nature of science

Genetic modification is back on the political agenda in Aotearoa New Zealand. The issue may not be as hotly contentious as it once was, but big ...

In the Māori world, animals are related to humans through whakapapa. Animals as well as humans are descendants of ngā atua and as such are considered ...

After a heated contest, New Zealand’s Bird of the Century was named in November 2023 – the puking and pompadoured pūteketeke. The victory isn’t just for ...

Discussions of artificial intelligence (AI) are inseparable from questions of ethics. In 1942, Isaac Asimov famously popularised the idea that intelligent machines should adhere to a ...

Our atmosphere and climate 2023 – an environmental report produced by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ – begins with this whakatauākī: Tiakina te ...

In traditional Māori society, a range of methods for pest control were developed such as reciting karakia, the strategic use of fire and smoke, soil preparation ...

The fungus Austropuccinia psidii is responsible for causing the invasive plant disease commonly known as myrtle rust, which threatens a large range of plants within the ...

The varroa mite is a tiny but destructive pest responsible for the deaths of many honey bee colonies in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. ...

Data is the precursor to information. It’s an unorganised collection of values expressed as numbers, text or symbols. That may seem quite abstract – and raw ...

Data has become so central to everything we do that it has its own branch of research. The emergent field of data science combines knowledge from ...

We are witnessing a resurgence of Indigenous knowledge and growing acknowledgement of its scientific value worldwide. This article has been republished from The Conversation under Creative ...

How do we as a society enable the decision makers we elect to make good decisions on our behalf? One way is by appointing people and ...

As content developers for a science education website, we always operate with the nature of science hovering in the background. The Science Learning Hub was a ...

All living things shed genetic material like hair, scales, skin and faeces into their local environment. This is known as environmental DNA (eDNA). For example, an ...

Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is one of several methods referred to as absolute dating – but here’s an interesting fact. There is nothing ...

In the 20th century, most people would have considered being an astronaut the number one job related to space. Now, in the 21st century, opportunities to ...

Hiwa-i-te-rangi, a whetū in the Matariki cluster, is the youngest child of Rehua and Matariki. Hiwa-i-te-rangi represents our aspirations for a prosperous season ahead. She is ...

Tupuānuku is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is the star connected to anything associated within the soil, including cultivated and uncultivated foods grown in ...

Pōhutukawa is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is connected to those who have passed since Matariki the previous year. Pōhutukawa prompts us to reflect ...

He taiao tōnui mō ngā reanga katoa – a flourishing environment for every generation. Aotearoa New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ report on ...

What are extremophilic microorganisms? Let’s start by looking closer at microorganisms. All the organisms we know about on Earth are either cellular (by far the majority) ...

Mātauranga Māori and science are helping to solve a few questions in Ōhiwa Harbour: What has caused the mussel beds to disappear? Can we restore the ...

This Connected article is based on an interview by Susan Paris with environmental scientist Dr James Ataria (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). James’s work focuses on ...