Science

A waste picker drinks water while working during a heat wave at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Jammu, India

Scientists update El Niño label amid global temperature spike

Experts say a new study including El Nino and its counterpart La Niña can help explain the mystery of why Earth's already rising temperature has spiked to new heights.

2:00pm

Q+A's Whena Owen reports as insurance companies begin to pull out of towns facing flooding and seismic risk.

NZ's safest city from natural hazards, according to scientists

Insurance companies are in retreat from some communities deemed too dangerous to cover, so where is less risk-prone?

Mon, Feb 16

The image that resembled death himself from a scan of a person who was in a car accident.

Spooky 'grim reaper' shows up on medical scan

The person was actually unharmed, but the New Zealand Medical Journal has highlighted the case as an example of pareidolia.

Fri, Feb 13

Why are new tea towels worse at drying dishes than older ones?

We all know that old faithful dries dishes better, even if we can’t quite explain why.

Wed, Feb 11

Research shows that the brain can be exercised, much like our muscles.

How to train your brain the same way you train muscles

It might come as a surprise to learn that the brain responds to training in much the same way as our muscles.

Sat, Feb 7

Scientists update El Niño label amid global temperature spike

Experts say a new study including El Nino and its counterpart La Niña can help explain the mystery of why Earth's already rising temperature has spiked to new heights.

2:00pm

NZ's safest city from natural hazards, according to scientists

Insurance companies are in retreat from some communities deemed too dangerous to cover, so where is less risk-prone?

Mon, Feb 16

Spooky 'grim reaper' shows up on medical scan

The person was actually unharmed, but the New Zealand Medical Journal has highlighted the case as an example of pareidolia.

Fri, Feb 13

Why are new tea towels worse at drying dishes than older ones?

We all know that old faithful dries dishes better, even if we can’t quite explain why.

Wed, Feb 11

How to train your brain the same way you train muscles

It might come as a surprise to learn that the brain responds to training in much the same way as our muscles.

Sat, Feb 7

This undated photo provided by the Ape Initiative shows Kanzi, a bonobo who learned to communicate with humans, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Can apes play pretend? Scientists use an imaginary tea party to find out

Scientists say the findings suggests that the roots of capacity for imagination are not unique to the human species.

Fri, Feb 6

Baby Blaise attends her 2-month Foundcog scan with her mother Mary at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience in Dublin, Ireland. (Source: Cusack Lab via AP)

Babies see the world in more complex way than scientists thought — study

Someday, researchers said, scientists may be able to connect such brain imaging to cognitive outcomes later in life.

Tue, Feb 3

January 2026

This photo provided by NASA shows the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B,

NASA delays Artemis moonshot mission due to cold weather

The first Artemis moonshot with a crew is now targeted for no earlier than February 8, two days later than planned.

Sat, Jan 31

Are meat eaters more likely to live to 100 than non-meat eaters?

There’s more to research findings, from 5000 adults aged 80-plus, than meets the eye.

Sat, Jan 31

NZ’s sodden January explained: what’s driven this month’s big wet?

For many people, it has felt like midsummer never really arrived. Is it simply bad luck, or is there something more going on?

Wed, Jan 28

In the new year, 24 shipping containers fell from two vessels during Storm Goretti, with chips and onions among the goods appearing on the Sussex shoreline.

Chips and onions are washing up on UK's coast. What does it tell us?

The goods re among the items appearing on the Sussex shoreline.

Sun, Jan 25

Influenza, the virus responsible for flu, is known to spread through aerosols (microscopic droplets) released when an infected person coughs, sneezes or even breathes normally (file image).

Locked in a small room with flu sufferers, but no one caught it. Why?

The unexpected finding comes from a well-designed study that set out to answer a basic question: how does flu really spread?

Fri, Jan 23

Ancient rock art sheds light on migration of early Australians

The fragmentary hand stencil dates back to a minimum of 67,800 years ago – the oldest known rock art in the world.

Thu, Jan 22

Why a tumour isn't always cancer and how to tell the difference

Not all tumours are cancer, and not all cancers are tumours. So what defines them?

Mon, Jan 19

Scientists stunned as massive black coral found off Fiordland

The discovery will provide a "vital" breeding stock for the slow growing species, researchers say.

Tue, Jan 13

A red Moon, a blue Moon, a supermoon: A guide to the southern sky in 2026

What will we see in the southern sky in 2026?

Wed, Jan 7

Heather took this picture of the sun halo in Whitianga.

Upper North Island treated to sun 'halo' in the skies

MetService shared a picture on social media of the sun's 22⁰ circular halo, visible due to a thin veil of high cloud which covered the upper North Island.

Tue, Jan 6

December 2025

Are we destined to create AI smarter than us that can't be controlled?

Fears super intelligent AI could turn against us – ‘We have to be wary’

"We simply don’t know if we can make them not want to take over, and not want to hurt us," godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton has warned.

December 20, 2025

Scepticism over humanoid robots at Silicon Valley summit

The commercial boom in artificial intelligence has lit a spark under long-simmering visions to build humanoid robots that can move their mechanical bodies like humans and do things that people do.

December 13, 2025