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Science Media Centre NZ
Our aim is to promote accurate, evidence-based reporting on science and technology by helping the media work more closely with the scientific community.
The Science Media Centre is New Zealand's only trusted, independent source of information for the media on all issues related to science. Thousands of news stories providing context from and quoting New Zealand researchers have been published as a direct result of our work.
Science Media Centre NZ - Latest News [Page 1]
Climate Commission Draft Advice On Emissions Budgets And Targets – Expert Reaction
Tuesday, 9 April 2024, 4:20 pm | Science Media Centre
The Climate Commission is now welcoming public feedback on its draft advice around New Zealand’s emissions budgets and targets. The draft advice reviews our 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, as well as whether the 2050 target should also ... More >>
Govt To Loosen Rules On Overseas Building Products – Expert Reaction
Saturday, 6 April 2024, 6:30 am | Science Media Centre
The changes deal with recognising certain overseas building product standards and certification schemes. More >>
Govt Signals Pause On Significant Natural Areas – Expert Reaction
Friday, 15 March 2024, 10:56 am | Science Media Centre
The government is signalling councils don't need to comply with their legal obligations around Significant Natural Areas, i.e., mapping out areas with threatened native plants or wildlife for protection. While SNAs were first introduced in 1991, last ... More >>
Black Box To Be Inspected After LATAM Flight Incident – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 13 March 2024, 2:57 pm | Science Media Centre
Authorities are investigating the black box of a plane that plummeted from the skies before landing in Auckland on Monday. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a LATAM flight starting from Sydney, suddenly lost altitude over the Tasman Sea, injuring 50 passengers as ... More >>
Are We Overmedicalising Menopause? – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 12:26 pm | Science Media Centre
Australian experts warn about the overmedicalisation of menopause and call for a new approach to how society views menopause and supports women as they age, in a new series of papers published today in The Lancet. The authors say a new approach ... More >>
Fast-track Consenting Regime For Infrastructure And Development – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 12:24 pm | Science Media Centre
The government will soon introduce a standalone Act to allow major infrastructure projects to bypass lengthy resource consenting processes. The fast-track regime is the next step of the coalition government’s RMA reform agenda. A full replacement ... More >>
Road Safety The Focus At Northland Fieldays 2024
Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 12:23 pm | Science Media Centre
Last week, representatives from the Northland Transportation Alliance, Auckland Transport, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), NZ Police, ACC, Tasman District Council, and Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport took to Dargaville to talk to ... More >>
Ultra-processed Foods Linked To 32 Health Issues – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 29 February 2024, 3:14 pm | Science Media Centre
A new research review reports links between greater consumption of ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of 32 damaging health outcomes, with the most convincing evidence pointing to higher risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and ... More >>
Bird Flu Arrives In Mainland Antarctica - Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 28 February 2024, 1:06 pm | Science Media Centre
The H5N1 virus continues its global spread, having recently been found for the first time ever in mainland Antarctica. Avian flu reached the wider Antarctic region in October last year when it was reported on sub-Antarctic islands. Since 2021, highly ... More >>
EPA Says ‘null Segregants’ Aren’t GMOs – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 22 February 2024, 3:01 pm | Science Media Centre
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has just clarified that certain organisms, known as null segregants, are not considered genetically modified organisms. Null segregants are the offspring of genetically modified organisms, but do not contain ... More >>
First UN Report On The State Of The World’s Migratory Species – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 15 February 2024, 3:46 pm | Science Media Centre
A landmark UN report paints a grim picture of the state of migratory wild animals worldwide, including those that travel through New Zealand, like sharks, whales, albatross, and sea turtles. The report was launched at the meeting for the Convention ... More >>
Port Hills Fire - Expert Reaction
Thursday, 15 February 2024, 3:40 pm | Science Media Centre
Fire crews are responding to a large vegetation fire in the Port Hills near Christchurch. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) was alerted to the fire at 2.15pm on Wednesday 14 February. The SMC asked experts to comment. Dr Nathanael ... More >>
Regulating Genetic Technologies In Aotearoa - Expert Q&A
Thursday, 15 February 2024, 3:35 pm | Science Media Centre
Dr Revel Drummond, Scientist, Plant & Food Research Ltd, comments: What implications would the shift to a new biotechnology regulator have for the legal and policy landscape around genetic technologies in NZ? "Currently, ... More >>
Talk Of ‘one-in-100-year’ Weather Can Be Disastrously Misleading – Expert Q&A
Monday, 12 February 2024, 2:58 pm | Science Media Centre
Record rainfall and flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle across Hawkes Bay has been frequently described as a ‘one-in-100 year’ event. With the cyclone’s anniversary this week, the SMC asked a social psychologist and emergency management expert how ... More >>
Faster Tropical Cyclones In A Warming World – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 7 February 2024, 2:07 pm | Science Media Centre
In some parts of the world, a Category 5 hurricane signifies the most extreme wind speeds starting at 252 km/h. New research published in PNAS looks into why creating a new Category 6 could help capture just how much more intense the biggest tropical ... More >>
New Recycling Rules – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 1 February 2024, 3:42 pm | Science Media Centre
All of Aotearoa will follow the same guidelines for what to put in their kerbside recycling bins from today. The new national guidelines replace the previous system of patchwork rules across different regions. The SMC asked experts to comment . Dr ... More >>
‘Forever Chemical’ PFAS Banned From Cosmetics – Expert Reaction
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 5:17 pm | Science Media Centre
The EPA is banning the use of per– and polyfluoroalkyl substances in cosmetic products from the end of 2026. These “forever chemicals” are difficult to break down and can build up in the body and the environment over time. The EPA says New ... More >>
Improving Large Earthquake Forecasting – Expert Reaction
Wednesday, 29 November 2023, 9:48 am | Science Media Centre
New overseas research reports how unique seismic signals were picked up eight months before this year’s massively destructive earthquake in Türkiye, and that these findings may improve our ability to forecast some future large earthquakes. On 6 ... More >>
Fonterra Sets On-farm Emissions Targets – Expert Reaction
Thursday, 9 November 2023, 5:43 pm | Science Media Centre
Dairy co-operative Fonterra has released its plan to reduce on-farm emissions, aiming to reduce its emissions intensity by 30% by 2030. The dairy giant is New Zealand’s largest greenhouse gas emitter , and around 86 percent of these emissions come from ... More >>
The Hunga-Tonga Eruption Rapidly Depleted The Ozone Layer – Expert Reaction
Friday, 20 October 2023, 10:57 am | Science Media Centre
The 2022 Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption shot out an unprecedented amount of water vapour into the sky, reaching heights of up to 55km and depleting 5% of the ozone layer in some regions in just one week. New research published in ... More >>
