Sep 22, 2021 | Science & Technology
Are we ready for human genome editing? In this talk, Senior Lecturer Hilary Sheppard illustrates how CRISPR can be used to fix disease-causing broken genes in adult cells. This talk was part of the 2021 home edition of the Raising the Bar series, where academics talk...
Sep 15, 2021 | Science & Technology
By Siouxsie Wiles The world is desperate for new antibiotics, and New Zealand’s unique fungi are a source of promising compounds. While we’re all rightly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic at the moment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus isn’t the only microbial threat we face....
Aug 24, 2021 | Science & Technology
By Hamish McCallum The COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic demonstration of evolution in action. Evolutionary theory explains much of what has already happened, predicts what will happen in the future and suggests which management strategies are likely to be the most...
Aug 11, 2021 | Science & Technology
By Sarah Lamar, Diane Karen Ormsby, Jennifer Moore, Nicola Jane Nelson & Susan N. Keall Tuatara are ancient, slow and endangered. But their super speedy sperm could boost conservation efforts. New Zealand’s endemic tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) are the sole...
Mar 31, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Christian Yates With basic mathematical models, researchers can begin to forecast the progression of diseases and understand the effect of interventions on disease spread. Disease has afflicted humans ever since there have been humans. Malaria and tuberculosis are...
Jan 23, 2020 | Science & Technology
China is experiencing an outbreak of coronavirus which has so far killed seventeen people and infected a further four hundred and forty. The outbreak began in the city of Wuhan, with most of those infected having visited a fish market. Despite authorities initially...
Dec 11, 2019 | Science & Technology
How do your genes affect your mental health? In this lecture hosted by the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland researchers discuss how knowing what your genes do can guide the development of future personalised medicine for the prevention and treatment of mental...
Oct 1, 2019 | Science & Technology
How is climate change affecting the oceans and marine life? What are the interactions between the earth, the atmosphere, and the ocean, and how does that affect human life? What measures can people take to prevent massive environmental damage? Maria Armoudian speaks...
Jul 11, 2019 | Science & Technology
New research has suggested a novel way to measure and potentially predict previously unknown locations that may be prone to earthquakes. The study, led by Professor Jon Waters at the University of Otago, confirms that the region around the New Zealand city of Dunedin...
May 28, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Sarah Laframboise In the ruling against Caster Semenya, bogus science is being used to stifle the vulnerable, according to Sarah Laframboise. Caster Semenya crouched over the starting line, waiting for the start in the final 800 meter race at the 2016 Olympic...