Category: Science

A survey of New Zealanders who work and volunteer as wildlife rehabilitators has found that most are able to keep a healthy balance despite the pressures of the role.

There are substantial gaps between expert recommendations and public knowledge about risk factors for cancer, though these gaps are closing for some cancer types, according to new University of Otago research.

How do we create and interpret certain words? One of the world’s leading authorities on compound words, Emeritus Professor Laurie Bauer from Victoria’s School of Linguistics and Applied Language, puts the pieces of the puzzle together.

New Zealand women and their babies are at greater risk of vitamin D deficiency and current health guidelines fall short of curbing this detrimental trend, new University of Otago research shows.

When posted overseas for work, an increasing number of employees are choosing to leave their families behind, says Massey PhD candidate Jo Mutter.

New Zealand supermarkets vary greatly in the healthiness of their food environments and have a great opportunity to create food environments to promote healthier choices, according to new research.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement of her pregnancy is fabulous news that we can all celebrate and support. It sends a very empowering message to women, says Grant Duncan.

MPs can’t govern effectively if they can decide to jump ship whenever they wish, argues Victoria Professor of Comparative Politics Jack Vowles.

New research shows a direct relationship between the consumption of cow’s milk, and socio-demographic factors.

Bachelor of AgriCommerce student James Robertson is your classic jack of all trades, but rather than mastering none, he excelled in everything he put his hand up for.

A Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences academic is behind a large study that has shown that women who get gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes, hypertension and ischaemic heart disease.

The University of Auckland and Taranaki DHB, along with local leaders and health professionals will welcome 18 year five medical students to Hawera Hospital on Monday, to launch the University’s regional-rural medical programme in Taranaki.

With space a growing industry, including in New Zealand, treaties governing activity have never been more important, says Emeritus Professor Sir Ken Keith from Victoria’s School of Law.

Primary care physicians can improve their communication to newly-diagnosed diabetes patients by offering more information specific to the patient’s experience, new research from Otago, Auckland and Victoria universities shows.

New Zealand may have to compromise on its ideals to help prevent war on the Korean peninsula, writes Victoria’s Professor of Strategic Studies, Robert Ayson.

Men previously imprisoned for sexual offending but who have not re-offended for at least five years are being asked to take part in research being carried out at the University of Auckland.

How property-owners’ decision-making influenced the Christchurch rebuild, challenges to commercial landlords posed by the rising co-working culture, and a new approach to managing Māori land are among the topics being covered at a major international property research conference in Auckland.

For many, it would not be summer without a day at the public swimming pool. Now a design graduate has created a concept for an app that prompts parents and guardians to focus on keeping an eye on the kids.

Humanity’s often abusive relationship towards nature has culminated in concerns we have wrecked Earth beyond repair. So, what does the mundane act of mowing a lawn reveal about our own and the planet’s plight?

Everything from kiwifruit orchards to vineyards relies on pollination by domesticated honey bees, but as their numbers plummet from a destructive pathogen, scientists from Massey University are working on deploying viruses to protect them.

The Predator Free 2050 campaign to rid New Zealand of rats and possums will have major benefits for human health as well as for native plants and animals, says University of Otago, Wellington public health researcher Dr Mary McIntyre.

With space a growing industry, including in New Zealand, treaties governing activity have never been more important, says Emeritus Professor Sir Ken Keith from Victoria’s School of Law.

Dr Bevan Marten from Victoria’s School of Law is offering to fight a baby name ban for free if parents want to challenge the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

New Zealand faces a critical shortage of skilled practitioners able to analyse, interpret and disseminate the wealth of data needed to inform and improve health services for New Zealanders.

Victoria University geologist Dr Rob McKay is leading an international expedition to Antarctic waters in January to discover how warming oceans will affect the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and what that could mean for rising sea levels, global weather

Conservationists have struggled for years to create software capable of identifying bird species through their song alone – new funding is giving Massey scientists the ability to succeed where others have failed.

A study of the largest deep-ocean eruption of the past century has changed the way scientists think about submarine volcanism, a University of Otago academic says.

Important new clues about population mobility in the Mediterranean between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE have been uncovered by an international team of researchers, co-led by a University of Otago academic.

University of Auckland scientists have carried out the first-ever large scale investigation into the effects of ship noise in the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.

Who would have thought there is an organisation whose main activity is facilitating pop-up think tanks to challenge current and future leaders to solve issues of global concern?

Three academic staff, a former Chancellor and a Distinguished Alumni Award winner from Victoria University are among those recognised in the 2018 New Year Honours.

Three academic staff, a former Chancellor and a Distinguished Alumni Award winner from Victoria University are among those recognised in the 2018 New Year Honours.

To a great many people the world is already under the control of a powerful machine indifferent to their wellbeing, writes Dr Grant Otsuki, a Victoria Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology.

Three University of Otago academics and one current University of Otago Council member have been recognised in the 2018 New Year Honours, all becoming Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Children visiting playgrounds this summer may be at high risk of sunburn, according to a new study from the University of Otago, Wellington.

Two University of Otago academics have received Fulbright New Zealand Scholar Awards to undertake research in the United States.

Despite being in peak physical form, young elite rugby players may be suffering from body image issues and poor nutritional choices, a University of Otago study has found.

The University of Otago has announced five new recipients of its prestigious three-month James Wallace Residency and Scottish Writers Fellowship, based at the historic Pah Homestead in Auckland.

The molecule responsible for heart disease in diabetics has been identified by University of Otago researchers, greatly improving chances of survival.

Older people lack support from their communities towards the end of their lives, with many becoming progressively more socially isolated before their death. Both older people and their families and whānau require support which is tailored to match the diversity of our ageing population.

Are you a Quiet Follower, a Cheerleader or a Peacock? A researcher at the University of Auckland has categorised people who follow companies on social media according to how they behave on the so-called fan pages.

The lion’s share of Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia and Latin America were awarded to University of Auckland students in the latest funding round.

We are used to giving food and toys to people in need around Christmas, but one social enterprise wants to make sure they get another often-overlooked female necessity – sanitary products.

Distinguished Alumna of the University of Auckland, Dame Cheryll Sotheran, has died aged 72.

New work from emerging and established writers, including the latest graduates of Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), features in online literary magazine Turbine | Kapohau.

Mother of four, Linda John, and mother of two Vini Iosua both graduated last week with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Pacific Studies.

Victoria University of Wellington students are heading to study or research opportunities in Latin America and Asia, thanks to Prime Minister’s Scholarships.

In front of their family and friends, 62 students were recently recognised for their efforts in completing Victoria University of Wellington’s leadership programmes.

Recent Victoria graduate Trinity Thompson-Browne knows exactly where she wants to go after graduating—and she credits her time at Victoria for steering her in the right direction.

Recent Victoria graduate Trinity Thompson-Browne knows exactly where she wants to go after graduating—and she credits her time at Victoria for steering her in the right direction.

Reductions need to be sustained and to have significant and enduring impact, hears a Victoria-hosted expert discussion.

Joanna Mossop, a Senior Lecturer in Victoria’s School of Law, argues that a proposed UN treaty will be vital in creating new legal obligations.

Victoria University geologist Dr Rob Mckay is leading an international expedition to Antarctic waters in January to discover how warming oceans will affect the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and what that could mean for rising sea levels, global weather

The ramifications of Brexit loomed large when London School of Economics Professor of Public Law Martin Loughlin gave Victoria Faculty of Law’s 2017 Robin Cooke Lecture.

The sport of cycling has suffered another blow, in the eyes of the public at least, with a “non-negative” drug test from four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome.

Massey University researchers are seeking 400 people aged over 55 to do an online survey that will contribute to research and knowledge on health and ageing in New Zealand.

The University of Otago is pleased to announce Belgian researcher Professor Marc Hendrickx will visit Otago from July to August 2018 as the inaugural Harraway’s 1867 Visiting Professorship recipient.

From the simply interesting, to the practical and essential, academic opportunities are available for all at the University of Otago in January.

Medical professionals have a range of tools at their disposal to care for patients. New University of Otago research delves into the ethical dilemma of adding the internet to their choices.

University of Otago researchers have found that the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in New Zealand frequently does not conform to international guidelines.

Over 1000 school children will be blogging over the summer to keep their literacy skills up, thanks to the partnership between the Manaiakalani schools, and the University of Auckland, and new support from the NEXT Foundation.

Walter Langelaar from Victoria’s School of Design and his fellow researchers have an answer to the dissatisfaction around contemporary politics.

A film script featuring an outlawed metal-detecting amateur archaeologist in 1980s Ireland battling the National Museum to prove an historical truth has been awarded the 2017 David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize for Scriptwriting at Victoria University

The University of Otago will this year promote 23 academics to the position of Professor across its Dunedin, Christchurch, and Wellington campuses.

New Zealand research could pave the way for a new, safe treatment for babies whose growth in the womb is stunted by problems with the placenta. The research team have also discovered a possible basis for a blood test for mothers that could identify at-risk babies in utero.

Firearms and public health, impacts of New Zealand’s most common natural hazard – flooding, and lessons from the 1918 flu pandemic are just some of the courses and seminar talks being offered by the University of Otago, Wellington’s Public Health Summer School.

In a bid to curb New Zealand’s horrific drowning rates, a University of Otago researcher is aiming to fill the gap in children’s open water survival skills.

In an article published today in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal, New Zealand researchers found that Google laptop searches performed better at finding online sexual health advice than the digital assistants on smartphones.

More than 15,000 frail elderly identified as being lonely according to a world-first study of 72,000 older New Zealanders. That equates to one in five older people.

A "powerful, restrained but unafraid" collection of poems that explore the lives of four generations of Māori women has been awarded the 2017 Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing by Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute

The Prime Minister’s success is an important signal that Parliament is a place for young women, Victoria’s Dr Claire Timperley tells the University’s 11th Post-Election Conference.

These brightly coloured bricks raise important and challenging questions about creativity and play, conformity and autonomy, identity and culture, writes Victoria’s Associate Professor in Philosophy Sondra Bacharach.

When Te Wehi o Mahuru Wright gives the graduate address at Victoria University’s Te Herenga Waka marae graduation ceremony tomorrow, he’ll be completing his academic journey in the same place that sustained him throughout it.

Five Victoria University students are getting the opportunity to work alongside scientists, conservators and rangers over summer after earning a Blake Ambassador Award.

The University of Otago will this week confer an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree on internationally renowned businessman and philanthropist Graeme Hart.

Allowing the Commerce Commission to investigate the competitiveness of markets without prior political approval is a massive step forward, write Dr Geoff Bertram and Dr Simon Chapple from Victoria’s Institute for Governance and Policy Studies.

We need to stop ‘treading water’ and to expand our locally grown expertise and empirically driven research, says Dr Jason Young, Director of the Victoria-based New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre.

Two University of Auckland Arts students are leading a special educational tour to five cities in the United States in January and February 2018.

Is pride the ultimate crime? It is a big moral question that a group of inmates at Auckland Prison explored when they performed an Ancient Greek play using puppets, in a partnership between the prison and Massey University.

Research led by Victoria University has cast doubt on the ability of coral reefs to adapt to climate change.