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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 71]
New 'flavour' of El Nino under global warming
Thursday, 24 September 2009, 1:29 pm | Science Media Centre
Research published today in Nature has identified a new type of El Niño climate anomaly that is occurring with more and more frequency as a consequence of human-induced global warming. In the classic El Niño pattern, weak trade winds lead to unusually ... More >>
Risk of respiratory illness as dust descends
Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 3:50 pm | Science Media Centre
Sydneysiders are dealing with the fallout from one of the biggest dust storms to hit the city in decades. Calls to emergency services in Sydney from people reporting respiratory problems spiked today as dust blown in from the Australian outback clogged ... More >>
SMC grant to aid science reporting at climate talk
Friday, 18 September 2009, 4:13 pm | Science Media Centre
With the Copenhagen climate conference in Denmark looming, it is far from clear whether the world's nations will be able to reach agreement on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But one thing is for sure - the scientific evidence suggests such an agreement ... More >>
How will the revised ETS affect forestry?
Friday, 18 September 2009, 3:28 pm | Science Media Centre
Associate Professor Euan Mason of the School of Forestry at the University of Canterbury, comments on the likely effects on forestry and greenhouse gas production of the new, revised ETS announced this week. The new ETS is being seen as a 'weaker' ETS due ... More >>
Why are we fortifying our bread with iodine?
Tuesday, 15 September 2009, 10:19 am | Science Media Centre
Iodine is one of the essential nutrients which our bodies need in order to function properly. It's most well-known for being an important constituent of our thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and, in children, normal growth and development. More >>
Facial expressions open to interpretation
Friday, 4 September 2009, 12:02 pm | Science Media Centre
The way we perceive and remember another person's facial expressions is greatly influenced by how we initially interpret their mood, according to new research co-authored by a University of Otago scientist. The findings suggest that facial expression has ... More >>
CO2 reduction favoured over untried geoengineering
Wednesday, 2 September 2009, 12:34 pm | Science Media Centre
A year-long Royal Society of London study looking at geoengineering techniques designed to combat climate change suggests such schemes could be a viable "plan B" if nations fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more conventional means. "It is an unpalatable ... More >>
Nitrous oxide - the big baddie of greenhouse gases
Friday, 28 August 2009, 11:40 am | Science Media Centre
Nitrous oxide, which comes from natural and man-made sources, is the most damaging of greenhouse gases according to scientists who have been modeling the impact of the gas on the ozone layer and on the climate. The agricultural sector is a major ... More >>
Mother's diet has life-long implications for kids
Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 1:52 pm | Science Media Centre
A mother's diet before and during pregnancy can help determine when a daughter reaches puberty and her own reproductive capacity later in life, according a paper authored by Liggins Institute researchers and appearing in the online journal PLoS One today. More >>
Cosying up to Aussies on science
Friday, 21 August 2009, 4:22 pm | Science Media Centre
If you've been through Auckland Airport recently, you may have been lucky enough to experience the automated customs processing system that received so much attention this week during John Key's visit to Australia. The SmartGate technology behind the ... More >>
Few serious reactions to HPV vaccine in US & NZ
Wednesday, 19 August 2009, 11:41 am | Science Media Centre
Three years after the Gardasil vaccine was licensed in the US to protect against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, research shows there have been few serious reactions to the 23 million doses administered to Americans. The research published today in ... More >>
NZ sets emissions target
Friday, 14 August 2009, 4:53 pm | Science Media Centre
The New Zealand Government announced on 10 August 2009 that it will seek a 2020 carbon equivalents emissions reduction target range of 10 – 20 per cent on 1990 levels. More >>
Lines drawn on emissions targets
Friday, 14 August 2009, 4:23 pm | Science Media Centre
The Government this week set the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10 - 20 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020. Here's how scientists surveyed by the Science Media Centre responded. Meanwhile, proposed legislation for a carbon trading scheme ... More >>
Australia Senate knocks back carbon reduction plan
Thursday, 13 August 2009, 3:55 pm | Science Media Centre
The Australian parliament today rejected plans to implement a carbon trading scheme aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions. More >>
Scientists on the Govt's 2020 emissions target
Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 1:15 pm | Science Media Centre
"The emissions reduction range of 10 to 20% below 1990 levels set by the New Zealand government goes in the right direction. However, there is an increasing gap between short-term targets and the long-term climate change goals that governments say they ... More >>
BSA upholds complaint against TV3's documentary
Monday, 10 August 2009, 2:07 pm | Science Media Centre
A long-running complaints inquiry by the Broadcasting Standards Authority has just come to a conclusion, with the authority upholding complaints from Crown research institute ESR and the Ministry of Health against TV3's 2006 documentary on dioxin ... More >>
Vaccine creator surprised at NZ record on measles
Friday, 7 August 2009, 1:06 pm | Science Media Centre
The Ministry of Health says it is stockpiling MMR vaccine to fight an outbreak of measles, cases of which have been reported at 10 times the usual annual number for the year to date. More >>
Water deep below fault zones helps generate quakes
Thursday, 6 August 2009, 11:02 am | Science Media Centre
Geological research from New Zealand published today in the prestigious journal Nature highlights the crucial role of underground water in triggering powerful earthquakes. More >>
Extinction crisis but fish stocks OK
Friday, 31 July 2009, 5:24 pm | Science Media Centre
It was grim news for conservation front in our part of the world this week, with a survey of conservation research in the Oceania region finding that the area is losing species at least as fast as the rest of the planet - and possibly even faster. ... More >>
Extinction crisis looms for Oceanic region
Thursday, 30 July 2009, 12:32 pm | Science Media Centre
The region has 6 of the world's 39 diversity hotspots, and, unfortunately, a very poor extinction record when compared with other regions. Without effective intervention, this reputation could worsen, say the paper's authors. The study, published in Conservation ... More >>
