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Our Changing World headlines with summaries.
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Summer science: The hunt for New Zealand's tenth meteorite
5 Jan 2023As part of our summer science series we bring you an episode of The Otago Chronicles podcast, hosted by Max Balloch. In this episode, Max talks to Associate Professor James Scott from the University…
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Summer science: Two stories about genetics
22 Dec 2022Two stories about genetics produced by students at the University of Otago's Department of Science Communication. Amanda Konyn investigates whether gene editing has a role in future pest control…
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An eye in the sky to detect methane emissions
15 Dec 2022MethaneSAT is the first New Zealand government funded space mission. A joint project between the United States' Environmental Defense Fund and New Zealand, the project will see a methane sensing…
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Conservation successes in the Cook Islands
The kākerōri or Rarotongan flycatcher is a South Pacific conservation success story. Once reduced to just 29 birds, it has been rescued from the brink of extinction by a rat control programme managed…
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Planning for Aotearoa's genomic medicine future
If the future of healthcare is personalised genomics, how can we ensure that it is used to lessen inequities, rather than strengthen them? This week, Our Changing World speaks to two of the co-leaders…
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Genome sequencing and the pandemic
Genome sequencing has become a household term during this pandemic. This week, we explore how it became an important tool in the fight against Covid-19.
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Sunfish secrets
17 Nov 2022Sunfish are the world's largest bony fish species – and yet scientists know little about their lives. This week, Our Changing World meets a sunfish researcher unravelling mola mysteries and dives into…
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Sunshine science: the power and peril of the sun’s rays
10 Nov 2022Summer is on its way, and this week we're exploring both the power and the peril of the sun. First, we visit the Ultrafast Laser Lab to learn about efforts to create better solar panels. Then, we hear…
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What feathers can tell us about the past lives of seabirds
3 Nov 2022Behind the scenes at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, a "menagerie" of specimens is a treasure trove for curator Dr Matt Rayner, who is researching how the Hauraki Gulf's seabirds are faring using…
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Why has this river of Antarctic ice stalled?
27 Oct 2022How do you drill through 600m of thick Antarctic ice? Using hot water, of course. In this episode from the 2020 series Voices from Antarctica, Alison Ballance joins researchers hoping to solve the…
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Space sounds and jungle noises The otherworldly song of Weddell
20 Oct 2022Weddell seals have returned to breed near Scott Base in Antarctica after a decades-long absence. On land, they're blubbery lumps. But underwater, they're graceful dancers and ethereal singers. A team…
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Deep dives and epic journeys: Return of the emperor penguins
13 Oct 2022A team of NIWA scientists eagerly awaits the return of 19 emperor penguins carrying high-tech data loggers and video cameras. What will the data captured reveal about the penguins' secret lives at…
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Emperor penguin secrets
6 Oct 2022Revisit the frozen continent with us in this mini rerun of the Voices from Antarctica series. This week, Alison visits Cape Crozier to meet a colony of emperor penguins and the team of scientists…
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The prickly prize of ongaonga
29 Sep 2022It's spectacularly spiky and delivers a painful or even deadly sting. Why are a team of conservationists growing and planting up Orokonui Ecosanctuary near Dunedin with more and more native tree…
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A send-off for SOFIA, the flying observatory
22 Sep 2022We're saying farewell to the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (aka SOFIA) this month. The mission, which was partially based in Christchurch, wraps up after a decade of observing…
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Future forest industry
15 Sep 2022In a future that is free of fossil fuels, where will we source all the products that we get from the petroleum industry? Scientists at the forest research institute Scion think that trees might…
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Fascinating fungi and pesky pathogens
In a room in the Manaaki Whenua building in Auckland are rows and rows of shelves, with cardboard boxes containing an array of weird and wonderful dried fungi. Claire Concannon visits to learn how and…
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Bringing back nature to Nelson
1 Sep 2022Alison Ballance visits the Brook Waimārama sanctuary, and discovers that the old saying "many hands make light work" is particularly true when it comes to community conservation. A relatively new…
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Plasma jet technology and encouraging Pacific students in science
Claire Concannon catches up with Dr. Taniela Lolohea of Auckland University of Technology. He is researching in the relatively new field of low temperature plasma surface coatings, and explains how it…
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Investigating the virosphere
18 Aug 2022While we might have heard all we ever want to know about viruses in the last few years, the truth is, known viruses represent less than zero point one percent of the estimated total of viruses out…
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For the love of seabirds
11 Aug 2022Edin Whitehead inherited a love of birds from her father and became captivated by the majesty of seabirds on a trip to the Subantarctic Islands. Now a PhD student at the University of Auckland, she is…
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The Living Laboratories project
4 Aug 2022The Auckland University of Technology Living Laboratories project is all about investigating how best to grow back native forest. At Pourewa creek, this collaboration between AUT and Ngāti Whātua…
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Secrets of Antarctic microbes
28 Jul 2022The most extreme places in Antarctica give rise to the toughest and weirdest types of life. From creatures living a very different chemical life to ours at underwater methane seeps to the secret tools…
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Why the Tongan volcano triggered a worldwide tsunami
21 Jul 2022The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai in January triggered a tsunami of unprecedented proportions, impacting the entire Pacific. How did this volcanic eruption lead to a tsunami detected across…
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