Feb 22, 2021 | Science & Technology
By David Welch, Jemma Geoghegan, Joep de Ligt & Nigel French Why are more contagious variants emerging now, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic? New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have now evaded New Zealand’s border protections twice to spread into the community....
Aug 19, 2020 | Science & Technology
By David Welch Genetic surveillance — a technology that uses the genetic fingerprint of a virus to track its spread — is part of the public health response to New Zealand’s new COVID-19 community outbreak and could help pinpoint its source. There are now 17 cases of...
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 prevention and treatment of mental...
May 22, 2019 | Science & Technology
Is the transmission of trauma multi-generational? Do children of survivors of mass atrocities have a higher risk of developing psychological disorders? To understand the process of multi-generational legacies of trauma, Maria Armoudian speaks with Andrei Novac and...
Sep 28, 2018 | Science & Technology
The introduction of genome editing signals a dramatic departure from the usual pathway through reproductive care. However, the use of genetic technologies in reproduction is frequently criticised for harbouring eugenic undertones. Helen O’Neill, Lecturer in...
Aug 23, 2018 | Science & Technology
What are the hidden costs of civilisation? Could civilisation be behind disease, mental illness, climate change, and religious fundamentalism? Spencer Wells thinks it might just be. Maria Armoudian speaks to Wells about his book Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of...
Jun 27, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Nicola Shepheard Epigenetics has been hailed as the missing link between genes and environment. Nicola Shepheard explores this phenomenon in greater detail and seeks out whether inheritance is about more than just genes. The growing knowledge of how experiences get...
Feb 13, 2018 | Science & Technology
For many years geneticists and psychologists have worked in separate labs on factors such as our genetic codes and our experiences that they each thought were affecting our physical and mental health respectively. But it may be that our experiences are affecting our...
Jun 8, 2017 | Science & Technology
New scientific discoveries about x and y chromosomes are challenging what we know about what makes us male or female. Maria Armoudian discusses these discoveries with Jeremy Nathans and Melissa Wilson Sayres. Jeremy Nathans is a Professor of Molecular Biology and...