from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and biotechnologists doing interesting things with plants.
2/11/202132 minutes, 40 seconds
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Engineering new ways to treat dirty water

University of Canterbury engineers plan to 3D print the next generation of wastewater treatment filters.
2/4/202121 minutes, 39 seconds
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How to behave better towards the environment

Victoria University of Wellington's Wokje Abrahamse talks about environmental behaviour change, and projects to get people to save energy and use their cars less.
2/4/202111 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 4 February 2021

Designing a new kind of filter to treat wastewater and how to encourage people to behave in a more environmentally friendly way.
2/4/202133 minutes, 21 seconds
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The value of community gardens

Summer students from Victoria University of Wellington have been helping the Innermost community gardens in Wellington put numbers on their social and environmental values.
1/28/202124 minutes, 19 seconds
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Growing dune plants a challenging passion

Each year Jo Bonner and the team at Coastlands Plant Nursery in Whakatane grow 300,000 spinifex and pingao plants for dune replanting at beaches around the North Island.
1/28/202112 minutes, 45 seconds
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Our Changing World for 28 January 2021

Measuring the value of a community garden and the challenges of growing dune plants for restoring sand dune communities.
1/28/202137 minutes, 1 second
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Talking about abortion law reform

University of Otago student Ruby Parker says it's important to talk about abortion. She is in conversation with researcher Emma Harcourt.
1/17/20219 minutes, 10 seconds
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Rising water, rising problems

University of Otago student Jenny Stein is finding out how rising sea levels are a growing problem for many coastal settlements, including the densely populated suburb of South Dunedin.
1/10/202126 minutes, 2 seconds
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Horsing around: ketamine and me

When University of Otago student Asia King got the call to take part in a study using ketamine to treat depression, she said yes - and made a podcast about the experience.
1/3/202112 minutes, 27 seconds
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Epiphytes - high-rise plants

Discover the hidden world of arboreal plants, which get a leg-up in the world by living on trees.
12/17/202019 minutes, 24 seconds
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Designing low damage buildings

Low-damage buildings don't just save lives in an earthquake - they are designed to be resilient so they can stay in use.
12/17/202015 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 17 December 2020

Epiphytes are the high rise experts of the plant world, and resilient buildings should save lives and still be useable after an earthquake.
12/17/202034 minutes, 27 seconds
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What it takes to live a good life

When it comes to having a 'good life', there are several key elements - strong intimate relationships and time to relax.
12/10/202016 minutes, 47 seconds
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Preparing for the next big quake

Information from past earthquakes can be used to prepare a more resilient society that will be better able to cope with future shakes.
12/10/202021 minutes, 46 seconds
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Our Changing World for 10 December 2020

An earthquake engineer talks about modelling strong ground motions in an earthquake and a psychologists talks about what it takes to have a good life.
12/10/202037 minutes, 41 seconds
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All at sea - the surprising reach of river waters

Two self-driving underwater robots are making surprising discoveries about where river water ends up at sea, far from land.
12/3/202011 minutes, 3 seconds
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Studying the causes of cancer

Cancer epidemiologist Brian Cox, from the University of Otago, talks about studying the causes of cancer and new research on diet and bowel cancer.
12/3/202021 minutes, 3 seconds
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Our Changing World for 3 December 2020

How river water reaches out to sea and an epidemiologist talks about work into the causes of cancer.
12/3/202031 minutes, 35 seconds
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Ozone holes & UV radiation

NIWA's Richard Querel talks about the ozone hole, including this year's large one, and Ben Liley explains why NZ has such high UV levels.
11/26/202026 minutes, 7 seconds
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Our Changing World for 26 November 2020

NIWA experts explain the science behind this year's large ozone hole and New Zealand's high UV levels.
11/26/202025 minutes, 56 seconds
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Pua o te Rēinga - return of the Flower of the Underworld

Iwi representatives & conservationists journey to Zealandia sanctuary to plant seeds of the mysterious parasitic flowering plant Dactylanthus or flower of the underworld.
11/19/202026 minutes, 38 seconds
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Our Changing World for 19 November 2020

Returning the mysterious parasitic flowering plant Dactylanthus or pua o te reinga to Zealandia sanctuary, in Wellington.
11/19/202026 minutes, 20 seconds
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Award for using DNA to better understand plants & animals

Geneticist Neil Gemmell has won the 2020 Hutton Medal for using DNA & new genomic technologies to better understant plants & animals.
11/12/202027 minutes, 23 seconds
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Wahakura - a woven cradle to save babies' lives

The 2020 Tahunui-A-Rangi Award goes to David Tipene Leach for the wahakura, a woven bassinet to address the problem of sudden unexpected death in infancy.
11/12/202017 minutes, 34 seconds
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Our Changing World for 12 November 2020

The invention of a woven bassinet to save babies' lives & a geneticist seeking to understand plants & animals have won awards at the 2020 Research Honours Aotearoa.
11/12/202044 minutes, 4 seconds
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'Academic superstar' wins top research award

NZ's top research award, the Rutherford Medal, has gone to Brian Boyd, whose work spans Shakespeare to Nabokov to Popper, & weaves arts and sciences together.
11/5/202012 minutes, 53 seconds
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Focus on political economy & Te Ao Māori a winning combination

Maria Bargh's work on political economies and the environment is focused on Māori communities and has won her the 2020 Te Puāwaitanga Award.
11/5/20208 minutes, 55 seconds
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Colourful plants help young researcher win award

Unravelling how genes control colour in petunias has won Nick Albert the 2020 Hamilton Award and could help breed more nutritious fruit.
11/5/202010 minutes, 3 seconds
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Climate change - striking a balance

A group of Dunedin students talk about what they learned making an Otago Museum exhibition about climate change inequality.
11/5/202011 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 5 November 2020

The 2020 Research Honours go to a Nabokov expert, a Maori political economist & a colourful plant breeder, and students talk climate change.
11/5/202042 minutes
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Putting deep sea corals to the test

Deep sea corals are being put to the test at NIWA to find out how they cope with sediment.
10/29/202025 minutes, 32 seconds
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Our Changing World for 29 October 2020

NIWA ecologists have been stress testing deep sea corals to find out they cope with sediment.
10/29/202025 minutes, 38 seconds
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Grass and the science of urban CO2

Jocelyn Turnbull from GNS Science is measuring how much CO2 we're producing in NZ towns - and she's doing it by cutting the grass.
10/22/202026 minutes, 34 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 October 2020

GNS Science is measuring how much carbon dioxide we're producing in different towns as part of the Carbon Watch NZ project.
10/22/202026 minutes, 42 seconds
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Carbon Watch & 50 years of CO2 measurements in NZ

Dave Lowe on measuring CO2 in New Zealand for 50 years, and how Carbon Watch NZ is a bird's eye view on our carbon balance.
10/15/202029 minutes, 2 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 October 2020

Fifty years ago Dave Lowe started measuring carbon dioxide in New Zealand's atmosphere. And Gordon Brailsford and Sara Mikaloff Fletcher talk about Carbon Watch NZ project.
10/15/202029 minutes, 1 second
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Our Changing World for 8 October 2020

A replay of a story from May 2018: a citizens' jury on euthanasia.
10/8/202031 minutes, 45 seconds
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NZ and the Covid-19 vaccine

When is the Covid-19 vaccine coming? Will it work? William Ray talks to NZ experts charting our path towards immunity.
10/1/202029 minutes, 32 seconds
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Cutting the grass? Cut it out!

Lawn owner William Ray looks at the ecological benefits of not mowing and letting your grass grow longer.
9/24/202029 minutes, 51 seconds
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Genetic recipe book for natural products from fungi

Emily Parker and her team at Victoria University of Wellington are identifying the genes that allow fungi to create natural medicinal compounds.
9/17/202018 minutes, 54 seconds
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Our Changing World for 17 September 2020

Unlocking the genetic secrets of natural compounds and the evolution of tieke calls.
9/17/202029 minutes, 18 seconds
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What bird is that?

An ecologist and a mathematician discover that teaching a computer to recognise bird calls from acoustic recorders is an interesting challenge.
9/10/202033 minutes
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Our Changing World for 10 September 2020

An ecologist and a mathematician are collaborating on open source software called AviaNZ that will allow a computer to identify bird calls.
9/10/202030 minutes, 44 seconds
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A decade of earthquakes

Ten years after the Darfield earthquake, three seismologists from GeoNet reflect on a decade of big earthquakes and what we've learnt from them.
9/3/202030 minutes, 38 seconds
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Our Changing World for 3 September 2020

Three seismologists from GeoNet reflect on the decade of big earthquakes that began 10 years ago with the Darfield earthquake in Canterbury.
9/3/202030 minutes, 21 seconds
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Time travelling with a climate scientist

Dead corals cast up the shore of Aitutaki, in the Cook Islands, provide a window into the Pacific Ocean's marine climate hundreds of years ago.
8/27/202025 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 27 August 2020

A time-travelling climate scientist is using dead corals to investigate past marine climates in the Pacific.
8/27/202026 minutes, 4 seconds
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Green chemistry - better, safer, more sustainable

From safer solvents to make better batteries, to catalysts that can clean up wastewater, green chemists are developing better ways of making stuff.
8/20/202040 minutes, 18 seconds
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Our Changing World for 20 August 2020

Scientists at the Centre for Green Chemical Science at the University of Aukalnd, are developing cleaner greener processes and products.
8/20/202039 minutes, 54 seconds
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How sound influences the taste of food

Food scientist Nazimah Hamid from AUT says that the sound of the space we eat in can have surprising effects on the taste of food.
8/13/202027 minutes, 30 seconds
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Our Changing World for 13 August 2020

The sensory lab at AUT is used for food testing and tests can involve all the senses, including sound.
8/13/202030 minutes, 21 seconds
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Covid-19 unmasked: experts discuss coronavirus

'Covid-19 unmasked: understanding the outbreak' is a panel discussion from the 2020 New Zealand International Science Festival.
8/6/20201 hour, 3 minutes, 6 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 August 2020

A panel of virologists from the University of Otago discuss research into covid-19.
8/6/20201 hour, 2 minutes, 28 seconds
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In search of southern right whales

Emma Carroll talks about the return of southern right whales from the edge of extinction and a project asking the public to report whale sightings.
7/30/202021 minutes, 33 seconds
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‘The week that snowed’ – shedding new light on old weather records

Take some old weather records. Add citizen scientists. Mix in machine learning. Result = something that might help predict future weather patterns.
7/30/202013 minutes, 54 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 July 2020

In search of southern right whales and digitising old weather records to predict future climate.
7/30/202033 minutes, 47 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 8: Under the ice

Tiny plants that live on the underside of sea ice form an upside-down garden that feeds krill and is the base of the Antarctic food web.
7/16/202030 minutes, 37 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 7: What the ice is saying

Researchers are using hot water to drill through the Ross ice shelf, to discover what has happened to Antarctic ice during previous periods of warm climates.
7/9/202027 minutes, 25 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 6: Seal songs

Alison Ballance eavesdrops on the songs of the world's southern-most mammal, the Weddell seal, and finds out about sea ice.
7/2/202029 minutes, 38 seconds
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‘Melting ice & rising seas’ team wins PM Science Prize

A team finding links between melting ice sheets in Antarctica and rising sea levels in NZ has won the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Prize.
7/2/202027 minutes, 44 seconds
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Wheelie bin robot inventor wins science prize

Student Thomas James wanted to help his elderly neighbour, so he invented a wheelie bin robot to take her large recycling bin to the kerb.
7/2/20208 minutes, 24 seconds
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Passionate maths teacher wins a PM’s Science Prize

Michelle Dalrymple, winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Teacher's Prize, says being mathematically literate is an important life skill.
7/2/20208 minutes, 47 seconds
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Our Changing World for 2 July 2020

Winners of the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Prizes include a team studying melting ice and rising seas, a maths teacher and a young inventor.
7/2/202043 minutes, 34 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 5: Waiting for Emperors

Emperor penguin researchers are waiting for tagged birds to return, and an elderly radar system sheds light on a very windy part of the atmosphere.
6/25/202029 minutes, 29 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 4: Best journey in the world

Alison Ballance meets a colony of Emperor penguins and their NIWA researchers, and finds out about making water on the frozen continent
6/18/202029 minutes, 9 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 3: Flags to physics

Keeping Scott Base warm and well-lit no matter the weather outside, and a physics experiment that eavesdrops on messages to submarines.
6/11/202020 minutes, 51 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 2: Scott Base

Alison Ballance has her first day at New Zealand's Antarctic station, Scott Base, and visits the historic Hillary's Hut.
6/4/202022 minutes, 31 seconds
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Voices from Antarctica 1: Ice Flight

Alison Ballance dons her extreme cold weather clothing for a trip to Antarctica - but getting to the frozen continent can take time.
5/28/202024 minutes, 9 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 May 2020

Two gems from Our Changing World's Antarctic archive - restoring Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds and hunting for extremophile microbes high on Mt Erebus.
5/21/202027 minutes, 52 seconds
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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.
5/14/202031 minutes, 57 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 May 2020

Experts discuss the findings from a recent NIWA report that shows a small amount of sea-level rise will cause more coastal flooding.
5/14/202031 minutes, 31 seconds
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Probing the hidden continent of Zealandia

Ocean floor rock cores drilled into the sunken continent of Zealandia are revolutionising our understanding of Earth's history and how continents form.
5/7/202019 minutes, 28 seconds
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Our Changing World for 7 May 2020

Geologists are probing the secrets of the hidden continent of Zealandia, and ants and viruses from the archives.
5/7/202027 minutes, 39 seconds
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Aussie bushfire dust still in stratosphere

More than four months after it formed, a large blob of sooty dust from Australia's massive bushfires is still circling the southern hemisphere.
4/30/202015 minutes, 18 seconds
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On yer bike – how cyclists, pedestrians & cars share city streets

There is a fine art to how pedestrians, cyclists, and cars and buses navigate the shared thoroughfares of our towns and cities.
4/30/202016 minutes, 32 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 April 2020

Dust from Australia's bush fires is still circling the globe in the stratosphere, and studies into cyclists and their use of city streets.
4/30/202030 minutes, 38 seconds
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100-year moth project – in the footsteps of George Vernon Hudson

Modern-day citizen scientists are following in the footsteps of a well-known Wellington naturalist, collecting moths to document a century of change.
4/23/202025 minutes, 59 seconds
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Our Changing World for 23 April 2020

Wellington naturalist George Vernon Hudson collected thousands of moths and a century later a group of citizen scientists are following in his footsteps in Zealandia sanctuary.
4/23/202026 minutes, 18 seconds
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Maths, models & insights into the coronavirus pandemic

Mathematician Alex James, from Te Pūnaha Matatini & the University of Canterbury, explains the art and science of modelling the coronavirus pandemic.
4/16/202025 minutes, 3 seconds
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Our Changing World for 16 April 2020

Alison Ballance chats with mathematician Alex James, who has been helping model the coronavirus pandemic in New Zealand.
4/16/202030 minutes, 33 seconds
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Our immune system vs coronavirus: ‘I think of it as an orchestra'

The human immune system is a complex system where T cells, B cells and antibodies battle invaders such as bacteria and viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19.
4/9/202027 minutes, 52 seconds
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Our Changing World for 9 April 2020

Immunologist Jo Kirman introduces us to our immune system and how it fights viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19.
4/9/202027 minutes, 51 seconds
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Conservation and Covid-19

Is New Zealand’s environment benefiting from the lockdown?
4/2/202022 minutes, 59 seconds
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Virus 101

Virus expert Kurt Krause, from the University of Otago, gives us the lowdown on viruses, and on coronaviruses in particular.
4/2/202012 minutes, 45 seconds
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Our Changing World for 2 April 2020

Virus expert Kurt Krause, from the University of Otago, gives us the lowdown on viruses, and we hear about a rare plant and the viruses that are killing it.
4/2/202026 minutes, 22 seconds
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Air pollution - the invisible killer

GNS Science monitors levels of air pollution around New Zealand, especially small particles that can have severe health effects.
3/26/202020 minutes, 5 seconds
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Our Changing World for 26 March 2020

GNS Science monitors levels of air pollution around New Zealand, and why soap is the ultimate coronavirus buster.
3/26/202028 minutes, 12 seconds
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Covid-19: the science of soap

When it comes to virus-busting, soap is an oldie but a goodie - because it turns out that soap is particularly effective against coronaviruses such as the one that causes Covid-19.
3/22/20208 minutes, 24 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 8: Success

The 2019 kākāpō chicks are becoming independent and birds sent to be scanned for aspergillosis are getting clean bills of health, in part 8 of Voice of the Kākāpō.
3/19/202012 minutes, 28 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 7: Dark days

A deadly fungal disease strikes the kākāpō population on Whenua Hou and the Kākāpō Recovery team calls on New Zealand wildlife vets to help, in part 7 of Voice of the Kākāpō..
3/17/202012 minutes, 10 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 6: Kākāpō chicks

The kākāpō eggs are hatching, and chicks are being hand-reared or returned to their mother's nest ... but not every chick is thriving, in part 6 of Voice of the Kākāpō .
3/12/202012 minutes, 23 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 5: Kākāpō sperm takes to the air

The tally of infertile eggs is climbing and the kākāpō team is using artificial insemination - and a drone - to try and counter the problem, in part 5 of Voice of the Kākāpō.
3/10/202011 minutes, 3 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 4: Promise

Most of the female kākāpō have bred and the team is carrying precious fertile eggs to the 'egg room' for incubation, in part 4 of Voice of the Kākāpō .
3/5/202011 minutes, 12 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 3: Nest checks

Kākāpō breeding is in full swing after an early start, and DOC's Deidre Vercoe and Andrew Digby are checking to see if eggs are fertile, in part 3 of Voice of the Kākāpō.
3/3/202012 minutes, 16 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 2: Whenua Hou, kākāpō island

The kākāpō team know all the signs are good for a big kākāpō breeding season - the question is exactly how big and when will it start? Part 2 of Voice of the Kākāpō.
2/27/202011 minutes, 49 seconds
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Voice of the Kākāpō 1: Kākāpō - night parrot

The kākāpō is a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of rangers from the Department of Conservation.
2/25/202010 minutes, 3 seconds
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What we do during an earthquake & why it matters

Official advice in an earthquake quake is to 'drop, cover, hold.' But is this what we actually do? And what happens if we do something else?
2/20/202024 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 20 February 2020

Social scientist David Johnston investigates the way people behave during and after earthquakes, and what the consequences of their behaviour is.
2/20/202024 minutes, 51 seconds
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Using local yeasts to make distinctive NZ beers & wine

Yeast is one of the key ingredients in beer and wine - and local yeasts could add a distinct Kiwi flavour.
2/13/202030 minutes, 7 seconds
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Our Changing World for 13 February 2020

Peter Griffin and two Wellington entrepreneurs are in search of local yeasts to impart distinctive NZ flavours to craft beers, and the wine indusry is on a similar hunt.
2/13/202029 minutes, 54 seconds
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Psychopathic traits - "everybody has them"

Sonia Sly is in search of psychopaths. Are they born or are they made? What are the traits that a psychopath exhibits? And is everyone a psychopath to some extent?
2/6/202023 minutes, 55 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 February 2020

Sonia Sly is in search of the psychopathic mind with psychology researcher Hedwig Eisenbarth, from Victoria University of Wellington.
2/6/202023 minutes, 53 seconds
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The science of wildfires

Bush fires are growing in severity and frequency. William Ray finds out about the latest research into how fires burn and how people react when flames threaten.
1/30/202028 minutes, 43 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 January 2020

Fire researchers from Scion talk about the latest wild fire research that is giving new insights into how fires burn and how people behave when flames threaten.
1/30/202028 minutes, 42 seconds
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Rock wren - a little bird in NZ's big mountains

The tiny rock wren lives year-round in the alpine zone of the South Island mountains and research shows that predator control is important for the species' survival.
1/23/202028 minutes, 31 seconds
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Our Changing World for 23 January 2020

The rock wren is a little bird with several big claims to fame. It belongs to an ancient group of birds and is New Zealand's only truly alpine bird.
1/23/202028 minutes, 2 seconds
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The significance of statistics

What if there was a magic number that proved you right? There's no such thing, but we do have the p-value which is the probability that your scientific hypothesis is right.
1/16/202011 minutes, 3 seconds
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Controver-seas: reservations about marine reserves

Science communication student Amy Archer, from the University of Otago, investigates recommendations from the South-East Marine Protection Forum for marine reserves on the Otago coast.
1/7/202014 minutes, 30 seconds
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Zirconium - shape-shifting time capsule

Zirconium is a shape-shifting tough cookie, that is a tale of gemstones, medical implants and nuclear reactors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 96 of Elemental.
12/22/201912 minutes, 33 seconds
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Zinc - more useful than you realise

Zinc is a very useful metal that turns up in everything from sunscreen to paint, & galvanised metals to cereals, as well as brass instruments, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 95 of Elemental.
12/19/201912 minutes, 30 seconds
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Origins - the Big Bang, human evolution & Polynesian migrations

Damian Christie is in search of his origins - from the beginning of the universe, to human evolution & Polynesian settlement in the Pacific.
12/19/201930 minutes, 52 seconds
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Our Changing World for 19 December 2019

Damian Christie is in search of origin stories - from the beginning of the universe, the earliest humans and the Polynesian settlement in the Pacific.
12/19/201930 minutes, 12 seconds
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Yttrium - here's that village Ytterby again

Yttrium is yet another element named after the village of Ytterby and is important in the development of high temperature superconductors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 94 of Elemental.
12/15/20198 minutes, 27 seconds
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Ytterbium - yet another element named after Ytterby

Ytterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 93 of Elemental.
12/12/20198 minutes, 11 seconds
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High-rise apartments in earthquake-prone Wellington

Charlie Dreaver investigates the issues around strengthening apartment buildings to make them more resilient to earthquakes.
12/12/201924 minutes, 39 seconds
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Our Changing World for 12 December 2019

Charlie Dreaver investigates apartments and earthquake resilience in 'Living the high life on shaky ground' & the chemical element vanadium.
12/12/201930 minutes, 6 seconds
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Xenon - a stranger in search of strange particles

Xenon is a noble gas that turns up in various lights, gets used in xenon ion propulsion systems for spacecraft & plays a key role in the search for dark matter, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 92 of Elemental.
12/10/20199 minutes, 54 seconds
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Vanadium - Model T Fords, big batteries & sea squirts

Vanadium makes steel stronger & lighter, is being used in what will be the world's largest battery, and sea squirts are full of it, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 91 of Elemental.
12/8/20199 minutes, 32 seconds
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Uranium - first radioactive element to be discovered

Named after the planet Uranus & associated with Hiroshima & nuclear bombs, uranium is the highest-numbered element found naturally in significant quantities on earth, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 90 of Elemental.
12/5/20198 minutes, 27 seconds
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Tracking Pacific golden plovers around the world

A satellite tracking programme is revealing, for the first time, where New Zealand's Pacific golden plovers or kuriri migrate to breed.
12/5/201925 minutes, 50 seconds
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Our Changing World for 5 December 2019

Miranda shorebird enthusiasts are on the trail of the elusive Pacific golden plover or kuriri.
12/5/201925 minutes, 35 seconds
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Tungsten - highest melting point of any metal

Tungsten's very high melting point made it an ideal filament for incandescent light bulbs, & as it is in some enzymes it is the heaviest element used in nature, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 89 of Elemental.
12/1/20198 minutes, 45 seconds
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Titanium - light, strong & quite pretty

Titanium is light, strong, corrosion resistant & is used to repair broken limbs as it is able to get integrated into the bone, says Allan Blackman from AUT speaking from personal experience in ep 88 of Elemental.
11/28/20198 minutes, 33 seconds
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A spotlight on NZ lakes - Lakes380 part 2

380 New Zealand lakes are in the spotlight, and Marcus Vandergoes from GNS Science explains what happens to the thousands of sediment cores that will reveal a 1000-year history for each lake.
11/28/201925 minutes, 38 seconds
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Our Changing World for 28 November 2019

Sediment cores from the Lakes380 project, which is building a 1000-year history for 10 percent of New Zealand's lakes, are housed at GNS's National Isotope Centre.
11/28/201925 minutes, 39 seconds
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Tin - from whistles to organ pipes & anti-fouling paint

The element tin turns up in all sorts of alloys, but tin cans are - mostly - not made from tin, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 87 of Elemental.
11/26/201910 minutes, 53 seconds
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Thulium - the most laborious of the lanthanoids

Isolating the element thulium was a truly laborious process that took many years, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 86 of Elemental.
11/24/20199 minutes, 45 seconds
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Thorium - potential source of cleaner nuclear energy

Named after Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, thorium could provide a cleaner source of nuclear power in the future, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 85 of Elemental.
11/21/20199 minutes, 8 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 November 2019

Susie Wood from the Cawthron Institute talks about Lakes 380, which will reveal a 1000-year history of 10 percent of NZ lakes, plus the element terbium.
11/21/201928 minutes, 44 seconds
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Lakes380 to reveal 1000-year history of lakes - part 1

Susie Wood from the Cawthron Institute says that sediment cores & eDNA will reveal a 1000-year history for 380 NZ lakes.
11/21/201920 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thallium - the poisoner's poison

Thallium is most famous for some infamous poisoned family cases & its appearance in an Agatha Christie novel solved a medical mystery, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 84 of Elemental.
11/17/20198 minutes, 26 seconds
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Terbium - turns up in old TVs & new Euro notes

A discovery from the chemically prolific Swedish village of Ytterby, terbium produced the green on old TV sets & adds security to Euro notes, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 83 of Elemental.
11/14/20198 minutes, 53 seconds
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Making Wellington a predator-free city

By the end of this year Predator-Free Wellington hopes that the eastern suburbs on the Miramar Peninsula will be free from rat and stoats.
11/14/201927 minutes, 37 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 November 2019

Predator-free Miramar Peninsula kicked off in the middle of the year and aims to get rid of rats and stoats. It is part of a wider to goal to make Wellington a predator-free capital city.
11/14/201927 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tellurium - usually associated with gold

Tellurium is a metalloid often found with gold and the US town Telluride is named after it, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 82 of Elemental.
11/10/20199 minutes, 20 seconds
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Technetium - the first synthetic element

Technetium was the first element on the periodic table to be synthesised. It is rare, radioactive and has only a few uses, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 81 of Elemental.
11/7/20198 minutes, 44 seconds
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Tracking inner city rats

Victoria University researchers are radio-tracking urban rats in Wellington city suburbs to find out how large their home ranges are, to help improve predator-free trapping efforts.
11/7/201920 minutes, 1 second
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Our Changing World for 7 November 2019

Radio-tracking urban rats in Wellington city suburbs to find out how large their home ranges are, and the chemical element tantalum.
11/7/201926 minutes, 31 seconds
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Tantalum - a tantalising chemical element

The metal tantalum is usually found with the element niobium, has a very high melting point but is a 'conflict mineral', says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 80 of Elemental.
11/3/20197 minutes, 22 seconds
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Sulfur - king of bad smells

Sulfur is responsible for some very bad smells, is the number one industrial chemical and is also an essential element, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 79 of Elemental.
10/31/201914 minutes, 24 seconds
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Kākā TV - teaching smart parrots new tricks

Kākā and kea are well-known for being intelligent, and PhD student Daniel Donoghue is interested in how they learn new things.
10/31/201923 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 31 October 2019

PhD student Daniel Donoghue is working out whether a video clip can help kaka learn faster.
10/31/201930 minutes, 3 seconds
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Strontium - from sensitive teeth toothpaste to nuclear fission

Named after a Scottish town, strontium can be highly radioactive & glow-in-the-dark, but also used in toothpaste, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 78 of Elemental.
10/27/20199 minutes, 11 seconds
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Sodium - a salt of the earth spectator

Sodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.
10/24/201911 minutes, 18 seconds
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Enemy #1 - brown marmorated stink bug

Italy is suffering from a brown marmorated stink bug invasion. Damian Christie heads there to find out what New Zealand learn from their experiences.
10/24/201930 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 24 October 2019

Italy is experiencing an invasion of brown marmorated stink bugs that is crippling the fruit industry. What can New Zealand learn from their experience?
10/24/201930 minutes, 30 seconds
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Silver - a popular noble metal

Silver is widely used in jewellery, has interesting light sensitive abilities and has antimicrobial properties, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 76 of Elemental.
10/22/201911 minutes, 14 seconds
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Silicon - a ubiquitous part of modern life

Silicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 75 of Elemental.
10/20/201910 minutes, 19 seconds
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Selenium - good reason to eat seafood & Brazil nuts

New Zealand soils lack the vital element selenium, which also used to be important in photocopiers and bathroom plumbing, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 74 of Elemental.
10/17/20198 minutes, 16 seconds
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Top award for making a difference in babies' lives

Prof Jane Harding has won New Zealand's top science award, the Rutherford Medal, for ground-breaking research that has improved the lives of countless babies and mothers.
10/17/201913 minutes, 40 seconds
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A bridge between science & mātauranga Māori

Dr Ocean Mercier's work bridging the worlds of science and traditional Māori knowledge has been recognised with the 2019 Callaghan Medal for science communication.
10/17/201916 minutes, 1 second
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Honour a sweet reward for sugar research

Dr Lisa Te Morenga has won the 2019 Hamilton Award for her internationally significant research on sugar and its impacts on health.
10/17/201914 minutes, 22 seconds
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Our Changing World for 17 October 2019

New Zealand's 2019 Research Honours winners include Lisa Te Morenga for her work on sugar, Ocean Mercier for science communication and Rutherford Medal winner Jane Harding for work with babies & mothers.
10/17/201942 minutes, 42 seconds
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Scandium - the scandal of the scandium cricket bat

Predicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.
10/15/20198 minutes, 22 seconds
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Samarium - magnets for making & listening to music

Samarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.
10/13/20196 minutes, 46 seconds
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Ruthenium - a 'sort of' precious metal

Ruthenium is a 'sort of' precious metal that is a useful catalyst and alloy. It is toxic and smells like ozone, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 71 of Elemental.
10/10/20198 minutes, 11 seconds
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Older men lose ability to recognise emotions

University of Otago psychology professor Ted Ruffman says ageing brains means older men become less able to recognise emotions in other people.
10/10/201915 minutes, 25 seconds
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Our Changing World for 10 October 2019

A psychology professor talks about men getting older & why they become less able to recognise other's emotions, and the element rubidium.
10/10/201923 minutes, 43 seconds
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Rubidium - expensive and not very useful

Rubidium is a reactive metal with few uses, named 'deepest red' due to its beautiful red spectral lines, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 70 of Elemental.
10/6/20199 minutes, 10 seconds
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Rhodium - used in cars, drugs ... and aftershave

Rhodium is an expensive precious metal that is used in catalytic convertors, to make the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA, create shiny jewellery and add the menthol taste to toothpaste, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 69 of Elemental.
10/3/20197 minutes, 47 seconds
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The quest to live forever

From cutting-edge genetic treatments to computer-brain interfaces that are still in the realm of science fiction, Silicon Valley is on a quest to let us live forever.
10/3/201919 minutes, 48 seconds
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Our Changing World for 3 October 2019

Peter Griffin investigates the ethics and possibilities around achieving immortality, and Allan Blackman looks at the chemical element radium.
10/3/201928 minutes, 39 seconds
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Rhenium - has a number of claims to chemical fame

Named after the Rhine river, rhenium is a metal with very high boiling and melting points, and it was the last naturally occuring, non-radioactive element to be discovered, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 68 of Elemental.
10/1/20197 minutes, 13 seconds
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Radon - radioactive basement risk

The radioactive gas radon can be a risk in the basements of stone houses and used to, erroneously, be touted for its health benefits, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 67 of Elemental.
9/29/20199 minutes, 33 seconds
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Radium - famous but not very useful

Radium was famously found by the Curies, and was once widely used in face creams, drinks and luminous watch dials, despite being highly radioactive, says Allan Blackman in ep 66 of Elemental.
9/26/201910 minutes, 5 seconds
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Our Changing World for 26 September 2019

As the world considers taking more action to combat climate change we revisit Antarctica with the Voice of the Iceberg podcast & hear about protactinium.
9/26/201931 minutes, 51 seconds
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Protactinium - a very dull chemical element

Protactinium is a rare, radioactive element that has no uses and may be the most boring element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 65 of Elemental.
9/22/20196 minutes, 58 seconds
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Promethium - rare and unremarkable

Despite its gruesome mythical name, the radioactive element promethium has no particular claim to fame, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 64 of Elemental.
9/19/201911 minutes, 45 seconds
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Shaped by the wind

The 20-metre long wind tunnel at the University of Auckland is used to test the aerodynamics of objects as varied as Olympic cyclists and buildings, as well as drones, ancient building designs & tiny gas turbines.
9/19/201925 minutes, 12 seconds
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Our Changing World for 19 September 2019

The largest wind tunnel in New Zealand is used to test everything from the effects of turbulence on drones to ancient building designs and tiny gas turbines.
9/19/201924 minutes, 51 seconds
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Kākāpō population hits new high of 213 birds

The youngest kākāpō chick has passed 150 days old, bringing the number of living juveniles to 71 and the overall  kākāpō population to 213, in ep 24 of the Kākāpō Files.
9/18/201924 minutes, 16 seconds
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Praseodymium - a long name but not many uses

Praseodymium is a metal wirh the second longest name on the periodic table and not many uses, says Prof Alan Blackman from AUT in ep 63 of Elemental.
9/15/20196 minutes, 20 seconds
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Potassium - a matter of life and death

From levitating burnt buttocks, to excitable nerves and sure-to-rise baking, potassium is highly reactive and vital to life, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 62 of Elemental.
9/12/201911 minutes, 18 seconds
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Green cities of the future - what we can expect in 2050

Better solar panels and efficient carbon capture technology will help shape the impact and look of cities in the future, say MacDiarmid Institute scientists.
9/12/201927 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 12 September 2019

MacDiarmid Institute scientists talk about how their work improving solar panel efficiency and developing carbon capture and storage techniques might shape cities of the future.
9/12/201928 minutes, 28 seconds
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Polonium - few redeeming features

Polonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 61 of Elemental.
9/8/201910 minutes, 16 seconds
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Plutonium - nuclear bombs & nuclear power

A radioactive heavyweight associated with nuclear bombs & power, which is powering the Voyager spacecraft, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 60 of Elemental.
9/5/20199 minutes, 1 second
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The science of toxic algal blooms

Toxic algae expert Jonathan Puddick has a Marsden Grant to find out if toxic cyanobacteria share their toxins with non-toxic species.
9/5/201928 minutes, 20 seconds
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Our Changing World for 5 September 2019

Cyanobacteria are responsible for toxic algal blooms in lakes and rivers, and Cawthron Institute scientists are trying to better understand them.
9/5/201928 minutes, 17 seconds
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Platinum - another pricey precious metal

Platinum is useful in catalytic convertors, is used to treat testicular cancer and will be useful in hydrogen fuel cells, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 59 of Elemental.
9/1/20198 minutes, 57 seconds
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Phosphorus - P was discovered in pee

Phosphorus, chemical symbol P, was first isolated as an element from thousands of litres of urine. Also found in guano, aka bird poo. Allan Blackman from AUT has the full story in ep 58 of Elemental.
8/29/201914 minutes, 27 seconds
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No escape: separating from an abusive partner

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world, but sociology research shows life post- separation can still leave women feeling trapped.
8/29/201910 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 29 August 2019

Research into relationships and their break-ups, and oxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements.
8/29/201925 minutes, 50 seconds
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Palladium - cleaning up your car's exhaust

Palladium is a pricey precious metal most commonly used in catalytic convertors on car exhausts, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 57 of Elemental.
8/25/201912 minutes, 29 seconds
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Oxygen - the friendly element

Oxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements & very helpful for life on Earth, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 56 of Elemental.
8/22/201914 minutes, 46 seconds
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Using sound to brew better beer

What happens if you play a Viennese waltz or death metal to beer as it brews? Experimenting with musical ways of making better beer.
8/22/201913 minutes, 14 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 August 2019

Does playing different sounds to fermenting yeast change the taste of beer and osmium, the densest chemical element.
8/22/201927 minutes, 35 seconds
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Osmium - heavyweight champion of the elements

Osmium is extremely rare and expensive. It is the densest chemical element, rivals diamond as being the least compressible of all known substances & has a distinctive 'pong' according to Allan Blackman in ep 55 of Elemental.
8/18/20198 minutes, 58 seconds
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Nitrogen - a vital powerhouse

Most important biological molecules contain nitrogen, even though it takes lots of energy to make or break its chemical bonds, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 54 of Elemental.
8/15/201913 minutes, 7 seconds
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Risky decisions & gambling addiction

Electronic gaming machines, or the pokies, are highly addictive. Sonia Sly investigates why problem gambling develops and how it is associated with other disorders.
8/15/201911 minutes, 54 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 August 2019

Why playing pokie machines can easily lead to a gambling addiction, and the chemical element nickel is in more than just five cent coins.
8/15/201921 minutes, 43 seconds
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Niobium - useful at high & low temperatures

Niobium is a metal that is useful at both very high temperatures, as in jet engines, and very low temperatures as a superconductor, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 53 of Elemental.
8/11/20199 minutes, 53 seconds
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Nickel - more than just a 5 cent coin

The chemical element nickel is named after a German word for Satan or the Devil, but nickel is now more usually thought of as a North American five cent piece, says Allan Blackman in ep 52 of Elemental.
8/8/20199 minutes, 57 seconds
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Detector Gadget the conservation dog

Detector Gadget is a dog with a job. She is a conservation dog trained by her handler Sandy King to sniff out rodents on predator-free islands.
8/8/201918 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 8 August 2019

Gadget is a conservation detector dog, trained to sniff out rats, and the chemical element neon is not just found in neon signs.
8/8/201928 minutes
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Kākāpō chicks growing up

The kākāpō chicks are graduating to being juveniles and only seven birds are still sick with aspergillosis, in ep 23 of the Kākāpō Files.
8/5/201930 minutes, 30 seconds
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Neon - the red of neon lights

There are no known compounds of the noble gas neon, which does however produce the brilliant crimson of red - and only red - neon lights. Ep 51 of Elemental with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT.
8/4/201910 minutes, 52 seconds
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Neodymium - the secret behind supermagnets

Neodydmium magnets include the strongest permanent magnets known and are found in devices like speakers & headphones, says chemistry professor Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 50 of Elemental.
8/1/20199 minutes, 6 seconds
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Challenging gender norms & the threat of female sexuality

Professor Ciara Cremin explores the politics of cross-dressing and gender identity in both her personal and her professional life.
8/1/201914 minutes, 31 seconds
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Our Changing World for 1 August 2019

The politics of cross-dressing and gender identity, and the chemical element molybdenum.
8/1/201924 minutes, 29 seconds
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Molybdenum - a catalyst at bacterial to industrial scales

Molybdenum has an essential role as a catalyst at microbial and industrial scales and is an important element in enzymes, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 49 of Elemental.
7/28/201910 minutes, 18 seconds
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Mercury - mesmerising quicksilver

Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, says Allan Blackman in ep 48 of Elemental.
7/25/201911 minutes, 33 seconds
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Restoring Fiordland's 'island lifeboats'

The Department of Conservation and volunteer groups, including the Coal Island Trust, are hard at work removing pests such as stoats and deer from Fiordland's many islands.
7/25/201941 minutes, 18 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 July 2019

The Department of Conservation and groups such as the Coal Island Trust are taking pests off Fiordland islands and reintroducing rare species.
7/25/201940 minutes, 43 seconds
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Manganese - the 'essential' essential element

The metal manganese is a vital part of photosynthesis and is found in aluminium drink cans, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 47 of Elemental.
7/23/20198 minutes, 36 seconds
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Magnesium - loved by everyone and everything

Magnesium is loved by plants, folk suffering constipation and boy-racers, as Allan Blackman reveals in ep 46 of Elemental.
7/21/201910 minutes, 7 seconds
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Lutetium - an obscure Parisian

After a fierce struggle for naming rights, the last lanthanoid element to be discovered was eventually named after Paris, says Allan Blackman in ep 45 of Elemental.
7/18/20198 minutes, 8 seconds
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New way to stop unwanted biofouling

Electroclear is a start-up company at the University of Auckland using electric fields to deter small marine organisms from settling on boats and underwater structures.
7/18/201916 minutes, 15 seconds
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Our Changing World for 18 July 2019

Chris Walker explains how they plan to use electricity to prevent underwater fouling, and DOC announces the results of kakapo paternity testing.
7/18/201931 minutes, 35 seconds
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Kākāpō dads revealed

Paternity testing has revealed who the top kākāpō dads are, as well as the success of the artificial insemination programme, in ep 22 of the Kākāpō Files.
7/16/201926 minutes, 59 seconds
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Lithium - a mood enhancing element

Lithium is the lightest metal, and it is used in batteries and for the treatment of bipolar disorder, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 44 of Elemental.
7/14/20198 minutes, 44 seconds
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Lead - sweet-tasting but deadly

Lead is the element that took down an empire, and its sweet taste belies a metal that is dangerous for human & animal health. All this and more with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 43 of Elemental.
7/11/201914 minutes, 19 seconds
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Children's art - more than just a picture

Prof Harlene Hayne investigates childrens' artworks: are they just a picture or do they offer insights and clues into the kid's emotional world?
7/11/201913 minutes, 49 seconds
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Our Changing World for 11 July 2019

What insights can children's drawings give us, and deadly tales from the chemical element lead.
7/11/201927 minutes, 38 seconds
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Lanthanum - curious case of a 'lost' element

Despite giving its name to a whole group on the periodic table, chemists can't agree if lanthanum even belongs in that group, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 42 of Elemental.
7/7/20198 minutes, 1 second
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Krypton - its name means 'hidden' but it's a real thing

In real life krypton is a noble gas which is commonly used in neon signs and laser light shows, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 41 of Elemental.
7/4/20198 minutes, 16 seconds
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The science of Matariki

Professor Rangi Mātāmua talks about the 120-year-old book which has preserved his ancestors' knowledge of Māori astronomy.
7/4/201929 minutes, 9 seconds
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Our Changing World for 4 July 2019

To mark Matariki, the Māori New Year, we join Dr Rangi Matamua from the University of Waikato to hear about Māori astronomy.
7/4/201928 minutes, 50 seconds
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Iron - creator of the modern world

Iron is formed in stars, makes up most of the Earth's core & as a result enables life as we know it to exist, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 40 of Elemental.
6/30/201911 minutes, 35 seconds
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Kākāpō waiting game

The kākāpō health crisis is stable, with no further cases of aspergillosis diagnosed, and seven hand-reared chicks have been successfully released in the wild, in ep 21 of the Kākāpō Files.
6/28/201929 minutes, 10 seconds
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Iridium and the end of the dinosaurs

Iridium is the second-densest element on the periodic table and the most erosion-resistant metal. A layer of iridium in rocks marks the demise of the dinosaurs, according to Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 39 of Elemental.
6/27/20198 minutes, 23 seconds
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Freshwater fish swim for science

NIWA scientists are putting freshwater fish such as inanga through swimming trials, to find out how they cope with water moving at different speeds.
6/27/201914 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 27 June 2019

NIWA is putting freshwater fish through their paces in a swimming test, and the story of indium, the chemical element that is the Queen of the touchscreen.
6/27/201925 minutes, 52 seconds
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Iodine - a vital trace element

A lack of iodine causes goitre, and seafood and iodised salt are good sources of this important trace element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 38 of Elemental.
6/23/201911 minutes, 10 seconds
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Indium - Queen of the touchscreen

Indium is a very soft metal, and as indium-tin-oxide it is an indispensable part of the swipeability of touchscreens, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 37 of Elemental.
6/20/201912 minutes, 10 seconds
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Predator Free NZ - dream or reality?

A panel of five experts debate what it will take to turn the idea of a predator-free New Zealand by 2050 from a dream into a reality.
6/20/201945 minutes, 20 seconds
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Our Changing World for 20 June 2019

A panel discussion on 'Predator Free New Zealand - dream or reality' with five experts in pest biology and large scale eradication porjects.
6/20/201944 minutes, 45 seconds
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Hydrogen - 'number 1 in the Universe'

Hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table. It is the oldest, lightest and most abundant element in the universe, but on earth it is usually found in compounds such as water, says AUT's Allan Blackman, in ep 36 of Elemental.
6/16/201911 minutes, 5 seconds
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Holmium - obscure, but an important surgical laser

Holmium has interesting magnetic properties and is an important part of precise surgical lasers known as the 'Swiss Army knife' of lasers, according to Prof Allan Backman from AUT, in ep 35 of Elemental.
6/13/20197 minutes, 14 seconds
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Our Changing World for 13 June 2019

Behind-the-scenes at Auckland Zoo with sick kākāpō, and the chemical element holmium.
6/13/201930 minutes, 6 seconds
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Behind-the-scenes of the kākāpō health crisis

Kākāpō death toll from aspergillosis rises by one to seven, while nine birds have been given a clean bill of health. Sad and positive news from the frontline of the fight to save kākāpō, in ep 20 of the Kākāpō Files.
6/12/201939 minutes, 33 seconds
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Helium - rare on earth but universally abundant

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and possibly the most unreactive element on the periodic table, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 34 of Elemental.
6/9/201913 minutes, 52 seconds
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Hafnium - helped land the first astronauts on the moon

Hafnium is named after Copenhagen and as it has a very high melting point it was used in the thruster nozzles of the Apollo Lunar modules, according to Elemental's Allan Blackman from AUT.
6/6/20196 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tawaki bust penguin swimming records

Twice a year tawaki or Fiordland crested penguins make migrations of many thousands of kilometres to the south to feed at the Polar Front.
6/6/20197 minutes, 32 seconds
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Successful new seabird colony on Matiu Somes Island

Eight years ago volunteers began translocating fluttering shearwater chicks to Wellington's Matiu Somes Island to establish what is now a growing seabird colony.
6/6/201910 minutes, 8 seconds
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Rifleman to royal albatross - a bird atlas for NZ

The NZ bird atlas will be a 5-year project counting common & rare birds from the Kermadecs to the far south.
6/6/201910 minutes, 43 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 June 2019

The NZ Bird Atlas is launched, a successful effort to create a new fluttering shearwater colony, Fiordland's tawaki penguins go for record-breaking long swims, and the chemical element gallium.
6/6/201932 minutes, 1 second
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Gold - a most desirable noble metal

Gold is highly valued for its colour as well as for being malleable and ductile, and as a noble metal it is unreactive and doesn't rust, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 32 of Elemental.
6/2/201914 minutes, 28 seconds
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Germanium - important in the first transistors

Germanium is a metalloid that was a key element in early transistors and is now used in optical fibres and infrared night vision scopes, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 31 of Elemental.
5/30/20197 minutes, 29 seconds
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The streams beneath the streets

New research shows Wellington's underground streams are important homes and highways for freshwater fish.
5/30/201915 minutes, 30 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 May 2019

Many of Wellington's streams now run in pipes under the roads, and the aspergillosis crisis in the kakapo population grows.
5/30/201930 minutes, 18 seconds
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Kākāpō health concerns continue

The number of cases of aspergillosis in the kākāpō population continues to rise, with 30 birds on the mainland for testing & treatment. The deaths of Huhana and Merty drop the adult population to 142, in ep 19 of the Kākāpō Files.
5/29/201916 minutes, 46 seconds
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Gallium - mysterious case of the disappearing spoon

Gallium is the second element named after France, is a key element in mobile phones & Blu-ray players & melts at body temperature, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 30 of Elemental.
5/28/20197 minutes, 19 seconds
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Gadolinium - plays a key role in MRI scans

Gadolinium has interesting magnetic properties and is used as a contrast agent in MRI scans, according to AUT's Prof Allan Blackman in ep 29 of Elemental.
5/26/20198 minutes, 51 seconds
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Francium - final naturally-occurring element to be discovered

Francium was the last naturally-occurring element to be discovered and has never been seen, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 28 Elemental.
5/23/20197 minutes, 43 seconds
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The Southland accent - a rolling change

The Southland accent has a distinctive burr, and new research is revealing how those 'rolled Rs' have changed over time.
5/23/201921 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 23 May 2019

Southlanders are rolling their Rs more - and less - than 100 years ago, and the chemical element fluorine.
5/23/201930 minutes, 48 seconds
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Fluorine - the non-stick element

Fluorine is a highly toxic green gas that is the main ingredient in non-stick teflon coatings. In ep 27 of Elemental, Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, says that fluorine has very different properties from fluoride.
5/19/201910 minutes, 34 seconds
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Europium - putting the security in the Euro

Europium is named after Europe and is responsible for a forgery-busting aspect of the Euro banknote, reports Prof Allan Blackman in ep 26 of Elemental.
5/16/20196 minutes, 5 seconds
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Mystery of the longfin eel's breeding ground

NIWA freshwater ecologists hope sophisticated satellite tags will solve the msytery of where New Zealand's longfin eels go to breed in the Pacific.
5/16/201918 minutes, 59 seconds
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Foulden Maar - a 23-million year-old fossil treasure trove

A 23-year million year old volcanic crater in inland Otago that is a treasure trove of exquisiute fossils is facing the threat of being mined for animal feed.
5/16/201912 minutes, 13 seconds
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Our Changing World for 16 May 2019

NIWA is tagging longfin eels to try and find their mysterious breeding grounds, and Foulden Maar is one of NZ's premier fossil sites.
5/16/201929 minutes, 9 seconds
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Worrying times for kākāpō

A spate of kākāpō chicks deaths from a fungal pneumonia caused by aspergillosis has DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Team very worried. Two further adult deaths bring the population to 144 birds with 73 living chicks, all in ep 18 of the Kākāpō Files.
5/15/201937 minutes, 2 seconds
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Erbium - through rose-tinted glasses

Erbium is named after a chemically famous Swedish village, and adds a rose-tinted glow to the periodic table, in ep 25 of Elemental with Allan Blackman from AUT.
5/12/20198 minutes, 8 seconds
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Dysprosium - hard to get

Dysprosium earned its name by being very hard to separate from other elements and has become very important in electric car motors. Join Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 24 of Elemental.
5/9/20198 minutes, 22 seconds
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Kea get a helping hand

The Kea Conservation Trust & the Arthur's Pass Wildlife Trust have combined forces to band kea as part of a citizen science project & are working to make the village a safer place for the curious birds.
5/9/201928 minutes, 41 seconds
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Our Changing World for 9 May 2019

The Kea Conservation Trust is working with South Island communities to better understand kea and find ways to keep them out of trouble.
5/9/201927 minutes, 52 seconds
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Curium & meitnerium - in honour of two pioneering women

There are only two chemical elements on the periodic table named after women: curium, in honour of Marie & Pierre Curie, & meitnerium after Lise Meitner. Allan Blackman from AUT introduces the women and their elements in ep 23 of Elemental.
5/7/201915 minutes, 46 seconds
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Copper - essential, in moderation

Copper is a soft metal that is an essential element for enzymes and life, gives octopuses their blue blood and was often used to make coins. Allan Blackman from AUT has the lowdown on copper in ep 22 of Elemental.
5/5/201912 minutes, 9 seconds
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Cobalt - goblin of the periodic table

Famous as the colour of blue glass and important in red blood cells, cobalt can form a permanent magnet and is vital for livestock. Allan Blackman from AUT talks about his favourite element in ep 21 of Elemental.
5/2/20199 minutes, 30 seconds
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Laser scanning crime scenes

ESR is using a laser to scan crime scenes, allowing police and juries to 'fly through' the scene long after the event.
5/2/201915 minutes, 12 seconds
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Our Changing World for 2 May 2019

ESR is laser scanning crime scenes, and the kakapo breeding has been busy on Anchor Island.
5/2/201926 minutes, 46 seconds
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Glad and sad kākāpō tidings

The death of Hoki from a fungal infection brings the number of adult kākāpō to 146, while there are 77 chicks. Ep 17 of the Kākāpō Files includes a visit to Anchor Island & all the latest news.
5/1/201937 minutes, 17 seconds
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Chromium - colourful and shiny

Chromium is a transition metal that gives colour to precious jewels, the shine to your car fender and your kitchen bench, but can also be a killer. All this and more in ep 20 of Elemental with Allan Blackman from AUT.
4/28/20197 minutes, 55 seconds
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Chlorine - good for health, bad for health

Chlorine is the culprit in the 'case of the exploding trousers'. It is also well-known as a disinfectant and chloride ions are essential for life, but as DDT & CFCs, chlorine is bad news. Allan Blackman from AUT gives us the lowdown in ep 19 of Elemental.
4/25/201912 minutes, 7 seconds
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Lava Lab and drilling into a volcano's magma chamber

University of Canterbury's Lava Lab, plans to drill into a volcano's magma chamber and a Curious Mind volcano drilling game for schools.
4/25/201927 minutes, 20 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 April 2019

University of Canterbury's Lava Lab, plans to drill into a volcano's magma chamber and a Curious Mind volcano drilling game for schools.
4/25/201927 minutes
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Cerium - combustible and confusing

Cerium is the most abundant rare-earth element and pops up in self-cleaning ovens, cigarette lighter flints and spectacle glass. Find out more with Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 18 of Elemental.
4/21/201910 minutes, 25 seconds
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Carbon - life & times of the 'king of elements'

Carbon underpins life as we know it, fuels our world and gets its own branch of chemistry, according to AUT professor Allan Blackman, in ep 17 of Elemental.
4/18/201911 minutes, 45 seconds
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Finding DNA in fingerprints

A new method of finding DNA in fingerprints could take some of the guesswork out of crime scene analysis.
4/18/201911 minutes, 3 seconds
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Our Changing World for 18 April 2019

ESR is finding DNA from fingerprints and the latest kakapo news, brings chick tally to 75 with three still to hatch.
4/18/201929 minutes, 46 seconds
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Longest kākāpō breeding season

With 75 living chicks and the final three eggs due to hatch this week, the 2019 kākāpō breeding season is set to be the longest on record. All this & the sex ratio of the first 49 chicks, in ep 16 of the Kākāpō Files.
4/16/201928 minutes, 46 seconds
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Calcium - strength and beauty

Calcium creates objects that are strong and beautiful, from caves, to teeth and bones, and coral reefs. Find out more in ep 16 of Elemental, with Allan Blackman from AUT.
4/14/20199 minutes, 55 seconds
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Caesium - the time-keeper

A second, the basic unit of time, is defined by caesium, which is also useful for dating things. Find out more about caesium's role as a timekeeper, in ep 15 of Elemental with Allan Blackman from AUT.
4/11/201911 minutes, 22 seconds
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How enzymes respond to rising temperatures

Biology professor Vic Arcus is trying to tease out how enzymes are able to speed chemical reactions up.
4/11/201918 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 11 April 2019

Research into how enzymes are able to speed up reactions as much as they do, and the chemical element cadmium.
4/11/201926 minutes, 28 seconds
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Cadmium - colour and quantum dots

Cadmium has featured in red traffic lights, rechargeable batteries and now has a role in quantum dots, according to Allan Blackman, from AUT, in ep 14 of Elemental.
4/7/20198 minutes, 6 seconds
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Bromine - the colour purple and poison gas

The story of bromine is one of the color purple, the Dead Sea and an early poison gas used in the First World War, says Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 13 of Elemental.
4/4/20199 minutes, 21 seconds
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Science of a 'mega mast' & planning wide-scale predator control

This summer has seen a 'mega-mast' mass seeding event in New Zealand's forests and DOC is now planning its largest-ever predator control operation to save rare birds.
4/4/201928 minutes, 40 seconds
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Our Changing World for 4 April 2019

The science of a mega mast year: predicting mass seeding events in New Zealand's forests and how DOC is planning large-scale predator control to save at-risk native birds.
4/4/201927 minutes, 55 seconds
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Kākāpō chicks still hatching

Most of the 72 kākāpō chicks are thriving in wild nests, the males are winding down their booming, and there are 7 fertile eggs still to hatch, in ep 15 of the Kākāpō Files.
4/1/201924 minutes, 36 seconds
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Boron - made by cosmic rays, useful in the kitchen

Made by cosmic rays and supernovae, used in ovenproof cookware, and a key ingredient in the strongest acid ever made. Allan Blackman from AUT explores boron in ep 12 of Elemental.
3/31/20197 minutes, 10 seconds
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Bismuth - an unusual heavy metal

Bismuth is a heavy metal that expands when frozen, and can be used to levitate trains and soothe upset guts, as Allan Blackman from AUT explains in episode 11 of Elemental.
3/28/201910 minutes, 9 seconds
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Caves reveal past climate change

Caves are a subterranean library of past climate change records, captured as water dripping from above creates flowstones and stalactites.
3/28/201917 minutes, 51 seconds
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Our Changing World for 28 March 2019

Caves hold a record of past climate change captured in flow stones, and the synthetic heavyweight elements at the bottom of the periodic table have only ever existed fleetingly.
3/28/201928 minutes, 44 seconds
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Beryllium - sweet and precious, but deadly

You'll find beryllium in precious jewels and a space telescope mirror, but just don't inhale the dust - all in episode 10 of Elemental, with AUT's Professor Allan Blackman.
3/24/20195 minutes, 36 seconds
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Kotahitanga and kākāpō

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.
3/22/201911 minutes, 5 seconds
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Berkelium and the synthetic heavyweights

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.
3/21/201911 minutes, 59 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 March 2019

Barium is a chemical element that hates being on its own, and experts from Orana Park and Auckland Zoo are looking after hand-reared kakapo chicks.
3/21/201926 minutes, 48 seconds
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Barium - never found on its own

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.
3/17/20199 minutes, 25 seconds
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Fat happy kākāpō chicks

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.
3/15/201934 minutes, 31 seconds
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Astatine - awfully rare

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.
3/14/20198 minutes, 41 seconds
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Crime-busting software package wins PM's Science Prize

An ESR software package that analyses complex crime scene samples containing DNA from multiple people, has won the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Prize.
3/14/201923 minutes, 49 seconds
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We need to talk about climate change, says science prize winner

James Renwick loves talking about the science underlying climate change, and this willingness has won him the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize.
3/14/201915 minutes, 22 seconds
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Young physicist wins the PM's Future Scientist Prize

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.
3/14/20197 minutes, 21 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 March 2018

The 2018 Prime Minister's Science prizes have gone to crime-busting software, a climate change communicator and a young physicist.
3/14/201930 minutes, 40 seconds
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Arsenic - the well-known poison

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.
3/10/20197 minutes, 37 seconds
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Argon - every breath you take

Argon is in every breath you take and its inertness is its best feature, as we discover with AUT chemistry professor Allan Blackman, in episode 5 of Elemental.
3/7/20197 minutes, 55 seconds
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Bull kelp genes and earthquake uplift - a surprising connection

New research shows that bull kelp along a tectonically uplifted stretch of coast south of Dunedin has a surprisingly different genetic signature to the kelp on either side.
3/7/201914 minutes, 4 seconds
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Our Changing World for 7 March 2019

We've a story about bull kelp and earthquake uplift for Seaweek, and we meet some volunteer kakapo helpers.
3/7/201925 minutes, 33 seconds
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Kākāpō helpers

Volunteers from around the world are helping the kākāpō team, with tasks ranging from feeding birds and people, looking after the power system on Whenua Hou and studying kākāpō sperm. We meet them in episode 12 of the Kākāpō Files.
3/7/201924 minutes, 13 seconds
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Antimony - takes lives, saves lives

Antimony can be used to take lives - and to save lives. Check out episode 4 of Elemental with Professor Allan Blackman from AUT.
3/3/20198 minutes, 3 seconds
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Kākāpō rangers

There is a hard-working team of island rangers helping save kākāpō, working day and night, and the chick tally has reached 44, in episode 11 of the Kākāpō Files.
3/1/201925 minutes, 15 seconds
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Our Changing World for 28 February 2019

Professor Allan Blackman from AUT explores the chemical elements actinium and americium, and the Kakapo Files podcast catches up with the work of the island rangers.
2/28/201927 minutes, 22 seconds
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Americium - a radioactive, domestic do-gooder

Invented during war, radioactive americium has become a bit of a do-gooder that is in most homes. Find out more with AUT's Allan Blackman in episode 3 of Elemental.
2/27/20197 minutes, 27 seconds
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Aluminium - light & versatile

Aluminium is a light, well-known metal with lots of useful properties. Join AUT chemistry professor Allan Blackman for episode 2 of Elemental.
2/24/20196 minutes, 22 seconds
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Actinium - rare & radioactive

The first alphabetical element in the periodic table is actinium. It is a heavy radioactive element, as we discover in episode 1 of Elemental, with Professor Allan Blackman from AUT.
2/21/20196 minutes, 28 seconds
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Plastic pollution in streams - a citizen science effort

NIWA freshwater scientist Amanda Valois is co-opting citizen scientists to work out where plastic rubbish in streams is coming from.
2/21/201914 minutes, 7 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 February 2019

A citizen science project on plastic pollution in streams and flying kākāpō sperm takes to the air.
2/21/201932 minutes, 34 seconds
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Flying kākāpō sperm

In a world-first for kākāpō conservation, a drone (nicknamed the 'spermcopter') has flown kākāpō sperm across Whenua Hou / Codfish Island - the Kākāpō Files was there for episode 10.
2/21/201925 minutes
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Tales from the periodic table

In the prequel to Elemental, AUT's Allan Blackman introduces us to Dmitri Mendeleev and chemistry's periodic table of elements.
2/19/201910 minutes, 30 seconds
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Fush 'n' chups and the Kiwi accent

The distinctive New Zealand accent and why young women lead the way in the evolution of a uniquely Kiwi way of talking.
2/14/201912 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 February 2019

The evolution of the Kiwi accent, and many more kakapo eggs and chicks.
2/14/201927 minutes, 27 seconds
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On the island

More than 160 kākāpō eggs have been laid and the first 21 chicks have hatched, but there is also news of the first chick death, in episode 9 of the Kākāpō Files.
2/11/201916 minutes, 33 seconds
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Archey's frogs thriving in the King Country

The King Country population of the highly threatened Archey's frog is thriving, thanks to years of rat control.
2/7/201919 minutes, 49 seconds
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Our Changing World for 7 February 2019

Archey's frogs are thriving thanks to rat control, and the first kakapo chicks have hatched and their mothers are mating again.
2/7/201926 minutes, 27 seconds
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Round two begins

The chicks that have hatched are off to Dunedin, the females have started mating again, and there is breeding action on Hauturu, all in episode 8 of the Kākāpō Files.
2/5/201910 minutes, 49 seconds
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Squishy drug delivery

An octopus squeezing through a small space and a squishy ball have inspired a new way of delivering drugs through the skin that is being developed at the University of Otago.
1/31/201916 minutes, 35 seconds
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Our Changing World for 31 January 2019

How to squish drugs through the skin using nanotechnology, and keeping up with the kakapo.
1/31/201929 minutes, 2 seconds
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The chicks are hatching

The first two chicks of the 2019 kākāpō breeding season have hatched and the exciting news keeps coming in, in episode 7 of the Kākāpō Files.
1/31/201913 minutes, 38 seconds
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Full House

Forty eight out of fifty kākāpō females on the southern islands have mated, nesting is well underway and the first AI has been carried out, all in episode 6 of the Kākāpō Files.
1/26/201923 minutes, 27 seconds
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'Fish ear bones are like a diary'

Fish ear bones are tiny treasure troves of information about a fish's life, its environment and even local weather.
1/24/201916 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 24 January 2019

Fish earbones are tiny treasure troves of information about a fish's life and where it lives, and catching up on all the kakapo breeding action in the first month of the Kakapo Files podcast.
1/24/201924 minutes, 40 seconds
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Super-studs & hitting the reset button

The most popular kākāpō males will get a chance to do it all over again as the females are encouraged to mate and nest for a second time, in episode 5 of the Kākāpō Files.
1/17/201916 minutes, 23 seconds
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Our relationship with urban green spaces

Otago University science communication student Karthic Sivanandham investigates urban nature and how we relate to it.
1/16/201913 minutes, 18 seconds
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Sounds of science - a new Our Changing World theme

Our brand-new 2019 opening theme is made from 20 eclectic sounds of science & nature that have featured on Our Changing World, ranging from birds to robots.
1/14/201929 seconds
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Action stations

Don't count your kākāpō chicks until they hatch, kākāpō leaky homes and lots more kākāpō sex, all in episode 4 of the Kākāpō Files.
1/10/201924 minutes, 5 seconds
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Woof Woof the talking tui

Woof Woof the talking tui inspired University of Otago student Joel Zwartz to find out how birds and people talk.
1/9/201914 minutes, 23 seconds
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Busy birds

Kākāpō breeding action really kicked off on Christmas Eve and in episode 3 of the Kākāpō Files we discover it is in full swing.
1/2/20196 minutes, 51 seconds
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Never ask a boy 'why?'

Science communication student Mary Rabbidge takes a look at the brains of teenage boys, to find out why they behave the way they do.
12/27/201810 minutes, 59 seconds
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Early birds

In episode 2 of the Kākāpō Files we find out that when it comes to kākāpō breeding the early birds are, well, very early.
12/22/20188 minutes, 32 seconds
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Kākāpō - night parrot

The kākāpō is one of the world's rarest birds, and in the first episode of the Kākāpō Files we learn about the giant flightless parrot's 'love triangle.'
12/21/201813 minutes
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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.
12/20/201816 minutes, 23 seconds
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NZ tree nettle ongaonga could offer pain relief for Guillain-Barré

An accidental encounter with the tree nettle, ongaonga, and some self experimentation may lead to a new pain treatment.
12/20/201812 minutes, 49 seconds
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Our Changing World for 20 December 2018

Salps are a little known but important part of the ocean's plankton, and self-experimenting with the painful stinging nettle, ongaonga.
12/20/201830 minutes
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NZ falcons thriving in logged pine plantations

Rare native New Zealand falcons are thriving in some unexpected places, including recently logged pine forests.
12/13/201824 minutes, 4 seconds
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Our Changing World for 13 December 2018

Rare native New Zealand falcons are thriving in some unexpected places, including recently logged pine forests.
12/13/201824 minutes, 2 seconds
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Muscle wasting and 'skinny fat' in old age

Our muscles lose strength and mass as we age, and old age expert Debra Waters says we should do resistance training so we won't develop sarcopenia.
12/6/201815 minutes, 33 seconds
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Place names tell a story about lost species

Place names turn out to be a good record of where plants and animals once occurred and where they have been lost.
12/6/20186 minutes, 38 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 December 2018

Resistance training is the best way to keep muscles strong as we age, and what place names tell us about plants and animals that used to be found there.
12/6/201821 minutes, 24 seconds
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Giant willow aphids - a sticky invasive nuisance

Scion entomologists are trialling a parasitic wasp that they hope will control a growing nuisance: the giant willow aphid.
11/29/201817 minutes, 28 seconds
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Eavesdropping on noisy seaweeds

Tiny, noisy gas bubbles produced by a tropical seaweed are part of the soundscape of a coral reef.
11/29/201813 minutes, 39 seconds
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Our Changing World for 29 November 2018

On the hunt for a way to control giant willow aphids which are a sticky nuisance, and noisy seaweeds on coral reefs.
11/29/201830 minutes, 8 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 November 2018

The Department of Conservation celebrates 70 years since the momentous rediscovery of takahē in Fiordland with the families of the original discovery party members.
11/22/201822 minutes, 49 seconds
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Celebrating 70 years since takahē rediscovery

The Department of Conservation and special guests celebrate the dramatic rediscovery of the takahē in Fiordland, 70 years ago.
11/22/201823 minutes, 6 seconds
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Getting from A to B: research into older drivers

New Zealand has a growing population of older drivers and an important issue is 'when do they give up driving?'
11/15/201816 minutes, 12 seconds
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Marsden Medal won by molecular 'discoverer'

Warren Tate has jointly won the 2018 Marsden Medal for a lifetime of molecular discoveries about proteins and the genes that code them.
11/15/201811 minutes, 4 seconds
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Award for hands-on microbiology

Judith Bateup has been awarded the Cranwell Medal for science communication, for running hands-on microbiology classes for school students.
11/15/20187 minutes, 4 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 November 2018

Older drivers, and the 2018 winners of the Cranwell and Marsden Awards from the NZ Association of Scientists.
11/15/201831 minutes, 59 seconds
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Biggest risk to ageing well is loneliness

Yoram Barak says there are some simple ways of maintaining a healthy brain into old age. Good social relationships are key.
11/8/201815 minutes, 14 seconds
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Old ice gives insights into future sea level rise

Melting polar ice will be the biggest contributor to sea level rise in future - but will it come from Greenland or Antarctica?
11/8/201816 minutes, 40 seconds
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Our Changing World for 8 November 2018

An expert says loneliness is the biggest risk for brain health, and ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica.
11/8/201830 minutes, 3 seconds
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From hills to the sea - a community thinks about freshwater

Te Awaroa o Porirua Whaitua committee is a group of locals thinking about freshwater quality in the Porirua catchment and harbour.
11/1/201828 minutes, 13 seconds
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Our Changing World for 1 November 2018

Te Awaroa o Porirua Whaitua committee has been thinking about freshwater in the Porirua catchment and what could be done to improve its health.
11/1/201827 minutes, 53 seconds
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A flower map to help NZ beekeepers

A Honey Landscape Map for New Zealand could help beekeepers find the best flower-rich sites for their beehives.
10/25/201814 minutes, 40 seconds
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Myrtle rust research

Scientists are working to better understand the invasive plant disease myrtle rust, and how it might impact native plants and ecosystems.
10/25/201814 minutes, 19 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 October 2018

A project to map manuka flowering and help bee keepers pick the best places for their hives, and screening native plants to find resistance to myrtle rust.
10/25/201828 minutes, 10 seconds
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Mathematician wins top science award

Rod Downey, a mathematics professor at Victoria University of Wellington, has won New Zealand's top science honour, the Rutherford Medal.
10/18/201815 minutes, 7 seconds
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Snapper may be next farmed fish

Maren Wellenreuther, from Plant and Food Research, has won the 2018 Hamilton Award for her work developing snapper as a future aquaculture species.
10/18/201816 minutes, 7 seconds
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Using DNA to study human migrations a winner

Lisa Matisoo-Smith, from the University of Otago, has won the 2018 Mason Durie Medal for her work using DNA to understand the migration of people to Aotearoa.
10/18/201812 minutes, 19 seconds
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Our Changing World for 18 October 2018

Among the 24 researchers honoured with science awards this year are mathematician Rod Downey, molecular anthropologist Lisa Matisoo-Smith and aquaculture expert Maren Wellenreuther.
10/18/201841 minutes, 59 seconds
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Banding together for banded dotterels

George Hobson is a teenager with a passion for birds - especially the banded dotterels that nest on Eastbourne's beach.
10/11/201816 minutes, 5 seconds
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Over-eating might be in the brain

Mei Peng is investigating whether we each have a 'sensory fingerprint' that determines how we react to food.
10/11/201815 minutes, 17 seconds
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Our Changing World for 11 October 2018

The seaside community of Eastbourne has banded together to keep an eye on banded dotterels, and the reason we over-eat might be in our brains.
10/11/201830 minutes, 12 seconds
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From poo to plastic

Scion scientists are developing ways to safely convert human faecal waste into bioplastic.
10/4/201814 minutes, 22 seconds
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Our Changing World for 4 October 2018

Scientists at Scion are developing ways of treating human waste to make it safe, then using it to make bioplastic.
10/4/201814 minutes, 41 seconds
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Melanie Bussey - Concussion on her mind

Melanie Bussey studies concussion in sport, and how the human body reacts to impacts that might cause damage to the brain.
9/27/201820 minutes, 34 seconds
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Seabirds at risk from fishing round the globe

Many of New Zealand's threatened seabirds are at danger from fishing across the Pacific.
9/27/201812 minutes, 17 seconds
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Our Changing World for 27 September 2018

A study into whether getting concussed while playing rugby makes players more likely to get concussion in the future, and trans-Pacific efforts to stop seabirds getting killed by fishing boats.
9/27/201830 minutes, 57 seconds
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Winner and losers - native birds in a pest-free sanctuary

Twenty-five years of bird counts have revealed an unexpected consequence to the creation of the predator-free Zealandia Sanctuary.
9/20/201814 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wellington's south coast gets a spring clean

Community groups descend on Wellington's south coast each spring to pick up rubbish - including lots of plastic and cigarette butts.
9/20/20189 minutes, 40 seconds
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Our Changing World for 20 September 2018

For Conservation Week, the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve celebrate their 10th anniversary by helping with Wellington's annual south coast clean-up, and how native bird numbers in Zealandia have changed over 20 years.
9/20/201823 minutes, 46 seconds
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History vs science vs religion

Scientist Quentin Atkinson has looked at how the structure of Pacific societies determined how quickly they converted to Christianity - but an historian is not so sure of his conclusions.
9/13/201822 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 13 September 2018

A scientist and a historian debate the role of science in determining how quickly different Pacific societies converted to Christianity in historic times.
9/13/201823 minutes, 22 seconds
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Gaming the physio

Wellington company Swibo is making physiotherapy exercises more interesting using video games, mobile phones and balance boards.
9/6/201815 minutes, 4 seconds
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3D printing - the future is 4D

3D and 4D printing could be a nimble tool for New Zealand manufacturers that also uses wood-based bioplastics.
9/6/201812 minutes, 39 seconds
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Our Changing World for 6 September 2018

Smart phones, video games and balance boards are making physiotherapy exercises more exciting, and 3D and 4D printing offer interesting possibilities for small manufacturers.
9/6/201827 minutes, 5 seconds
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Urban bats: Long-tailed bats thriving in Hamilton

Long-tailed bats are thriving in gullies and bush along the Waikato River, where it flows through central Hamilton.
8/30/201825 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 August 2018

Long-tailed bats are thriving in gullies and bush along the Waikato River, where it flows through central Hamilton.
8/30/201825 minutes, 47 seconds
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Ageing muscles - use them or lose them

Research shows that nerves play a surprisingly important role in muscle loss, while exercise helps us maintain our strength.
8/23/201815 minutes, 42 seconds
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Putting cardboard boxes to the test

Cardboard boxes are the workhorse of the economy, and Scion has a special facility to test them and better understand why they sometimes fail.
8/23/201811 minutes, 41 seconds
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Our Changing World for 23 August 2018

Research into ageing muscles show that nerves play an important role and exercise is protective, and a special facility to test the strength of cardboard boxes.
8/23/201826 minutes, 58 seconds
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Precious field books part of enormous heritage project

Field notebooks from some of NZ's first surveyors are among 1000s of historic documents digitised by LINZ in one of the world's largest cultural heritage projects.
8/16/201830 minutes, 14 seconds
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Our Changing World for 16 August 2018

LINZ has almost completed one of the largest cultural heritage archiving projects in the world, of notebooks and plans that underpin property boundaries in NZ.
8/16/201829 minutes, 53 seconds
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Can an introduced parasitic wasp control a nuisance beetle?

After years of trials, Scion entomologists believe New Zealand could safely introduce a parasitic wasp to control the eucalyptus tortoise beetle.
8/9/201817 minutes, 1 second
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Micro-fossils, filing cabinets and past climate change

Tiny grains of fossil pollen are helping GNS Science researchers piece together the big picture of past environments.
8/9/20189 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 9 August 2018

Finding out if an introduced parasitic wasp could be a biocontrol agent for a pest of eucalpytus trees, and how fossil pollen can tell us about lost worlds.
8/9/201826 minutes, 37 seconds
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Mussels on the move

Kākahi or freshwater mussels are being moved to Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington as part of an ambitious restoration project.
8/2/201816 minutes, 37 seconds
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Te Papa responds to scientists' concerns about collections

Te Papa says it will undertake an internal review of the way it manages its collections, and an international external review of its natural history collections.
8/2/20189 minutes, 34 seconds
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Eco-friendly wood glue

Scion has developed a bio-based adhesive to make fibreboard that is environmentally friendly and even compostable.
8/2/201810 minutes, 49 seconds
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Our Changing World for 2 August 2018

Kākahi or freshwater mussels on the move to Zealandia, Scion's green bio-based wood adhesive, and Te Papa announces international review of its natural history collections.
8/2/201835 minutes, 28 seconds
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DNA in fossil bone fragments reveals NZ's lost world

Bags of bone fragments are casting a genetic spotlight on New Zealand's lost natural world, and on the impact of early Polynesians on its biota.
7/26/201820 minutes, 23 seconds
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Scientist worried for Te Papa's biological collections

A world-renowned fossil expert is concerned about the impact of a restructure at Te Papa on its important natural history collections.
7/26/201816 minutes, 58 seconds
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Our Changing World for 26 July 2018

Ancient e-DNA from bits of old bones is shedding new light on New Zealand's "lost world" and the impact of humans, and concerns about Te Papa's natural history collections.
7/26/201836 minutes, 38 seconds
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Robots - Nao and the Bristlebots

A humanoid robot called Nao, and swarms of bio-inspired little robots that behave like social insects, wowed crowds at Dunedin's International Science Festival.
7/19/201819 minutes, 29 seconds
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Biofuels made from sawdust

Researchers say that liquid fuels made from sawdust from specially planted plantation trees could be a winner in New Zealand.
7/19/201812 minutes, 52 seconds
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Our Changing World for 19 July 2018

A humanoid robot called Nao and tiny bristlebot robots charmed kids at the International Science Festival in Dunedin, and using pyrolosis to make biofuels from sawdust.
7/19/201831 minutes, 7 seconds
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Southern right whales returning to mainland New Zealand

A southern right whale in Wellington Harbour is a sign that the species is recovering after being hunted nearly to extinction.
7/12/201815 minutes, 30 seconds
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Bringing the river into the lab

In the Water Engineering Laboratory at the University of Auckland, engineers are recreating rivers, to understand how water flows, and how floods behave.
7/12/201813 minutes, 45 seconds
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Our Changing World for 12 July 2018

Whale expert Will Rayment tells us all about New Zealand's southern right whales, and engineers are studying the flow of rivers in the University of Auckland's Water Engineering Laboratory.
7/12/201827 minutes, 41 seconds
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Hunt for kauri that are resistant to kauri dieback disease

Researchers at Scion hope that thousands of tiny kauri seedlings might include some that are resistant to kauri dieback disease.
7/5/201814 minutes, 44 seconds
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Native birds doing well in Wellington

A renaissance in native forest bird numbers in the capital is helped by urban bush and Predator Free Wellington efforts.
7/5/20188 minutes, 56 seconds
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Our Changing World for 5 July 2018

Testing kauri seedlings to find individual trees that might be resistant to kauri dieback disease, and native forest birds are thriving in Wellington city parks and reserves.
7/5/201822 minutes, 46 seconds
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Mapping the world's sea floor

Seabed 2030 is an international collaboration to map the world's sea floor, much of which is unmapped.
6/28/201818 minutes, 40 seconds
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Asteroids, dinosaurs and international tension

Astronomer Duncan Steel is an expert in detecting asteroids and comets, and in defending the earth from potential impacts.
6/28/201814 minutes, 55 seconds
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Our Changing World for 28 June 2018

Seabed 2030 is an ambitious international collaboration to map the world's sea floor, and astronomer Duncan Steel is concerned asbout asteroids hitting earth.
6/28/201832 minutes, 34 seconds
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Antarctica's ice is melting

Research reveals new evidence about past, present and future impacts of climate change on Antarctica's ice.
6/21/201822 minutes, 6 seconds
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Wasp genomes revealed

Wasps are a big problem in New Zealand, and scientists hope that knowing the genomes of common and German wasps will help them find novel ways of controlling the pests.
6/21/20188 minutes, 10 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 June 2018

Antarctic experts discuss the latest research on how fast Antarctic ice is melting and why it matters, and sequencing the genomes of introduced common and German wasps.
6/21/201829 minutes, 18 seconds
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Havre - the world's largest deep ocean volcanic eruption

Geologists have discovered that the 2012 eruption of Havre volcano, on the Kermadec Arc, was the world's largest submarine volcanic eruption.
6/14/201817 minutes, 56 seconds
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Finding new drugs from the sea

Michele Prinsep is a 'drug hunter' - she looks for potential pharmaceuticals in marine organisms and cyanobacteria.
6/14/201811 minutes, 43 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 June 2018

A chemist talks about sourcing potential new drugs from marine creatures, and understanding the largest deep-ocean volcanic eruption ever documented.
6/14/201829 minutes, 4 seconds
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Edible bioplastic - food wrap of the future?

University of Otago researchers are developing the ultimate heat-and-eat: an edible bioplastic food wrap, using waste from the corn and shellfish industries.
6/7/20189 minutes, 47 seconds
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Exercise and a special video game boost kids' brains

Psychologist David Moreau is working with New Zealand schools to find out if exercise combined with a computer game aimed at brain training could help improve kids' brains.
6/7/201815 minutes, 41 seconds
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Our Changing World for 7 June 2018

Combining high intensity exercise with a computer game-based brain training is having good results for struggling school kids, and developing an edible plastic wrap from corn and shellfish waste.
6/7/201824 minutes, 22 seconds
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A citizens' jury on euthanasia

Fifteen Dunedin citizens took part in a University of Otago citizens' jury to discuss legalising euthanasia and assisted dying.
5/24/201831 minutes, 25 seconds
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Our Changing World for 24 May 2018

Fifteen Dunedin citizens took part in a University of Otago citizen jury to discuss legalising euthanasia and assisted dying.
5/24/201831 minutes
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Mistletoe rescue mission

Botanists have banded together to bring native mistletoes back to Wellington city, using seeds rescued from a plant growing on a dying tree.
5/17/201812 minutes, 9 seconds
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Understanding New Zealand's largest fault

New Zealand's first underwater observatories are recording the 'creaks and groans' of our largest fault to better understand slow-slip earthquakes.
5/17/201815 minutes, 31 seconds
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Our Changing World for 17 May 2018

A rescue mission to return mistletoe to Wellington city, and a research trip to study the Hikurangi subduction zone, home to some of New Zealand's largest earthquakes.
5/17/201826 minutes, 40 seconds
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World-first probe into an active submarine volcano

Geologists on board the JOIDES Resolution research ship are attempting to drill into the flanks of the submarine hydrothermal Brothers Volcano.
5/10/201811 minutes, 13 seconds
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Book charts changing face of Otago Peninsula

An environmental historian charts the transformation of the Otago Peninsula from rich forest to grassy pasture in the book "The Face of Nature."
5/10/201816 minutes, 11 seconds
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Our Changing World for 10 May 2018

The book "The Face of Nature" is an environmental history of the Otago Peninsula, and a world first attempt to drill into an active submarine volcano.
5/10/201826 minutes, 47 seconds
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'My favourite insect is a cicada'

Olly Hills, aged 11, is a big fan of insects, and author of the field guide 'Cicadas of New Zealand.'
5/3/201812 minutes, 46 seconds
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Quit or persist - it's all in the brain

Blake Porter is investigating what happens in our brain when we decide to quit something that is good for us or persist with something that is bad us.
5/3/201812 minutes, 16 seconds
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Our Changing World for 3 May 2018

The author of the field guide 'Cicadas of New Zealand' is 11-year-old Olly Hills, and Blake Porter is investigating the brain and what makes us quit or persist with different tasks.
5/3/201824 minutes, 2 seconds
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Caring for waterlogged waka

Dilys Johns is an archaeologist who specialises in conserving waterlogged Māori taonga such as ancient waka and wooden gardening tools.
4/26/201816 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wallaby vs shark: a toothy quirk of nature

One of Australia's smallest wallabies - the nabarlek - shares an unlikely dental similarity with sharks: the ability to continually replace its teeth.
4/26/20184 minutes, 45 seconds
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Our Changing World for 26 April 2018

Dilys Johns specialises in conserving waterlogged archaeological items such as wooden waka and early Maori gardening tools, and the nabarlek is an unusual small wallaby that can continuously replace its teeth.
4/26/201820 minutes, 41 seconds
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Myrtle rust - its impact in NZ and Australia

Myrtle rust is having a profound impact on native plants and ecosystems in Australia - what will its effect be on New Zealand forests?
4/19/201832 minutes, 46 seconds
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Our Changing World for Thursday 19 April

It's been a year since myrtle rust arrived in New Zealand - what impact is is having, and what we can learn from Australia and Hawaii's experiences with this invasive plant killer.
4/19/201832 minutes, 24 seconds
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Seabird hotspot - the Poor Knights Islands

A team of seabird experts experience the joys and challenges of counting Buller's shearwaters on the predator-free Poor Knights Islands.
4/12/201831 minutes, 48 seconds
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Our Changing World for 12 April 2018

The Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust is shining a spotlight on seabird diversity in the Hauraki Gulf - including Buller's shearwaters that breed on the Poor Knights Islands.
4/12/201831 minutes, 31 seconds
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N=1 - an artist's microbiome

A 46-year-old art work has revealed how the gut microbiome of artist Billy Apple has changed during his adult life.
4/5/201814 minutes, 56 seconds
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Sea lion whiskers reveal marine secrets

Tiny samples collected from the teeth, tissue and even whiskers of marine animals can reveal where they feed and travel.
4/5/201813 minutes, 24 seconds
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Our Changing World for 5 April 2018

Stable isotopes found in teeth, fur and even whiskers can show where marine animals feed, and a 46-year-old art work has revealed how the gut microbiome of one man has changed during his adult life.
4/5/201826 minutes, 48 seconds
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Dragonflies - masters of flight

Dragonflies are precision flying machines, and Ruary Mackenzie Dodds says they are an indicator of clean water.
3/29/201818 minutes, 8 seconds
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Superconductor sandwiches

High temperature superconductor research in New Zealand includes new nano-scale superconductor sandwiches.
3/29/20188 minutes, 23 seconds
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Our Changing World for 29 March 2018

Dragonflies are exquisite flying machines with an ancient history, and high temperature superconductor research that includes superconductor sandwiches.
3/29/201826 minutes, 38 seconds
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Spy in the water - Wellington Harbour's smart buoy

A smart buoy in Wellington harbour is phoning in information about sea conditions and how muddy water from the Hutt River moves around the harbour.
3/22/201812 minutes, 11 seconds
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Meet Lusius malfoyi, a parasitoid wasp

Tom Saunders has named a native parasitoid wasp after a Harry Potter character, in a bid to improve the reputation of these 'good' wasps.
3/22/201815 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 March 2018

Among New Zealand's many species of parasitoid wasps is one named after a Harry Potter character, and information from a smart buoy in Wellington harbour is now freely available online.
3/22/201827 minutes, 25 seconds
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Turnaround in takahē's fortunes

An expedition into Fiordland reveals that takahē numbers are on the rise, and there will soon be a new takahē population in Northwest Nelson.
3/15/201827 minutes, 35 seconds
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Glaciers in trouble after marine heatwave

An aerial survey reveals this summer's marine heatwave in the Tasman Sea was bad news for glaciers in the Southern Alps.
3/15/20189 minutes, 26 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 March 2018

The good news is that takahē numbers are on the rise, while a marine heatwave has been bad news for South Island glaciers.
3/15/201834 minutes, 55 seconds
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Tipping Points and the health of estuaries

A nationwide experiment is investigating how estuaries might suddenly 'tip' as a result of increasing nutrients and sediments.
3/8/201827 minutes, 29 seconds
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Our Changing World for 8 March 2018

The nationwide Tipping Points project is looking at how small changes in the amount of nutrients and sediments in estuaries could lead to big changes.
3/8/201827 minutes, 54 seconds
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Dogs that sniff out pest fish

Waikato University researchers are training pet dogs to sniff out pest fish such as koi carp.
3/1/201822 minutes, 12 seconds
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Our Changing World for 1 March 2018

Waikato University researchers are training pet dogs to sniff out pest fish that are a problem in Waikato lakes and rivers.
3/1/201822 minutes, 24 seconds
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Beyond face value: re-shaping our thinking about diversity

As ethnic and cultural diversity increases in New Zealand, psychologists discuss their work and the challenges posed by this increasing diversity.
2/22/201827 minutes, 33 seconds
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Our Changing World for 22 February 2018

Sonia Sly meets three psychologists investigating aspects of cultrual diversity,and discovers that we should look for commonalities rather than differences.
2/22/201827 minutes, 42 seconds
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Science to solve kiwifruit crisis a winner

A 100-strong team of researchers from Plant and Food Research have won the 2017 Prime Minister's Science Prize for using science to solve the kiwifruit PSA crisis.
2/15/201813 minutes, 33 seconds
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Science speed dating leads to top award

A four minute conversation led to a revolutionary tooth decay treatment using silver nanoparticles and a PM's science award for the chemist who worked on it.
2/15/20189 minutes, 8 seconds
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Science film-maker a winner

Film-maker Damian Christie has won the 2017 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize to help tell science stories on film.
2/15/20189 minutes, 27 seconds
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Our Changing World for 15 February 2018

The 2017 Prime Minister's Science Prizes have been awarded to Plant and Food Research for their work on kiwifruit Psa, a chemist using silver nanoparticles to stop tooth decay, and a science film-maker.
2/15/201829 minutes, 59 seconds
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Safe houses for Kaikoura's baby paua

NIWA is testing small 'safe houses' for baby paua, with the idea of boosting the population on the earthquake-damaged  Kaikōura coast.
2/8/201814 minutes, 55 seconds
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Using light to reveal hidden molecular information

Michél Nieuwoudt uses light to uncover hidden information in different kinds of material, from milk to works of art.
2/8/201812 minutes, 13 seconds
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Our Changing World for 8 February 2018

Designing and testing concrete 'safe houses' for baby paua, and using light to detect art forgeries and the properties of milk.
2/8/201825 minutes, 53 seconds
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Chemical camouflage - putting predators off the scent

Could chemical camouflage save rare birds by putting predators off the scent? Ecologists are testing the idea in the Mackenzie Basin.
2/1/201830 minutes, 52 seconds
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Discovered - the 'missing' male stick insect

A male stick insect belonging to an all female group of New Zealand stick insects has been discovered for the first time - in the UK.
2/1/20189 minutes, 42 seconds
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Our Changing World for 1 February 2018

Chemical camouflage is put to the test in the Mckenzie Basin to see if it can protect nesting shore birds from predators, and the discovery of the first male in an all-female population of stick insects.
2/1/201839 minutes, 23 seconds
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Clever canines

How do dogs think? Do they experience emotions such as jealousy? The Clever Canine Lab at the University of Auckland is investigating.
1/25/201815 minutes, 8 seconds
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Buildings that better survive earthquakes

Engineer Geoff Rodgers is designing a new generation of low-damage buildings that move in an earthquake and remain useable afterwards.
1/25/201813 minutes, 16 seconds
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Our Changing World for 25 January 2018

Testing dogs to find out how smart they are and how they think, and designing low-damage buildings that move during an earthquake and remain useable.
1/25/201828 minutes, 8 seconds
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Te Waikoropupu Springs - what's their value?

Science communication student Lucy Coyle, from the University of Otago, finds out about the freshwater and cultural values of Pupu Springs in Golden Bay, New Zealand's largest springs boasting the clearest water in the world.
1/16/201812 minutes, 20 seconds
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The rabbit problem

Science communication student Berenice Mathieu, from the University of Otago, finds out about moves to introduce a more virulent strain of RHD or rabbit calicivirus into New Zealand to control burgeoning numbers.
1/8/201815 minutes, 2 seconds
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Seals- friend or foe?

Science communication student Lana Young, from the University of Otago, talks to fishers and a marine mammal scientist about the rising number of seals and sea lions.
1/2/201813 minutes, 27 seconds
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What's happening with our freshwater?

Science communication student Tegan Good, from the University of Otago, takes a look a freshwater issues in New Zealand.
12/26/201713 minutes, 5 seconds
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What do we do? Agriculture in the age of synthetic food

If technologies like meat grown from stem cells and milk grown in vats take off, how will the New Zealand agricultural sector respond?
12/21/201743 minutes, 46 seconds
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Good news for Kaikōura's Hutton shearwaters

The first ground visit to the Hutton's shearwater breeding colony since the November 2017 Kaikōura earthquake shows damage not as bad as feared.
12/21/20176 minutes, 18 seconds
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Our Changing World for 21 December 2017

Good news about Hutton's shearwaters in the wake of the 2017 Kaikoura earthquake, and a special feature on how New Zealand agriculture could respond to the challenge of synthetic foods.
12/21/201731 minutes, 52 seconds
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The sobering science of drinking and driving

Waikato University research shows that drinking socially makes it harder to tell when you're too drunk to drive - and even a low blood alcohol level makes our driving unsafe.
12/14/201718 minutes
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Scientific curiosity and Koraunui School

Scientific curiosity was the order of the day when Koraunui School, in the Hutt Valley, hosted its recent Bioblitz.
12/14/201712 minutes, 2 seconds
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Our Changing World for 14 December 2017

Some sobering science advice about why drinking alcohol and driving cars don't go together well, and Koraunui School gets curious about their neighbourhood during a Bioblitz.
12/14/201728 minutes, 53 seconds
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Tawaki - the mysterious forest penguin

Scientists are discovering that tawaki, or Fiordland crested penguins, living in MIlford Sound are thriving - and breaking all the penguin rules.
12/7/201726 minutes, 19 seconds
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Our Changing World for 7 December 2017

Penguin researchers head to Fiordland's forests to study the mysterious tawaki or Fiordland crested penguin.
12/7/201726 minutes, 17 seconds
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Urban lizards

A hunt for urban lizards in New Zealand involves more than a thousand buckets as well as citizen scientists.
11/30/201712 minutes, 51 seconds
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An atlas of coronary arteries

An atlas containing hundreds of coronary arteries mapped using MRI scans will help improve heart health.
11/30/201713 minutes, 24 seconds
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Our Changing World for 30 November 2017

A project to map coronary arteries in healthy and sick people, and on the hunt for lizards in city parks and gardens.
11/30/201726 minutes, 8 seconds
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New Zealand in space

Kiwi scientists and entrepreneurs talk about their plans to put satellites and rockets into space, and the role of NZ radio telescopes in precision GPS.
11/23/201731 minutes, 8 seconds
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Our Changing World for 23 November 2017

Kiwi scientists and entrepreneurs talk about putting rockets and satellites into space, and using data from NZ's two radio telescopes.
11/23/201730 minutes, 55 seconds
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Protecting nature on private land

The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust is celebrating 40 years of helping landowners protect 4,400 pieces of land with high conservation values
11/16/201719 minutes, 58 seconds
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The 1769 Garden

The 1769 Garden commemorates the first encounter between Maori and the crew of the Endeavour, under the command of Captain James Cook, at Gisborne in October 1769.
11/16/201715 minutes, 43 seconds
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Our Changing World for 16 November 2017

Protecting nature on private land with the QEII Trust, and creating the 1769 Garden to mark the first encounter between Maori and Captain Cook.
11/16/201734 minutes, 46 seconds
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Our Changing World for 9 November 2017

New discoveries from New Zealand's ancient past, and mapping the gut's electrical signals.
11/9/201732 minutes, 12 seconds
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Mapping the gut

A flexible tool to measure electrical signals in our gut could detect serious medical conditions.
11/9/201719 minutes, 20 seconds
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The New Zealand fossil revolution

In the last few years there's been a revolution in our understanding of New Zealand's ancient animals - there were once crocodiles as well as small land mammals.
11/9/201713 minutes, 37 seconds
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Big award for studying small lake critters

The 2017 Marsden Medal is awarded to Carolyn Burns for her internationally renowned research into New Zealand's deep southern lakes.
11/2/201713 minutes, 46 seconds
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Using noble metals to kill cancer

The winner of the 2017 Hill Tinsley Medal is developing anti-cancer drugs based on noble metals such as platinum and iridium.
11/2/20179 minutes, 46 seconds
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The physics of blood spatter

Engineer Mark Jermy has been helping forensics investigators understand the science behind blood spatter evidence at crime scenes.
11/2/201711 minutes
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Our Changing World for 2 November 2017

Engineer looks at the physics of blood splatter, chemist wins 2017 Hill Tinsley Award for new drugs made with metals, and freshwater biologist wins 2017 Marsden Medal.
11/2/201732 minutes, 59 seconds
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Inherited heart disease: you're not doomed by your DNA

Anna Pilbrow says that a complex interaction of genetic factors underpin our risk of getting heart disease - and leading a healhy lifestyle lowers the risk.
10/26/201710 minutes, 12 seconds
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Understanding our immune system

Bruce Beutler received the 2011 Nobel Prize for discoveries about the innate immune system in mammals.
10/26/201714 minutes, 34 seconds
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It's a microbial world

Science writer Ed Yong investigates the complex world of microbes in his book "I Contain Multitudes."
10/26/20178 minutes, 48 seconds
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Touchstone - a community project for Lake Wanaka

Lake swimmers, the local primary school and neighbouring farmers have joined together to look after water quality in Lake Wanaka.
10/19/201723 minutes, 30 seconds
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Top science award goes to a 'supervolcanologist'

The 2017 Rutherford Prize has been awarded to Victoria University of Wellington geologist Colin Wilson for his work on supervolcanoes such as Taupo.
10/12/201715 minutes, 49 seconds
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ECLIPSE - getting ready for a supervolcano eruption

An $8-million research programme to better understand the Taupo supervolcano and prepare the community for an eruption has just begun.
10/12/201710 minutes, 47 seconds
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Drug discoverer recognised with a top science honour

The 2017 MacDiarmid Medal has been awarded to chemist Peter Tyler, for his work designing and creating new drugs to treat diseases such as cancer.
10/12/201710 minutes, 47 seconds
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Moa footprints - a rocky tale

After twenty years of puzzling, geologist Bruce Hayward reckons he has identified some mysterious patterns in a west Auckland roadside cutting as moa footprints.
10/5/201713 minutes, 5 seconds
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Designing nanoparticles to move medication around your body

Arlene McDowell is designing nanoparticles that will hold medication and deliver it exactly to its intended destination in the body.
10/5/201712 minutes, 40 seconds
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Celebrating the night sky on Great Barrier Island

Great Barrier Island has become the world's third International Dark Sky Sanctuary, in recognition of its outstanding star-filled night skies.
9/28/201711 minutes, 33 seconds
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SOFIA - a flying telescope with a unique view of space

NASA's SOFIA observatory is a 2.5m telescope mounted in the back of a plane. It observes the birth and death of stars and the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
9/21/201729 minutes, 33 seconds
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Bacteria versus virus at Queenstown Research Week

The arms race between the immune systems of bacteria and the viruses - bacteriophages - that attack them, was a feature of this year's Queenstown Research Week.
9/14/201726 minutes, 25 seconds
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Bringing Kirk's tree daisy back to Wellington

Kohurangi, or Kirk's tree daisy, is rare in the Wellington region, but botanists are taking on the challenge of bringing it back to the city.
9/7/201723 minutes, 18 seconds
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The Science Of... Vitamin C

What is vitamin C and why do we need it? Which foods have the most vitamin C? Should we pop pills when we think we're getting a cold, or are we just producing expensive urine? And can vit C really cure cancer, or is it all hype? Alison Ballance and Simon Morton investigate.
8/26/201737 minutes, 51 seconds
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The Science of... Virtual Reality

We go beyond gaming to explore how VR works, what it's being used for (from treating a fear of spiders, to training young doctors) and ask if it's yet making any compelling case to be in every home.
8/19/201735 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Science of...

Alison Ballance from Our Changing World and the team from This Way Up have been working on a new podcast series called The Science Of. They tell us what's in store, including details of their first episode, The Science of Sweat
8/15/201712 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Science of... Sweat

Simon Morton and Alison Ballance present a three-part series exploring the science of sweat, virtual reality and Vitamin C. This week, the function of a much-maligned bodily fluid that plays a vital role in keeping us humans healthy and alive.
8/12/201727 minutes, 12 seconds
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Micronutrients and their link to mental health

Julia Rucklidge is investigating whether micronutrients can relieve stress and anxiety, help people quit smoking and treat ADHD.
8/10/201722 minutes, 43 seconds
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Solving the mystery of the Kaikōura bubbles

Mysterious bubbles and warm water, known as Hope Springs, which appeared after the Kaikōura earthquake, appear to be coming from deep in the earth's crust.
8/3/201712 minutes, 28 seconds
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The low-down on electric cars in New Zealand

Flip the Fleet is a citizen science project looking at the performance of electric vehicles under New Zealand conditions.
8/3/201711 minutes, 51 seconds
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The future of robots is soft

Trevor the caterpillar and Julie the dragonfly are soft robots that can walk and flap using electricity that powers artificial muscles, without a printed circuit board in sight.
7/27/201713 minutes, 7 seconds
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Filtering distraction - key to success

Neuropsycholgist Paul Corballis talks about the way our brains perceive the world, how we recognise faces, and whether or not we can really multi-task.
7/27/201713 minutes, 40 seconds
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A genetic helping hand for conservation

Four scientists talk about genetics and how it can help in the conservation of rare birds such as little spotted kiwi.
7/20/201726 minutes, 48 seconds
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Canine DNA and 'Darwin's Dogs'

Kiwi canine DNA has been collected as part of a global project, called Darwin's Dogs, investigating the genes behind the personalities of dogs.
7/13/201713 minutes, 19 seconds
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Migraines - much more than a headache

Migraines are debilitating headaches, and Debbie Hay says that new drugs targeting the pain hormone CGRP are showing lots of promise.
7/13/201713 minutes, 43 seconds
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The science of a water aquifer

What is the Waiwhetu aquifer, where does its water come from, and what does it mean for the Wellington region - Alison Ballance investigates.
7/6/201725 minutes, 30 seconds
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Southern island sanctuary for rare birds

Putauhinu, one of the southern Tītī Islands, has become a remarkable rat-free sanctuary, gifting rare land birds to other islands.
6/29/201730 minutes, 9 seconds
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Honey, I shrunk the lab

A lab-on-a-chip developed at the University of Canterbury is allowing biologists to measure the minute force generated by a single fungal thread.
6/22/201713 minutes, 2 seconds
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Insects remarkably preserved in New Zealand amber

Amber is beautiful to look at - and it is also an incredible window into the prehistoric past.
6/15/201715 minutes, 52 seconds
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Will your roof withstand flying volcanic rocks?

Geologists are using a vertical cannon to test how different roofing materials - and even hard hats - can withstand the impact of flying volcanic rocks.
6/15/20178 minutes, 52 seconds
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Kauri dieback and how microbes sense the world

Microbes, such as the fungi-like kauri dieback disease, use chemicals to sense their world - and understanding this might help us to develop new treatments.
6/8/201715 minutes, 20 seconds
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Engineering better stem cells

Stem cells have the potential to cure many diseases, but first, we need to find the best ways of growing them in the lab - and their physical environment may be key.
6/8/201711 minutes, 11 seconds
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The looming crisis of antimicrobial resistance

As more microbes develop resistance to every kind of antimicrobial treatment, the threat of dying from even common infectious diseases is increasing - so what should we be doing about it?
6/1/201726 minutes, 51 seconds
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Volcanic eruptions and the Ash Lab

The Ash Lab at the University of Canterbury is where geologists test the impact of volcanic ash on all sorts of vital infrastructure.
5/25/201713 minutes, 16 seconds
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Fructose and the diabetic heart

Kim Mellor suspects that fructose, as well as glucose, is causing diabetic heart disease and she is looking at its effect on heart cells and heart muscle.
5/25/201712 minutes, 53 seconds
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Noise and young ears

Massey University acoustics researchers have been working with childcare centres that are keen to lower noise levels and protect the hearing of young children.
5/18/201714 minutes, 1 second
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Proteins and their role in antibiotic resistance

Some antibiotics are designed to target the ribosomes of bacteria and disrupt the production of proteins - so how do the bacteria evolve antibiotic resistance?
5/18/201712 minutes, 48 seconds
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Complexity - six months of Kaikōura earthquake science

Six months after the destructive magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, scientists are still unravelling what happened during this very complex seismic event.
5/11/201731 minutes, 47 seconds
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Science meets comedy

Tim Muller is a scientist by day and a comedian by night. He brings his one-man science-themed show to the NZ International Comedy Festival.
5/11/20176 minutes, 6 seconds
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Shedding light on the world of moths

Ahi Pepe | Moth Net is a Te Reo-focused citizen science project involving primary schools collecting information about moths in their neighbourhoods.
5/4/201723 minutes, 13 seconds
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We need to talk about gene drives and gene editing

Genetic tools will help New Zealand meets its aim of being Predator Free by 2050 - but we need to understand what they are and have a public conversation about their use.
4/27/201731 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Sound Lab

Wyatt Page is concerned that the noisy world we live in and our increasing use of loud headphones is bad for our hearing.
4/20/201712 minutes, 48 seconds
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The clover 'dress code'

Understanding the 'dress code' that allows clover plants to recognise friendly nitrogen-fixing bacteria could help us improve farming efficiency.
4/20/201712 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Coastwatcher legacy

The Coastwatchers were small groups of men posted to New Zealand's subantarctic islands during the Second World War to watch for enemy shipping. Ian Telfer visits one of their historic huts.
4/13/201713 minutes, 35 seconds
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Better bone grafts - using silver

A project to develop and commercialise better bone grafting material using the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles is underway at the University of Otago.
4/13/201710 minutes, 4 seconds
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Rediscovered - the New Zealand storm petrel

The Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust has been trying to solve the many mysteries of our smallest seabird, the New Zealand storm petrel, which breeds on Hauturu / Little Barrier Island.
4/6/201729 minutes, 32 seconds
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Plastic and seabirds: a lethal combination

Matthew Savoca talks about seabirds' fatal attraction to plastic, and how their incredible sense of smell is being fooled by rubbish.
4/6/20178 minutes, 45 seconds
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Eavesdropping in Cook Strait

Whales, dolphins, earthquakes and boats are some of the sounds that make the underwater world of Cook Strait a noisy place.
3/30/201717 minutes, 10 seconds
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Master listeners

In a democratic society striving to give everyone a voice, have we lost the ability to listen?
3/30/201711 minutes
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Prime Minister's Science Prize 2016 - the Dunedin Study

The University of Otago team behind the long-running Dunedin Study has won the 2016 Prime Minister's Science Prize.
3/23/201713 minutes, 26 seconds
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Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize 2016 - Rebecca Priestley

A science writer who says that science communication is an important way of enabling democracy, has won the 2016 Prime Minister's Science Media Communication Prize.
3/23/201710 minutes, 45 seconds
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Tracking kākāpō the smart way

Smart electronic transmitters are revolutionising the way Department of Conservation rangers keep track of kākāpō.
3/23/20179 minutes, 46 seconds
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Breaking Babel

In a city as culturally diverse as Auckland, how is the Kiwi accent changing and evolving?
3/16/201711 minutes, 17 seconds
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Catalyst - from corn to plastic

Chemist Sally Brooker is developing a catalyst that could be used to produce biodegradable plastic from corn.
3/16/201712 minutes, 40 seconds
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Reading between the vines

Drones - or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - can get a bad rap, but they can now generate meaningful data for a range of different industries.
3/9/20179 minutes, 16 seconds
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Proof - the physics of creating a gas droplet

New Zealand physicists developed a theory about ultra cold gas 'droplets' that was proved in an experiment in Germany.
3/9/201714 minutes, 8 seconds
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Haven - the story of a tropical seabird island

A visit to tropical Cousin Island in the Seychelles reveals that predator-free islands the world over are a haven for wildlife.
3/2/201720 minutes, 57 seconds
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Voice of the Iceberg 1: Discovery

Artist Joseph Michael and a team of eight film-makers head to Antarctica on a yacht, to record the sights and sounds of icebergs.
2/26/201722 minutes, 49 seconds
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The unusual case of the 'growing' glaciers

Glaciers around the world are melting and shrinking, but glaciologists have been investigating why some New Zealand glaciers bucked the trend between 1983 and 2005.
2/23/201710 minutes, 38 seconds
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Real or invisible threat?

Sonia Sly talks with psychologist Gwenda Willis about what drives our fears when confronted with the idea of living next door to a sex offender.
2/23/201722 minutes, 33 seconds
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Uncovering the past

Archaeologists have been working alongside the Milton community to excavate an old Anglican cemetery, to find 'lost burials' and restore the stories of early Otago farmers.
2/16/201726 minutes, 13 seconds
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Predator-free in the city

Wellington's Polhill Restoration Project volunteers are looking after rare birds such as nesting kaka and tieke that are spilling into the 'halo' around Zealandia Sanctuary.
2/9/201722 minutes, 57 seconds
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Maximising our children's potential

What sorts of hopes and dreams do parents have for their children, and do all Kiwi kids have the same opportunities to maximise their potential.
2/2/201723 minutes, 45 seconds
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Winners or losers? Antarctic starfish and climate change

Warming temperatures and increasing ocean acidity are looming climate change threats in Antarctica - and scientists are looking at their effect on Antarctic starfish.
1/26/201717 minutes, 1 second
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Quantum mechanics - do deep-sea bacteria do it?

Quantum mechanics describes how our universe behaves at an atomic level. It involves waves and particles, and deep-sea bacteria use it to harvest light very efficiently.
1/26/201713 minutes, 47 seconds
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Pharmac and its role in making drugs available

Science communication student Garrett Chin talks with doctors and a health economist about the challenges that Pharmac faces in buying drugs, and what happens when new but expensvie drugs become available.
1/17/201710 minutes, 7 seconds
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Museums and their role in modern society

Emma Hanisch, a student at the University of Otago, loves museums - and she wonders what needs to be done to keep them relevant and exciting.
1/16/201712 minutes, 6 seconds
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Did early Polynesians sail to the Americas?

Science communications student Ellen Rykers ponders the Polynesians and their journeys around the Pacific, wondering where they might have got to.
1/10/201713 minutes, 8 seconds
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Hedgehogs – good or bad?

Hedgehogs are cute - but they're also deadly killers. Science communication student Harriet Ampt is investigating.
1/9/201712 minutes, 56 seconds
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Bioethics

Science communication student Charlotte Panton discusses bioethics and forensic science, and wonders how we decide what is acceptable when it comes to using animals in science.
1/4/201713 minutes, 12 seconds
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Medicinal cannabis

Medicinal marijuana, the pros and cons, is the subject of an interview between science communication student Colin Smillie and Abe Gray.
1/2/201710 minutes, 33 seconds
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Genetic modification - a science communication podcast

University of Otago science communication student Amy Smith discusses genetic modification with two microbiologists.
12/27/20169 minutes, 58 seconds
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Uplifted - marine life on the Kaikōura coast after the quake

The Kaikōura Peninsula was uplifted 1 metre during the magnitude 7.8 earthquake - and marine life on the rocky shore was left high and dry.
12/22/201626 minutes, 18 seconds
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Surviving life on the outside

Sonia Sly finds out about a psychological programme to help offenders better adjust to living in the community when they are released from prison.
12/15/201617 minutes, 57 seconds
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From wine waste to safer food packaging

University of Auckland researchers are using tannin-rich wine waste to create safer food packaging that has antibacterial properties.
12/15/20168 minutes, 42 seconds
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When the Kekerengu Fault ruptured

Geologists are combing the ground in the wake of the 7.8M Kaikōura earthquake looking for clues, to understand what happened when 9 faults rupture at the same time.
12/8/201614 minutes, 21 seconds
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Climathon - new ideas to deal with climate change

Take a hundred people motivated to do something about climate change, give them 24 hours to brainstorm ideas about practical solutions, do that around the world and you have a Climathon.
12/8/201613 minutes, 13 seconds
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Giant underwater landslide in the Kaikōura Canyon

The magnitude 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake triggered a massive underwater landslide that swept down the offshore canyon system and was still flowing more than 300 km away.
12/1/201624 minutes, 32 seconds
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When orchids smell like mushrooms - a tale of botanical deceit

Spider orchids that smell like mushrooms are fooling fungus gnats into pollinating them, and Carlos Lehnebach wants to find out more about this botanical deception.
12/1/201618 minutes, 21 seconds
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Mena the penguin-detector dog

Alastair Judkins is a penguin hunter - and his secret weapon is a 'super nose', a dog called Mena. Alison Ballance joins them on a little penguin search in Wellington.
11/24/201618 minutes, 5 seconds
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Science winners - 2016 Research Honours

The 2016 Research Honours have been awarded and we talk to the 2016 winners of the Rutherford, Macdiarmid and Callaghan medals.
11/24/201619 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Science Of... Snow

What is snow? How and where is it made? Why is it white? Alison Ballance and Katy Gosset head to Mt Ruapehu in search of the answers to all your questions about snow.
11/15/201630 minutes, 47 seconds
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The Science Of... Meth Houses

How safe are meth houses really? And what's it like to go inside? Katy Gosset and Alison Ballance take the plunge and ask how much meth is too much when it comes to setting a national standard?
11/8/201631 minutes, 43 seconds
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Written in stone - the first Māori gardens

The Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, in South Auckland, is home to New Zealand's earliest gardens and is a significant archaeological site.
11/3/201615 minutes, 5 seconds
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Tour de Science

David Klein is taking his award-winning one-man science show on tour, by bicycle, around small town community halls.
11/3/20167 minutes, 19 seconds
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1080 and science denial: an Our Changing World summit

A new book, Protecting Paradise, investigates the science of 1080, its use in protecting native wildlife in New Zealand, and the wider issue of science denial and science reporting in the media.
10/27/201639 minutes, 5 seconds
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Great white sharks of Australia and New Zealand

Electronic satellite tags have revealed details of the lives of great white sharks on either side of the Tasman Sea - and shown how the different populations are linked.
10/20/201624 minutes, 56 seconds
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Marine sponges may be climate change 'winners'

New research shows that ocean acidification may make some marine sponges more resilient in the face of climate change and warming water.
10/20/20169 minutes, 19 seconds
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In the footsteps of dinosaurs

Collingwood Area School students join GNS scientists in a search for dinosaur footprints on the shore of a Golden Bay estuary
10/13/201616 minutes, 22 seconds
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Muesli and sea ice - an unexpected maths tale

Industrial mathematician Mark McGuinness has applied maths to problems as varied as crispy cereal and the freezing of Antarctic sea ice.
10/13/20166 minutes, 53 seconds
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Nothing but the truth: can children be reliable eyewitnesses

Psychologist Deirdre Brown has been researching whether children are reliable eyewitnesses.
10/6/201616 minutes, 14 seconds
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Kākāpō - what genes can tell us

A new genetic study shows that a once abundant kākāpō population declined in numbers and genetic diversity soon after stoats were introduced in the late 1800s.
10/6/201611 minutes, 52 seconds
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When it comes to average, what does 'mean' mean?

Statistician Thomas Lumley explains different ways of calculating an average, and the difference between median and mean.
10/6/20164 minutes, 50 seconds
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Takahē - back from the brink

Joan Watson was there when takahē were rediscoverd in 1948, and DOC ranger Glen Greaves says the population of the giant flightless bird has just reached 300.
9/29/201625 minutes, 6 seconds
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Bad air is bad for health

Air pollution is the world's leading environmental risk factor for disease, and it causes early deaths even in clean countries such as New Zealand.
9/22/201611 minutes, 27 seconds
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How is the air up there?

Households in Rangiora are being wired up, inside and out, with small devices that measure wood smoke.
9/22/201610 minutes, 37 seconds
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Community conservation on the Kapiti Coast

Residents on the Kapiti coast north of Wellington are working together to improve biodiversity and create thriving ecosystems in their local neighbourhoods.
9/15/201625 minutes, 33 seconds
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The chemistry of disease

Guy Jameson has been awarded the Beatrice Hill Tinsley Medal for his work understanding the chemical structure of proteins that are important in diseases such as Parkinson's.
9/8/20167 minutes, 35 seconds
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Beatrice Hill Tinsley Medal

The New Zealand Association of Scientists has renamed their Research Medal to the Beatrice Hill Tinsley Medal, the first New Zealand science award named after a woman.
9/8/20162 minutes, 8 seconds
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Science communication - the art of listening

Geneticist Jean Fleming has won the NZAS Science Communicator Award, and she says that good science communication is about listening as well as talking.
9/8/20164 minutes, 3 seconds
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Copying nature to find new drugs

Margaret Brimble has been awarded the Marsden Medal for developing new drugs from natural bioactive substances. One of her new drugs is being fast-tracked in clinical trials.
9/8/20169 minutes, 48 seconds
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P53: the gene that causes - and cures - cancer

P53 is a cancer gene with a Jekyll and Hyde personality. It stops cancer tumours growing, but mutant versions of the gene actually cause cancer.
9/8/20167 minutes, 47 seconds
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Restoring the trees above and the fungi below

Ecologists are investigating the best ways to replant native plants to restore lost forests and wetlands, and are finding out if underground fungi play a role.
9/1/201615 minutes, 3 seconds
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Fish-friendly city streams

Environment Waikato is helping native fish commute up urban streams by providing aids such as ropes running through culverts and pipes.
9/1/201610 minutes, 1 second
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Solving the penguin housing crisis - one home at a time

Conservation groups are replanting native vegetation around Wellington's Miramar Peninsula to provide safe homes for little blue penguins and food for other native birds.
8/25/20166 minutes, 32 seconds
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'Dimorphism' - a poem by Janis Freegard

Poet Janis Freegard reads 'Dimorphism', from her poetry book The Glass Rooster, comparing divaricating plants to cushion plants.
8/25/20162 minutes, 7 seconds
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Glow in the dark - firefly squid and bioluminescence

Miriam Sharpe and Kurt Krause are investigating the proteins that glow worms and firefly squid use to glow in the dark.
8/25/201613 minutes, 35 seconds
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Online dating and the game of love: a psychologist’s approach

Online dating is a popular way of meeting people, and Sonia Sly finds out some of the benefits and pitfalls of starting relationships online.
8/18/201611 minutes, 53 seconds
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When the ground starts shaking - GeoNet turns 15

There are about 57 earthquakes every day in New Zealand - and over 15 years GeoNet has recorded more than 314,000 of them.
8/18/201617 minutes, 14 seconds
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Looking to the future with biologist Corey Bradshaw

Biologist Corey Bradshaw spends his time considering the future of humanity and the natural world in the face of rapid environmental change.
8/11/201625 minutes
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Speaking out for science

The Royal Society of NZ has released guidelines for scientists on public engagement. The NZ Association of Scientists President responds.
8/11/20162 minutes, 45 seconds
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'Milk on a disc'

Shining a light on milk to reveal its secrets will allow 'point of cow diagnostics' about the quality of milk and the health of individual dairy cows.
8/11/20168 minutes, 37 seconds
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A conservation summit on Predator Free NZ 2050

Three leading eradication experts talk about Predator Free New Zealand 2050, including the social aspects of engaging communities and the need to develop new tools to better control rats, stoats and possums.
8/4/201629 minutes, 55 seconds
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Climate Kit - when technology meets climate action

Sara Dean and Beth Ferguson are American designers whose projects include using Twitter to help Jakarta residents know about floods, and creating accessible solar charging stations.
8/4/201610 minutes, 41 seconds
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Rogue waves

Rogue waves are rare, massive waves and Craig Stevens explains that although 'we know one when we see one' we don't understand how they form.
7/28/20165 minutes, 27 seconds
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Inspired by Science

Year-6 students Ava Beens and Eilish Cassidy take part in the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, and give a 2-minute speech on what inspires them about science.
7/28/20164 minutes, 20 seconds
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Project Activate - swimming in a flume

Project Activate involved a group of 12-year-old Pacific Island students learning about healthy living and science - and it included a swim in a research flume pool.
7/28/201611 minutes, 17 seconds
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3D printing a bionic arm

As part of the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, teenager Corey Symon was gifted a 3D-printed bionic arm by Limbitless Solutions.
7/21/201610 minutes, 58 seconds
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Hunted to extinction - the Chatham Island sea lion

Within 200 years of settling the Chatham Islands, Moriori had hunted the local sea lion to extinction. What lessons can we learn from that?
7/21/201614 minutes
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Changing times at Our Changing World

As Our Changing World is about to change to a shorter format, Veronika Meduna looks back at some of her favourite stories about science and the environment.
7/14/201625 minutes, 51 seconds
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Marine science round-up

A medley of marine science news including the challenges facing mussel bed restoration in the Hauraki Gulf, a multi-level habitat cascade that depends on cockles at its base, the discovery that prickly dogfish eat the eggs of other deep sea sharks, and Antarctic toothfish eggs, discovered for the first time in the Ross Sea in mid-winter.
7/14/201618 minutes, 9 seconds
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Exactly where is sea level? Gravity can tell us

After two years of measuring gravity from a plane, LINZ has just released a new vertical datum for New Zealand and its coastal seas. This allows the accurate measurement of sea level.
7/14/201616 minutes, 6 seconds
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Taniwha - the human-powered submarine

Team Taniwha, from the University of Auckland, has designed and built a human-powered submarine, that has borrowed ideas from leather-jacket fish, and currently holds the world record for a non-propellor submarine.
7/7/201612 minutes, 59 seconds
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Rarest sea lions in the world - and the threats they face

New Zealand sea lions are the rarest sea lion in the world. They face a number of threats, including disease, food limitation and by-catch in commercial fisheries - so which threat is most important?
7/7/201615 minutes, 53 seconds
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Wairau Bar: How it all began

Veronika Meduna joins Rangitane iwi members and scientists at Wairau Bar, New Zealand's most significant archaeological site, to find out about the place and its people, who were among the first to step ashore in Aotearoa.
7/7/201626 minutes, 26 seconds
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World’s largest telescope to track the dawn of the cosmos

In the middle of the Australian outback, scientists are building the world's largest radio telescope. Veronika Meduna pays a visit.
6/30/201618 minutes, 10 seconds
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Assisted evolution of corals

Veronika Meduna explores the controversial idea of assisted evolution, and whether it could help scientists identify coral species that could better adapt to warming ocean temperatures and acidification.
6/30/201612 minutes, 39 seconds
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Koala genome

Veronika Meduna meets wildlife geneticist Rebecca Johnson to discuss how genomics can help with efforts to protect the koala.
6/30/201610 minutes, 52 seconds
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Native seed bank

The New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank is collecting and storing the seeds of native plants as a long-term insurance policy to ensure the survival of species.
6/30/201615 minutes, 52 seconds
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The garden bird survey turns 10

More than a million birds have been counted in the last nine years of the garden bird survey, and sparrows and silvereyes consistently top the rankings.
6/23/201615 minutes, 30 seconds
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Synchrotron science: from cancer drugs to sheep skin leather

Veronika Meduna meets Kiwi scientist Tom Caradoc-Davies to find out how he uses the Australian synchrotron to work out the 3D structure of proteins to make cancer drugs more specific.
6/23/201610 minutes
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Biocontrol - fighting bad weeds

Seed-eating weevils are one of the latest biocontrol agents introduced into New Zealand to control the invasive weed, Darwin's barberry.
6/23/201615 minutes, 46 seconds
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Restoring hearing

Veronika Meduna visits Cochlear, a medical device company that produces bionic ears, to find out how cochlear implants could help some of the 700,000 New Zealanders who live with a hearing disability.
6/23/201613 minutes, 4 seconds
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DNA transfer between brain cells

Malaghan Institute scientist Mike Berridge recently discovered a fundamentally new process of mitochondrial DNA transfer between cells. He now investigates whether this is also the case between brain cancer cells.
6/16/201611 minutes, 30 seconds
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Gotta have skin

A tougher artificial skin, that is quick to grow in the lab, could revolutionise the treament of burn victims and increase their chance of survival.
6/16/201616 minutes, 17 seconds
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Big hopes for tiny wasp mite

A tiny mite, that could transmit diseases such as viruses, is being investigated as a possible biocontrol agent for introduced social wasps.
6/16/201613 minutes, 16 seconds
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Microbes and moods

We are more microbe than human, and our microbiome may be affecting our brain, moods and behaviour.
6/16/201612 minutes, 43 seconds
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Pesticide bad news for bee learning and memory

Chemists and zoologists have teamed up to investigate the impact of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on bee learning and memory
6/16/201617 minutes, 39 seconds
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Genome sequencing - a how-to-guide

If you want to sequence a genome then a company like New Zealand Genomics Ltd has the equipment and expertise to produce and manage the large amounts of data.
6/9/201626 minutes, 28 seconds
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Future of sea level rise science

John Church, an expert on sea level rise and one of the scientists who could lose his job at CSIRO, discusses how ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are contributing to sea level rise now and in the future.
6/9/201614 minutes, 41 seconds
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Diatom blooms, extinctions and climate

Phytoplankton, which accounts for half of the planet's total biological productivity, leave a clear fossil footprint, which allows palaeontologists to trace past environmental change and extinction rates.
6/9/20165 minutes, 9 seconds
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Citizen science: large brown seaweeds

Marine scientists are calling on the public to help them get a better idea of the distribution of large brown seaweeds along the coast of New Zealand.
6/9/20168 minutes, 30 seconds
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New search of the cosmos

The University of Auckland is joining one of the most ambitious astronomy projects ever to scour the southern skies for extrasolar planets – while testing theories about the origins of the universe and probing for dark energy.
6/7/20165 minutes, 9 seconds
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Smart kaka - can you teach old parrots new tricks?

The kaka, or forest parrot, has had its IQ tested for the first time - and in some experiments young naive birds were better problem solvers than older birds that were stuck in their ways.
6/2/201613 minutes, 8 seconds
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Acid test for coastal seas

The ocean is becoming more acidic, and this change is most pronounced in coastal seas. Marine scientists have received $4.9 million to work out what is going on and how this affects marine life along the coast.
6/2/201614 minutes, 3 seconds
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The virus hunter and the rare plant

Virus hunter and botanist Paul Guy has been called in to help threatened native cress plants that are being infected by three different brassica viruses.
6/2/201612 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tuning into whale song

NIWA marine ecologist Kim Goetz is setting up acoustic monitoring stations in Cook Strait to eavesdrop on whales and dolphins as they migrate through New Zealand waters.
6/2/201610 minutes, 8 seconds
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Healthy homes: a breath of fresh air

Veronika Meduna joins BRANZ physicist Manfred Plagmann as he equips a home with sensors that track how heat and moisture move through the rooms.
5/26/201612 minutes, 47 seconds
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Solar storms and electricity supply

Craig Rodger explains how large solar storms can overwhelm the protective shield of the earth's magnetic field and disrupt national power grids.
5/26/201614 minutes, 33 seconds
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Learning from past floods

University of Waikato professor of environmental planning Iain White argues that our 'same again' response to flooding is hindering our ability to plan more effectively.
5/26/201612 minutes, 39 seconds
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Birds, feather colour – and sex

Why are some male birds brighter and showier than females of the same species, and sometimes both are bright? Sexual selection, size and living in the tropics are all part of the answer.
5/26/201615 minutes, 18 seconds
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Fat Science

Auckland diabetes specialist Robyn Toomath argues that society is to blame for the rise in obesity, and Massey University sociologist and runner Andrew Dickson shares his experience of being a big athlete.
5/19/201624 minutes, 4 seconds
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Lipoprotein(a) - little known but high risk for heart disease

Lipoprotein(a) increases the risk of heart disease in 20% of people and doesn't respond to diet or exercise, so the hunt is on to find a treatment.
5/19/201612 minutes, 14 seconds
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Timing the Anthropocene

Later in 2016, an international group will decide if the Holocene has given way to a new geological period marked by our impact. NIWA geochemist Helen Bostok gives a Southern Hemisphere perspective on the debate.
5/19/201612 minutes, 10 seconds
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Goodie goodie - bird watching with Bill Oddie

Use your ears and spend time on your own just listening and observing birds - good advice from one of the world's best known bird-watchers and ex-Goodie, Bill Oddie.
5/19/201615 minutes, 35 seconds
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Dunedin's royal albatrosses and #royalcam

There are 26 chicks in the royal albatross colony at Dunedin's Taiaroa Head this year - and the #royalcam chick is very much in the public spotlight.
5/12/201619 minutes, 23 seconds
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Hand-rearing kākāpō chicks

Veronika Meduna visits a veterinary facility in Invercargill where staff look after kākāpō chicks that had to be taken off their island homes to be hand-reared.
5/12/20169 minutes, 16 seconds
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Silencing science

Shaun Hendy, the director of the centre of research excellence The Pūnaha Matatini, discusses his latest book, Silencing Science, in which he tackles the issue of why scientists are often reluctant to speak out publicly.
5/12/201615 minutes, 9 seconds
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The swallowing robot

A soft, swallowing robot that mimics the human oesophagus is being developed as a tool that food technologists could use to design better food for people with swallowing difficulties
5/12/20169 minutes, 17 seconds
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Shedding light on Māori health

Victoria University molecular geneticist Geoff Chambers is challenging the one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare, arguing that genes linked to the immune system of Māori and Pasifika people differ from those of Pākehā.
5/12/201614 minutes, 32 seconds
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Whitebait mysteries – unravelling the lives of baby native fish

Baby native fish are in the spotlight as freshwater biologists unravel the mysteries of where these tiny creatures go in the first weeks of their lives.
5/5/201613 minutes, 16 seconds
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Tim Flannery: an atmosphere of hope

Tim Flannery discusses his latest book, Atmosphere of Hope, and why he is hopeful that we will tackle climate change.
5/5/201614 minutes, 52 seconds
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Genetic impacts of crop domestication

Scientists at Te Papa Tongarewa are using some of New Zealand's endemic plants and DNA sequencing tools to track how genetic diversity changes during of the process of crop domestication.
5/5/201614 minutes, 50 seconds
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Flicking the switch for electric cars

A switch to electric transport could go a long way towards reducing New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. Veronika Meduna takes a road trip with other electric car owners.
4/28/201614 minutes, 2 seconds
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Acting on climate change - Royal Society of NZ report

In its latest report on climate change, the Royal Society of New Zealand lays out options for how we coudl reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
4/28/201631 minutes, 51 seconds
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Thar she goes! On the tail of the Kermadec humpback whales

Satellite tagging has revealed that humpback whales that breed in Oceania socialise at Raoul Island in the Kermadecs and has shown where in Antarctica they go to feed.
4/28/201614 minutes, 46 seconds
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Nematodes from the deep

Sediment samples collected from 6,000 - 9,000m deep in the Kermadec Trench were teeming with tiny nematode worms – over 100 new species were collected from just four samples.
4/28/20166 minutes, 20 seconds
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Survivors - New Zealand's tiny native frogs

After 35 years of counting threatened Archey's frog on the Coromandel Peninsula, Ben Bell has seen their numbers crash due to the chytrid fungal disease, and the population slowly recover.
4/28/201613 minutes, 13 seconds
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Points, lines and polygons - the art of making maps

The 451 topographic maps that cover the length and breadth of New Zealand are a testament to the skills of a team of map makers at LINZ.
4/21/201617 minutes, 38 seconds
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Marine maternity ward

Staff at the Island Bay Marine Education Centre have played midwife to baby carpet sharks that hatched almost a year after a female shark deposited the egg cases in a tank.
4/21/20169 minutes, 11 seconds
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Shy fish, bold fish - insights into the lives of native fish

To understand the food webs of ponds and lakes you need to understand the personalities and lives of individual fish
4/21/201614 minutes, 9 seconds
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Report brings climate change home

A new report published by the Royal Society of New Zealand highlights six key climate change implications for New Zealand.
4/21/201619 minutes, 3 seconds
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An ode to mangroves

Mangroves have a mixed reputation, with some people thinking of them as weeds while others, including writer Kennedy Warne, value them for their ecosystem function and as a natural breakwater.
4/14/201616 minutes, 10 seconds
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Yellow-eyed penguin numbers hit new low

Yellow-eyed penguins have hit their lowest numbers on mainland New Zealand since the early 1990s, and it's the result of a number of issues in the marine environment
4/14/20167 minutes, 7 seconds
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Long live the tapeworm - why parasites are a good idea

In a novel extension of the 'hygeine hypothesis', biologists argue we should save the parasites of endangered species for the sake of their host's immune system.
4/14/20166 minutes, 2 seconds
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Preventing dementia

Dementia researchers are looking for people with mild cognitive impairment for a longitudinal study to explore how Alzheimer's Disease develops from early stages of memory loss.
4/14/201614 minutes, 51 seconds
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Good for your joints - a smart device to improve how you walk

Smart socks and an ankle bracelet that uses small vibration motors might help us to retrain how we walk and stave off joint surgery
4/14/201614 minutes, 18 seconds
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Three decades on the tail of Hector’s dolphins

After more than 30 years of studying the world's smallest dolphins Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson still enjoy getting out on the water to observe Hector's dolphins, writes Alison Ballance.
4/7/201618 minutes, 9 seconds
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When a river meets the sea

NIWA oceanographers are using Deep Cove in Doubtful Sound, where the tailrace from the Manapouri power station flows into the sea, as a natural laboratory to study complex fluid dynamics.
4/7/201611 minutes, 40 seconds
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E-textiles and smart fabrics

Smart fabrics and e-textiles are a blend of fashion and technology, and can include knitted fabric that has electronic sensors woven into it.
4/7/201613 minutes, 54 seconds
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Search for early signals of dementia with Parkinson's disease

Brain imaging scientist Tracy Melzer is using MRI scans to look for changes in the brain that could predict if a person with Parkinson's Disease will develop dementia.
4/7/201615 minutes, 28 seconds
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The art of science advice

New Zealand's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, and Australia's newly-appointed chief scientist Alan Finkel discuss how their countries could work together for the good of science and innovation.
3/31/201619 minutes, 48 seconds
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Dunnocks - and what bird sperm can tell us

Bird sperm from native species such as robins, as well as introduced dunnocks from Dunedin, may shed light on problems with male fertility and infertile eggs.
3/31/201623 minutes, 37 seconds
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Hands-on geology at the marae

GNS Science scientists work together with Ngati Kahungunu to run marae-based workshops on geological hazards, natural resources and climate change.
3/31/201615 minutes, 57 seconds
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Restoring nature at Nelson's Brook Waimarama Sanctuary

A 14.5 kilometre-long pest proof fence will soon be keeping nature safe from invasive animals, in a nearly 700-hectare forest sanctuary on the outskirts of Nelson
3/24/201626 minutes, 7 seconds
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Making sense of the code of life

BBC broadcaster Adam Rutherford discusses how genomics is changing how we think about medicine, agriculture, conservation and even our relationship to our nearest evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals.
3/24/201620 minutes, 35 seconds
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Tracking the health of kaimoana off Taranaki coast

A local hapu, New Plymouth residents and marine scientists have set up a group to monitor the health of kaimoana on the reefs off Waitara, on the Taranaki coast.
3/24/201612 minutes, 59 seconds
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New Zealand leads world in island conservation

A new study shows that getting rid of invasive mammals from islands has an enormous positive benefit for rare native species.
3/21/201614 minutes, 44 seconds
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Hairy elephants and transgenic aphids

University of Otago geneticists Peter Dearden and Neil Gemmell continue their discussion of the gene editing tool CRISPR and its use in genomics, conservation and de-extinction.
3/17/201618 minutes, 5 seconds
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Using light and electricity to study individual brain cells

Optogenetics uses light to target individual cells, and Peter Freestone is using it to better understand Parkinson's disease and the role of endocannabinoids in how brain cells communicate.
3/17/201611 minutes, 45 seconds
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New Zealand's prehistoric polar forests

A team of Australian and New Zealand fossil hunters on a National Geographic expedition spent weeks scouring sites in Marlborough and on the Chatham Islands for remnants of prehistoric polar forests.
3/17/201617 minutes, 39 seconds
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CarpN Neutral - doing good things with bad koi carp

Introduced koi carp are a nuisance in lakes and rivers in the Waikato, and the CarpN Neutral project catches them and turns their bodies into fertiliser for use in native revegetation programmes.
3/17/201614 minutes, 52 seconds
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Agriculture blamed for recent rise in methane

Scientists have found that the increase of methane in the atmosphere since 2007 has been caused by agriculture rather than fossil fuel production.
3/10/201610 minutes, 6 seconds
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The 'smarts' behind a smart motorway

Bluetooth signals from passing cars and a world-first predictive traffic model that generates travel times and optimum driving speeds are just some of the technology behind the new Wellington smart motorway.
3/10/201612 minutes, 4 seconds
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The CRISPR dilemma

CRISPR is the new buzzword in genetics, and University of Otago geneticists Peter Dearden and Neil Gemmell discuss the potential benefits and risks of the new gene editing tool.
3/10/201615 minutes, 31 seconds
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Truffle-like fungi: what their genes can tell us

Truffle-like fungi are related to mushrooms but look like truffles, and geneticists around the world are studying their genomes to understand how they have all co-evolved.
3/10/201613 minutes, 1 second
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Survival of the oldest

Palaeontologists studying an ancient group of extinct marine plankton find surprising results about which species are vulnerable to extinction.
3/10/201620 minutes, 33 seconds
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Lake Ohau reveals climate history

Scientists reveal the climate history hidden in the mud at the bottom of Lake Ohau, reaching back to the end of the last Ice Age some 18,000 years ago.
3/3/201620 minutes, 28 seconds
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A new future for marine protected areas in New Zealand

Environment Minister Nick Smith is championing new legislation for marine protected areas, and Raewyn Peart from the Environmental Defence Society has some thoughts on its strengths and weaknesses.
3/3/201620 minutes, 6 seconds
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Poetry and science inspired by Transit of Venus

A book of poetry celebrates the inspiration poets, scientists and the Uawa/Tolaga Bay community have drawn from the 2012 Transit of Venus.
3/3/20168 minutes, 38 seconds
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Deterring sharks with electricity

Sunkita Howard is developing an electrical deterrent to discourage spiny dogfish from getting caught on fishing hooks used in the ling longline fishery.
3/3/201613 minutes, 4 seconds
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Hangi stones and magnetism

Hangi or oven stones are a record of the earth's magnetic field at the time they were heated and cooled, and they show a remarkable history of New Zealand's magnetic field for the past 600 years.
2/25/201615 minutes, 26 seconds
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Facing the reality of climate change

Climate scientist Will Steffen, at the Australian National University, argues that to limit the impacts of climate change on island nations in the Pacific may require technology that takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
2/25/20165 minutes, 39 seconds
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An albatross chick's flowerpot is its castle

The Chatham Island Taiko Trust has made flowerpot nests for 50 Chatham Island albatross chicks that are part of a pioneering translocation from The Pyramid to the main Chatham Island.
2/25/20164 minutes, 29 seconds
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Taiko take off

With just 120-or-so known adult birds, 21 new chicks are a very welcome addition to the Chatham Island taiko population.
2/25/20163 minutes, 48 seconds
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Booming kakapo numbers

The endangered kakapo is in the middle of a bumper breeding year that looks set to be the best ever, and conservationists are looking foward to the resulting population boom.
2/25/20167 minutes, 12 seconds
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Antarctica's ice sheets more sensitive to warming

An international team of scientists found that Antarctica's land-based ice sheets are more vulnerable to rising temperatures than they previously thought.
2/25/20166 minutes, 12 seconds
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Technology and learning

Veronika Meduna joins a school group for a morning at MindLab, using fruit and vegetables to build musical instruments.
2/25/201618 minutes, 10 seconds
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Eye of the storm - climate change in the Pacific

Kiribati president Anote Tong calls on political leaders to help low-lying Pacific island nations to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
2/18/201614 minutes, 7 seconds
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Spotted skinks on the move

Nearly a hundred spotted skinks were recently transferred from Matiu Somes Island to Zealandia Sanctuary in Wellington.
2/18/201614 minutes, 16 seconds
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Cheaper, greener and bendier solar cells

Victoria University chemist Jonathan Halpert discusses nano-scale materials he investigates for future photovoltaic cells.
2/18/201620 minutes, 33 seconds
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Beetle versus spider

Jackie Spencer is investigating how the introduced venomous redback spider is affecting the threatened Cromwell chafer beetle, and what role rabbits play in the one-sided battle
2/18/201611 minutes, 29 seconds
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LIGO 'sees' gravitational waves

Researchers at the LIGO observatory have announced the direct observation of gravitational waves, which have been predicted by Albert Einstein just over a century ago.
2/11/20163 minutes, 22 seconds
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Could Alzheimers disease be preventable?

Alzheimers Disease and other forms of dementia may not be an inevitable part of ageing but preventable with some simple lifestyle changes, according to Oxford University emeritus professor David Smith.
2/11/201613 minutes, 22 seconds
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Ecoblitz

An Ecoblitz combines measuring ecological diversity with enthusing high school students about science and their local environment
2/11/201625 minutes, 47 seconds
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In pursuit of the yellow octopus

NIWA fisheries scientists are surveying the prey species of the New Zealand sea lion, including the elusive yellow octopus, to find out how hard the endagered marine mammals have to work for their food.
2/11/201615 minutes, 52 seconds
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Genome sequencing every living kakapo

In an ambitious world-first, scientists are using crowd-funding to pay for genome sequences for all 125 living kakapo - the first time an entire population will be sequenced.
2/4/201610 minutes, 31 seconds
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Convicted for science

Italian seismologist Giulio Selvaggi is visiting New Zealand to talk about his experience of being first convicted, and then acquitted, of manslaughter following a deadly earthquake in the Italian city of L'Aquila in 2009.
2/4/201619 minutes, 25 seconds
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Gold nuggets - formed by bacteria?

Geologists wonder if bacteria and biological processes might play a role in the growth of gold nuggets in Central Otago rivers, as well as chemical and physical processes.
2/4/201613 minutes, 54 seconds
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Sexism in science

Theoretical chemist Nicola Gaston discusses her book about sexism in science and why she thinks the problem is pervasive and systemic.
2/4/201612 minutes, 56 seconds
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Booming bitterns

Australasian bitterns are one of New Zealand's most cryptic and threatened wetland birds, and the males attract females with a deep foghorn boom.
2/4/201614 minutes, 27 seconds
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The 'pee' in pest control - developing super lures

A team of biologists and chemists are developing super lures, based on pheromones found in animal urine, that they hope will be more attractive and longer lasting than food lures
1/28/201625 minutes, 6 seconds
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Alien invasions in Antarctica

Pete Convey, a polar ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey, discusses how growing numbers of tourists and a changing climate increase the risk of species invasions.
1/28/201620 minutes, 29 seconds
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'Physics is cool' - nanocamper

Year 12 and 13 students join scientists at the MacDiarmid Institute for a week-long nanocamp of experimentation and learning.
1/28/201611 minutes, 42 seconds
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Citizen science: giving ruru a helping hand

The ruru, or morepork, is our only surviving native owl and locals living on Banks Peninsula are giving them a helping hand by providing luxury accommodation.
1/21/201618 minutes, 4 seconds
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Defining the Anthropocene

Geologists will decide later this year whether to add a new human created epoch - the Anthropocene - to the geological time scale
1/21/201612 minutes, 54 seconds
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New Zealand's super diversity

Auckland's Dalmatian community has contributed to a genetic survey of New Zealand, which shows that just about all of the world's genetic lineages are represented in New Zealand.
1/21/201613 minutes, 7 seconds
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Lake Wanaka's grebes

John Darby began building floating nest platforms for Lake Wanaka's grebes three years ago - and they're a resounding success
1/21/201621 minutes, 24 seconds
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Dark skies, happy aurora watchers

Science communication student Pam Cornes finds out what motivates Dunedin's keen band of aurora watchers and night sky enthusiasts, and hears why they are pushing for the city to be part of a Dark Sky initiative
1/11/201612 minutes, 33 seconds
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Say a prayer for me

Science commuication student Evan Balkcom investigates the internal effects of prayer, from the point of view of psycholgists and people who regularly pray
1/11/201612 minutes, 31 seconds
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A possum-free Otago Peninsula

Science communication student Guy Frederick catches up with the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group to hear how their plan to get rid of possums on the peninsula is coming along
1/4/201612 minutes, 11 seconds
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Urban wildlife - should we care?

Wildlife management student Hannah Murdoch investigates the issue of urban wildlife and urban biodiversity
1/4/201612 minutes, 36 seconds
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Living with Parkinson's disease

Science communication student Steve Banks talks with clinical neurologist Martin Pollock about living with Parkinson's disease, and with neuroscientist John Reynolds about research into the disease
1/4/201613 minutes, 22 seconds
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Coastal erosion: people versus nature

Science communication student Sam Fraser-Baxter investigates coastal erosion at Dunedin's famous surf beach St Clair, and talks with locals about the ongoing problems
1/4/201613 minutes, 1 second
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Gearhead Granny

Science communication student Siana Fitzjohn talks with climate activist Rosemary Penwarden about living a low carbon lifestyle and the 'electric-ute' car converted to run on electricity
1/4/201612 minutes, 56 seconds
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The Palmy Dirty 30 challenge

Palmy Dirty 30 is a new parent-led initiative to get children to spend more time outdoors.
12/17/20153 minutes, 56 seconds
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Damselflies - fast blue and slow red

PhD student Tanya Dann has been investigating the different speed lifestyles that two New Zealand damselfly species have
12/17/201511 minutes, 54 seconds
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The legacy of Riccarton Bush

Riccarton Bush in Christchurch contains the last remnant of a kahikatea floodplain forest in Canterbury, thanks to the Deans family's early conservation efforts.
12/17/201510 minutes, 45 seconds
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The importance of taxonomy and biological collections

The report on 'National Taxonomic Collections in New Zealand' recommends more secure funding and greater national coordination for the country's 29 significant biological collections
12/17/201515 minutes, 44 seconds
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A century with Einstein

2015 marks the centenary of Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, which explains how gravity works on objects, from falling apples to orbiting planets.
12/17/201510 minutes, 11 seconds
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Stories hidden in rocks

In this wrap of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand's annual conference, we explore what rocks tell us about our changing world.
12/10/201525 minutes, 37 seconds
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Lichen Quartet - a poem

Poet Janis Freegard reads 'Lichen Quartet' from her poetry book 'The Glass Rooster' (AUP 2015)
12/10/20151 minute, 30 seconds
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Wetland wanderings in the Whangamarino

Alison Ballance joins freshwater fish expert Stella McQueen in one of New Zealand’s largest bogs – the Waikato’s Whangamarino wetland – in search of fernbirds, spotless crake and mudfish
12/10/201510 minutes, 24 seconds
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Lampreys aka 'vampire fish'

Lampreys are eel-like jawless fish, related to sharks, that spend their lives in fresh and salt water, and at sea they use their sucker-like mouths to attach to large animals to feed
12/10/201516 minutes, 7 seconds
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Ecology in action

Big declines in numbers of forest birds and native moths, revelations that kiore ate moa, and the discovery of Asian as well as European house mice in New Zealand are amongst the latest ecology news
12/3/201529 minutes, 43 seconds
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First global assessment of soil quality

December 5 is World Soil Day and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization is preparing for the release of the world's first report on the quality of our soils.
12/3/201516 minutes, 37 seconds
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Protecting grape vines from leafroll virus

Researchers at Plant and Food Research are developing an array of visual and molecular tools to help combat leafroll virus in grape vines
12/3/201512 minutes, 44 seconds
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Limiting nitrate leaching on dairy farms

Massey University soil scientists are investigating how taking cows off paddocks during certain times of the year could significantly reduce the amount of nitrate leaching into waterways.
11/26/201517 minutes, 12 seconds
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Life at the edge

Light is crucial to the creatures that live on the ocean floor around Antarctica, but they have to get by without it for several weeks. NIWA marine ecologist Vonda Cummings explains how.
11/26/20159 minutes, 33 seconds
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Tea bag science

Tea bags containing red and green tea leaves have been buried in the soil for three months, to give insights into tussock grassland ecosystems and how they are being affected by climate change
11/26/201512 minutes, 43 seconds
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'This issue will define my generation'

A group of young New Zealand is heading to Paris as part of the official Youth Delegation to observe the UN climate talks.
11/26/201515 minutes, 22 seconds
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Antarctic glacier's past rapid retreat

Research published today provides the first geological evidence for the potential of runaway ice loss in Antarctica.
11/26/20159 minutes, 47 seconds
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The sound of shark skin

The prickly dogfish is a small deepsea shark with very rough skin. Shark skin is made from 'dermal denticles' which are like teeth
11/19/201547 seconds
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Fishes of New Zealand

The Fishes of New Zealand is the first definitive guide to all of our freshwater and marine fishes since 1872, and it includes more than 1260 species
11/19/201518 minutes, 31 seconds
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Sir James Hector's scientific legacy

Science historian Simon Nathan discusses his biography of Sir James Hector, New Zealand's first government scientist.
11/19/201515 minutes, 18 seconds
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Coastal crabs - a go-to-guide

NIWA has produced some electronic field guides to coastal creatures, including one on crabs
11/19/201513 minutes, 2 seconds
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The good and the bad of sunshine

Material scientist Martin Allen has developed wearable UV sensors that allow school children to monitor their exposure to the sun's ultra-violet radiation.
11/19/201512 minutes, 3 seconds
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Crushing mussels, crunching data

They call it the 'mussel crusher', a machine developed by NIWA to test the strength of New Zealand mussel shells and help the local aquaculture industry
11/12/201512 minutes, 12 seconds
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'Smart' glove

The prototype of a haptic feedback glove is being used to control a flight simulator but could have future use in physiotherapy
11/12/201513 minutes, 11 seconds
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Smart birds net researcher PM's Emerging Scientist Prize

Research into intelligence in New Caledonian crows has won Alex Taylor the 2015 Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize
11/12/201513 minutes, 1 second
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Top science prize for myth-busting bone research team

The 2015 Prime Minister's Science Prize goes to osteoporosis researchers Ian Reid, Mark Bolland and Andrew Grey. Ian Reid also won the Rutherford Medal and Liley Medal
11/12/201525 minutes, 34 seconds
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Mars Mission: a mental journey

As NASA considers a mission to Mars, it is investigating what happens to an astronaut's brain during long-duration space travel.
11/5/201512 minutes, 28 seconds
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A journey through the Anthropocene

Gaia Vince is the author of Adventures in the Anthropocene, which won the 2015 Winton Science Book Prize.
11/5/201515 minutes, 22 seconds
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Celebrating great ideas for Nature

The WWF Conservation Innovations awards recognise the best ideas that help conservation projects to succeed.
11/5/201512 minutes, 41 seconds
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Healthy streams - healthy harbour

Whaingaroa Harbour Care have planted more than 1.4 million native plants along streams around Raglan,and the harbour is much cleaner as a result
11/5/201514 minutes, 42 seconds
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Bill Ballantine: New Zealand's pioneer of marine conservation

A tribute to Bill Ballantine, New Zealand's tireless campaigner for the protection of our oceans, who died this week at the age of 78.
11/5/201511 minutes, 50 seconds
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Kokopu condos and tuna townhouse

A housing project for native fish in suburban streams is hoping to provide safe refuges for giant kokopu and long-finned eels
10/29/201516 minutes, 33 seconds
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Eat better, think better - diet and the brain

Psychologists and nutritionists at the University of Otago are studying how diet can have a positive impact on heart and brain health
10/29/201510 minutes, 5 seconds
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Bending light in search for alien planets

Light has helped astronomers to discover many of the almost 2000 planets that orbit around stars outside our own solar system, thanks to Einstein.
10/29/201515 minutes, 37 seconds
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Saving the rarest of the rare - Endangered Species Foundation

The newly launched Endangered Species Foundation has identified some key threatened species that need urgent conservation work
10/29/201517 minutes, 27 seconds
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Hair of the kuri or Maori dog

Ecologist Cilla Wehi hopes that the hair and bones of kuri, or now extinct Maori dog, might hold clues to what they ate
10/22/201517 minutes, 9 seconds
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On the cusp of a solar revolution

Next generation printable and flexible solar cells, made with new materials, are part of a clean-energy revolution
10/22/201516 minutes, 20 seconds
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Wilding pines go up in flames in name of science

Scientists set fire to blocks of wilding pines to study whether chemicals used to control the weedy trees change the fire hazard.
10/22/201519 minutes, 14 seconds
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Global census of methane-producing microbes

A team of AgResearch scientists had analysed the rumen microbiome in different animals across the world and found similar methane-producing micro-organisms.
10/15/201517 minutes, 18 seconds
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Ultra-fast lasers

Ultra-fast lasers - or more properly ultra short-pulsed lasers - are very accurate, which makes them useful in industry and research
10/15/201513 minutes, 4 seconds
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Subtidal currents in Cook Strait

Cook Strait is known for its strong tidal currents, but NIWA oceanographers have completed comprehensive measurements of subtidal residual currents.
10/15/201514 minutes, 34 seconds
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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
10/15/201513 minutes, 41 seconds
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Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise

New research confirms that Antarctica will contribute sigificantly to future sea level rise unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed from 2020 onwards.
10/14/201511 minutes, 58 seconds
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Living in the age of resilience

French experts Pierre Ducret and Lucile Schmid discuss the social impacts of climate change and the challenges in building a fair, low-carbon economy.
10/8/20159 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wellington joins 100 Resilient Cities

Wellington recently joined the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities programme and urban planners are now mapping out a long-term resilience plan for the capital.
10/8/201515 minutes, 57 seconds
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Why kakariki are losing their feathers

Tiny skin mites are causing mange and feather loss amongst red-crowned parakeets on Tiritiri Matangi Island, and a screening programme is keeping an eye on the problem
10/8/201517 minutes, 3 seconds
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How best to invest in science

Motu's director Adam Jaffe responds to the government's science funding strategy and discusses recent research into the efficacy of the Marsden Fund.
10/8/201517 minutes, 41 seconds
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Science of stony soils and water

There are a million hectares of stony soils in New Zealand - and scientists are using lysimeters to measure how water and cow urine move through them
10/8/201514 minutes, 2 seconds
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Kermadec region becomes an open ocean sanctuary

This week, the government announced the creation of the Kermadec ocean sanctuary, which covers 620,000 square kilometres and bans mining, prospecting and fishing.
10/1/20154 minutes, 18 seconds
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Too much salt

We live in a high salt world, so how feasible is it in our current shopping environment to eat a low sodium diet
10/1/201515 minutes, 12 seconds
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Offsetting biodiversity losses

Environmental Defence Society policy analyst Marie Brown discusses the challenge of how development projects can offset biodiversity losses.
10/1/201514 minutes, 40 seconds
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Moving animals for conservation

There have been hundreds of relocations of animals for conservation reasons in New Zealand and Australia - so what lessons have we learnt
10/1/201513 minutes, 40 seconds
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Planning for a pandemic

The Great Barrier Island community discusses the frightening prospect that they could be the sole survivors after a global flu pandemic.
10/1/201513 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wildbase - a hospital dedicated to native wildlife

At Wildbase, New Zealand's only dedicated wildlife hospital, vets treat more than 300 native animals each year as well as doing research on conservation issues.
9/24/201521 minutes, 8 seconds
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Oil off a duck's back

It takes 400 litres of freshwater to clean a seabird that has been covered in oil, but new research using ducks shows that seawater is a viable alternative
9/24/201515 minutes, 46 seconds
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Rethinking enzyme evolution

Proteins have evolved over many millions of years - but they can also evolve rapidly, in just years, and this offers insights into how evolution itself works
9/24/201512 minutes, 45 seconds
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The worm returns

Many farms in New Zealand are missing deep burrowing earthworms, that can help better grass growth, so Nicole Schon is relocating worms to farms in need
9/24/201515 minutes, 4 seconds
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East Antarctica not a 'sleeping giant'

An expedition to east Antarctica's Totten glacier returns with evidence suggesting that east Antarctica may not be as resistant to melting as once thought.
9/17/201513 minutes, 30 seconds
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Viruses in invasive Argentine ants

Ecologists at Victoria University have discovered that the invasive Argentine ants host a virus associated with bee deaths.
9/17/20159 minutes, 32 seconds
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New Zealand's first national bee health survey

Bees are in trouble and to get a better idea of might be contributing to colony loses, Landcare Research is calling on beekeepers to help with a national survey.
9/17/201510 minutes, 57 seconds
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Shining a light on our biological clock

Guy Warman, at the University of Auckland, explores how anaesthesia affects the body's biological clock and whether light therapy could help reduce sleep disruption post surgery.
9/17/201511 minutes, 58 seconds
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'Orchard in a box' - using GM to breed better apples

A greenhouse that is also a strict containment facility allows scientists to experimentally add apple genes to apple trees to speed up the breeding of new varieties
9/17/201515 minutes, 38 seconds
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Does your first language influence your trombone playing?

Matthias Heyne is investigating whether the tongue positions we learn as part of our native language influences the way trombonists play their instruments
9/10/201513 minutes, 24 seconds
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New Zealand's rich diversity of soils

To mark the International Year of Soils, we look at New Zealand's rich diversity of soils
9/10/201517 minutes, 43 seconds
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Complexity, resilience and bees

Jason Tylianakis is an ecologist trying to understand how our complex natural world responds to change
9/10/201513 minutes, 18 seconds
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How kiwifruit helps control blood sugar

Food scientists are investigating breakfast cereals and combinations with kiwifruit in search of a breakfast that helps control blood sugar levels
9/10/201512 minutes, 35 seconds
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Psychology of Climate Change

Victoria University psychology lecturer Marc Wilson discusses why some people remain unsure about climate change, despite the overwhelming evidence.
9/3/201516 minutes, 33 seconds
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Theta-R - a sound and light installation

Among the works at the recent Lux festival in Wellington was an audiovisual kinetic sculpture called Theta-R
9/3/20154 minutes, 40 seconds
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'Albatross' - a poem

Janis Freegard reads her poem 'Albatross' from The Glass Rooster, published by Auckland University Press
9/3/20151 minute, 49 seconds
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Human hunting and Stewart Island Shags

Hunting by Maori had very different effects on the Stewart Island and Otago populations of Stewart Island shags.
9/3/20159 minutes, 7 seconds
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Junk Food: plastic pollution is a growing threat to seabirds

A new study says that 90% of the world's seabirds ingest plastic, and those seabirds that feed in the Tasman Sea are most at risk from plastic
9/3/201510 minutes, 19 seconds
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Mission Complete: New Zealand's first ocean glider takes to the seas

NIWA oceanographers retrieve an autonomous ocean glider after a successful two-week deployment to explore physical and biological properties of the ocean.
9/3/201512 minutes, 10 seconds
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Firing up the Plant Barbecue

To find the best plants to use in green firebreaks, biologists are testing the flammability of plants on the 'plant barbecue'
9/3/201528 minutes, 47 seconds
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Neutrinos - a Poem

Neutrinos is a poem by Janis Freegard from her collection The Glass Rooster, published by Auckland University Press
8/27/20152 minutes, 9 seconds
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Berry Good News for the Brain

Plant and Food Research have shown that blackcurrants can help in tasks involving memory and concentration
8/27/201515 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Bugs are in the House

After a year it's time to find out what's taken up residence in Lincoln University's Bug Hotels
8/27/201519 minutes, 15 seconds
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Volcanic Hazard at Mt Taranaki

Mt Taranaki is one of New Zealand's most distinctive volcanoes, with a history of euptions and the potential to erupt again in the future.
8/27/201517 minutes, 44 seconds
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Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam

On 13 March 2015, Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu. It was the worst natural disaster in the nation's history, and four months on, we ask how people are doing.
8/27/201511 minutes, 51 seconds
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Building Better Flexi Bridges

Low-damage precast concrete bridges featuring flexible steel tendons and energy dissipators that act as fuses are being tested at Canterbury University
8/20/201512 minutes, 32 seconds
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Giving People A Voice

Computer scientist Hamidf Sharifzadeh is regenerating a natural-sounding voice for people who lost the ability to speak
8/20/201513 minutes, 21 seconds
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Designing Landscapes with People in Mind

Landscape architect Mick Abbott wants to involve as many people as possible in meaningful ecological restoration projects
8/20/201513 minutes, 59 seconds
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Trapdoor spider dinnertime

Vikki Smith introduces Alison Ballance to a trapdoor spider called Sweetheart - and you can hear the amazing sound of a spider chewing a beetle.
8/20/201521 seconds
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To Catch a Trapdoor Spider

Trapdoor spiders live on mud banks in long silk-lined tunnels with a camouflaged trapdoor, and Vikki Smith has developed a cunning way of luring them out
8/20/201516 minutes, 10 seconds
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'Air Puffs', Speech and Mobile Phones

Adding air puffs that we produce during speech to mobile phones and hearing aids might make understanding conversations in noisy environments easier
8/13/201513 minutes, 28 seconds
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Tracking the Lapita Expansion Across the Pacific

Veronika Meduna joins Pacific archaeologists at the oldest cemetery in the pacific to find out about the Lapita and their epic voyage of discovery.
8/13/201551 minutes, 43 seconds
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How Nature is Good for our Well-being

Environmental scientist Lin Roberts argues that nature's ecosystem services are good for our well-being as well as the planet
8/6/201515 minutes, 49 seconds
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Making Urban Bushland Better

New Plymouth has more pockets of urban bush than any other NZ city, and ecologists study them to improve the success of ecological restorations
8/6/201516 minutes, 55 seconds
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Testing Volcanic Ballistics with a Cannon and Catapult

Geologists are using a cannon, a trebuchet and silly putty wrapped in condoms to investigate volcanic ballistics and better understand volcanic eruptions
8/6/201523 minutes, 36 seconds
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A Community Wind Farm for Blueskin Bay

The Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust is working towards building three community-owned wind turbines that will help build the community's resilience and energy independence
7/30/201536 minutes, 54 seconds
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The Road to Paris - UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres says a global, legally-binding agreement will be reached at Paris climate summit, but concedes it falls short of two degree target.
7/30/201516 minutes, 57 seconds
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A Treasure Trove of Natural Sciences at Puke Ariki

New Plymouth's museum Puke Ariki is catalogueing its vast natural sceinces collections to make them more accessible to the public.
7/28/201519 minutes, 41 seconds
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North Island Brown Kiwi Genome

The genome of the North Island brown kiwi has just been published by an international team of researchers
7/23/201521 minutes, 46 seconds
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Sleep Apnoea

Ruth Beran's award-winning feature on sleep apnoea follows Maui Stewart to the sleep clinic on a journey to better health.
7/23/201525 minutes, 30 seconds
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Sea Urchins and Their 'Landscape of Fear'

Do sea urchins live in a 'landscape of fear' and is the mere presence of predatory crayfish and snapper enough to change their behaviour?
7/23/201515 minutes, 19 seconds
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From Egg to Dinner – Breeding Better Salmon

Veronika Meduna visits a salmon hatchery to find out more about how salmon are bred and farmed, and about the family tree of each fish.
7/23/201520 minutes, 45 seconds
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Children mixing screens with food

As young people use screens more and more, public health researcher Sam Marsh is looking into how much food they are eating when using different media like computers and TVs.
7/16/201518 minutes, 17 seconds
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Salt, Blood Pressure and the Brain

A new study in rats shows that the link between high salt intake and high blood pressure is caused by changes in the brain
7/16/201511 minutes, 21 seconds
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Marine Science Round-Up

A baby colossal squid, studying under-ice algae in Antarctica, New Zealand sea lions, and a better fishing trawl net.
7/16/201516 minutes, 33 seconds
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Cleaning Up Our Coastlines

After more than a decade of cleaning up Auckland's waterways and removing 22 shipping containers full of rubbish, the Sea Cleaners Trust is ready to tackle the rest of our coastline.
7/16/201512 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Sshhmute - A Practice Mute for Brass Instruments

In his New Plymouth workshop, Trevor Bremner designs and produces the sshhmute, a practice mute for brass instruments
7/9/201517 minutes, 50 seconds
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Improving Stent Design with MRI

Susann Beier is using MRI and computational models to analyse flow of blood like fluid in 3D-printed replicas of coronary arteries with the aim of improving stent design
7/9/201512 minutes, 29 seconds
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Spookfish and Other Deep Sea Sharks

Long-nosed spookfish and other chimaeras are among a suite of weird, little known deep sea sharks that sport spiky sex organs on their head, enormous noses, fierce spines and long tails
7/9/201513 minutes, 36 seconds
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Spinetail Devil Rays

Electronic tags used to measure the survival of spinetail devil rays released after being caught by tuna fishing boats have revealed long journeys to the tropics and deep dives
7/9/201516 minutes, 53 seconds
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Old Antarcticans Malcolm Laird and Peter Otway

Geologist Malcolm Laird and surveyor Peter Otway reminisce during the 2014 IceFest about their early visits to Antarctica in the 1960s
7/2/201556 minutes, 17 seconds
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Commuting Secrets of Antarctic Orca

New Zealand and Italian researchers have confirmed that Type C killer whales from Antarctica travel to and from northern New Zealand
7/2/20159 minutes, 57 seconds
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Losing Weight and Getting Healthy - the SWIFT Study

The University of Otago SWIFT study is following 250 people for 2 years as they try popular diet and exercise programmes such as the Paleo diet, the 5:2 fasting diet, and high intensity exercise.
7/2/201514 minutes, 55 seconds
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Liquid Water on Mars

As NASA's Curiosity rover discovers liquid water on Mars, astrophysicist Duncan Steel discusses what that might mean for life on Mars.
7/2/201513 minutes, 31 seconds
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From False Teeth to Forensics - the Story of Dental Technology

Understanding physics and material engineering are as important as artistic skill in a technology that spans false teeth, prostheses and forensic investigations
7/2/201512 minutes, 55 seconds
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Life in the World's Oceans

Marine scientists in New Zealand make a significant contribution to a global register of marine life.
7/2/201511 minutes, 40 seconds
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Climate Change Impacts on Health

A new report says that the threat to public health from climate change could undermine advances made over the past 50 years.
6/25/20153 minutes, 28 seconds
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Antarctica's Surprising Biodiversity

Scientists discover that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean harbour a surprisingly rich and expansive biological diversity.
6/25/20157 minutes, 48 seconds
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Mapping Underwater Landscapes

A team of marine geologists deploy multibeam echo-sounding technology to map the seabed around Kapiti Island, north of Wellington.
6/25/201513 minutes, 15 seconds
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Dunedin's Healthy Harbour Watchers

Over the last decade secondary school students have measured the chemical and microbiological health of Otago Harbour
6/25/201512 minutes, 55 seconds
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A New Device for Measuring Pressure in the Brain

An implantable device is being developed to measure intracranial pressure in children who have hydrocephalus or "water on the brain"
6/25/201523 minutes, 51 seconds
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Heat, Exercise and Heart Health

Heat and exercise, on their own or together, benefit the cardiovascular system by increasing blood volume and lwoering blood pressure, but could there be other benefits as well?
6/25/201517 minutes, 15 seconds
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Antarctica's Flourishing Microbes

University of Waikato microbiologist Craig Cary describes his work on microbial communities in Antarctica's Dry Valleys.
6/24/201512 minutes, 21 seconds
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Rare Mudfish, the Farmer and the School

A population of rare South Canterbury mudfish are benefiting from a community project involving the St Andrews School, the farmer and the Working Waters Trust
6/18/201514 minutes, 22 seconds
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Brain Training to Slow Progression of Huntington's Disease

University of Auckland neuroscientist Melanie Cheung has developed a Maori-focused brain resilience programme which could slow the progression of Huntington's Disease
6/18/201518 minutes, 56 seconds
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Kelp and Climate Change

Warming ocean temperatures and increasing sediment as a result of more extreme weather events may have profound effects on the health of our coastal kelp ecosystems
6/18/201513 minutes, 18 seconds
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Protein, Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

Massey University researchers are looking at whether why protein after interval training could help type II diabetics with their blood sugar levels
6/18/201520 minutes, 54 seconds
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Working with the Brain

University of Auckland neuroscientist Melanie Cheung explains how she consulted with her iwi before starting work on brain tissue
6/17/20155 minutes, 42 seconds
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Global Ocean Legacy

The director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Global Ocean Legacy discusses the importance of protected marine areas.
6/11/201510 minutes, 47 seconds
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Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Climate scientists are using the spare capacity of thousands of home computers to zoom in on links between extreme weather events and climate change
6/11/201513 minutes, 7 seconds
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Examining the Benefits of Standing Desks

Masters student Dan Archer looked at metabolic biomarkers to see if there were benefits from working at standing desks
6/11/201512 minutes, 57 seconds
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Kelp, Urchins and Marine Reserves

Marine biologist Nick Shears monitors marine reserves to evaluate how effective marine protection is and he is also interested in the effects of climate change on the ocean
6/11/201512 minutes, 40 seconds
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Getting Wet and Experiencing Marine Reserves

Since 2002 the Experiencing Marine Reserves programme has been taking primary school students snorkelling so they can see for themselves how effective marine protection is
6/11/201514 minutes, 11 seconds
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How Do Rock Pool Fish Cheat Death?

Little triplefin fish living in rock pools regularly face not enough or too much oxygen - discovering how they cope could help people suffering from brain hypoxia
6/4/201515 minutes, 24 seconds
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A Neutrino Map of the Universe

University of Canterbury physicist Jenni Adams explains how high-energy neutrinos could help track the origins of cosmic rays.
6/4/201518 minutes, 26 seconds
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Short-tailed Bats and a Conservation Dilemma

Short-tailed bats are vulnerable to predation by rats - but what is the risk to the bats from toxins being used to protect them from the rats? http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/201756718/short-tailed-bats-and-a-conservation-dilemma http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/201755898/flower-of-the-underworld-a-parasitic-treasure
6/4/201522 minutes, 8 seconds
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Uga or Coconut Crab Hunting in Niue

Uga or coconut crab are hunted in large numbers in Niue but to conserve them the Niuean Government has placed an indefinite ban on their export
6/4/201512 minutes, 5 seconds
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The Road to Paris - New Zealand's Climate Change Target

The government has held a series of consultation meetings asking people how New Zealand should manage its greenhouse gas emissions
5/28/201513 minutes, 53 seconds
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Flower of the Underworld - A Parasitic Treasure

New Zealand's most unusual flowering plant has a strong connection with a rare nocturnal mammal - and both are thriving in the forests of Pureora.
5/28/201530 minutes, 11 seconds
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A Transportable MRI

An MRI has been developed which can be transported because it uses high temperature superconductors and does not require liquid helium
5/28/201520 minutes, 52 seconds
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The Art and Science of Beer

The Hop Lab in Motueka is a small research brewery, where a Plant and Food Research scientists are breeding, growing and testing new varieties of hops
5/28/201513 minutes, 41 seconds
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Top 10 New Species for 2015

The global 2015 Top 10 New Species List includes an endangered parasitic plant from the Philippines described by University of Canterbury botanists
5/21/20153 minutes, 57 seconds
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Megathrust Earthquakes Below Central New Zealand

For the first time, geologists find direct evidence for large subduction earthquakes underneath central New Zealand
5/21/20157 minutes
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We Are What We Eat - What Hair Can Tell Us

Metabolite biomarkers in hair may allow scientists to advise women on what they should eat to avoid pregnancy complications
5/21/201515 minutes, 33 seconds
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DNA Trafficking Between Cells

Scientists discover a new process, in which mitochondrial DNA is exchanged between cells in the body
5/21/201517 minutes, 10 seconds
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Don't Just Sit There - Do Something

Getting off our butts and taking regular short exercise breaks is much better for our health than continuous sitting
5/21/201511 minutes, 45 seconds
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ExStream - How River Life Responds to Environmental Stresses

The ExStream system allows biologists to study how river life responds to stresses such as sediment, nutrients, and changing water temperatures and flows
5/21/201521 minutes, 20 seconds
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Scientists Speaking Out

A discussion held at 2015 New Zealand Association of Scientists annual conference, Going Public
5/14/201547 minutes, 57 seconds
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Long web feature: Tangata Whenua - Maori History

Archaeologist Atholl Anderson discusses the climate conditions and socio-political circumstances that led groups of Polynesian navigators to discover and settle in New Zealand
5/14/201532 minutes, 55 seconds