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Researchers studying ageing disagree on just about everything — including what ageing is, whether it is a disease and when it starts — according to a survey of about 100 scientists working in the field. A key goal of ageing research is to help people live longer, healthier lives. But the exact causes of ageing, as well as effective approaches to slow or reverse it, remain elusive. For the field to tackle these challenges, researchers need to…

Honda doesn't just want to power future vehicles with solid-state batteries; the company wants to develop and ultimately mass-produce the batteries itself. Solid-state tech represents a deep-anchored cornerstone of both its midterm electric vehicle plans and its greater goal of achieving full carbon neutrality by 2050. It took a big step toward those objectives this month, unveiling its first demonstration solid-state production line, which…

Pirate station Radio Hauraki broadcast its first scheduled transmission from beyond New Zealand’s 3-mile territorial limit on December 4th 1966. The MVTiri was anchored in the Colville Channel between Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula. The brainchild of journalist David Gapes, Hauraki challenged the monopoly of the conservative New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, whose programmes held little appeal for 1960s teenagers. When its…

You don't need an Advent calendar to know that Christmas is coming, but opening a little numbered door to reveal a prize is an idea that everyone—religious or not—can get behind. Here’s a brief history of Advent calendars and a few non-traditional designs of this popular tradition. What Is Advent? Advent is the four-week period beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30) through the following three…

Astrophysicists have detected the most energetic electrons ever recorded raining down on Earth. With trillions of times the energy of visible light, these cosmic rays seem to be coming from a powerful source relatively close to our solar system. Earth is constantly being bombarded by cosmic radiation, most of it from our own Sun. But other sources, like quasars, supernovae and gamma ray bursts, can fire off particles at extremely high…

Estefania Primera could face 20 years in jail if found guilty as case raises questions about how closely migrants are being monitored Estefania Primera, also known as La Barbie, is also accused of using her own children as drug mules. After allegedly being imprisoned, beaten and raped, the woman needed help to make it across the lobby of the hotel so she could finally escape. Emerging into downtown El Paso, court documents state, she…

There’s plenty of evidence that ancient hominin species crossed paths on many occasions – but it’s never been quite as literal as a new discovery in Kenya. Paleontologists have discovered the first known example of fossil footprints left by two different species of ancient hominins on the same day. The footprints date back 1.5 million years, left in the muddy shores of an ancient lake in what would have been a hot savannah environment. They…

ACT Local Government spokesman Cameron Luxton is urging councils across New Zealand to prioritise value-for-money in procurement, challenging what he calls “politically correct” policies. Luxton claims that a focus on “progressive,” “diverse,” or “sustainable” outcomes undermines efficient service delivery and drives up costs for ratepayers. “Council procurement should have one purpose: deliver quality services at the best possible value for…

Most New Zealanders support banning young children from social media, according to a new poll. University of Auckland researcher Dr Samantha Marsh said “So many parents have said to me that they would welcome a ban. Kids are more vulnerable to the adverse effects – and they’re more drawn to it.” she said. The Horizon Research survey revealed that over three-quarters of respondents believe parents should ensure online safety, with 70%…

The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive’s appeal for reader support blamed halted taxpayer grants, which had “stopped dead,” for the site’s financial woes. In an interview with Sean Plunket, Duncan Greive estimated The Spinoff’s taxpayer funding at “one or two million dollars.” However, journalist Graham Adams disputes this. Adams cites NZ On Air records that show The Spinoff and its affiliates, Hex Work and Hexwork Productions, have received over…

When you think of an eating disorder, chances are you picture a young girl with anorexia, or possibly bulimia. You're not alone. Those conditions are most commonly portrayed in TV and film — and research shows the media usually depicts both as mostly affecting white women under 30. However, binge eating disorder is a far more common condition — but is rarely talked about and is mostly misunderstood. The condition also seems to be on the…

Kyiv is once again under threat from Russian missiles as Vladimir Putin claims to be seeking out Ukrainian "decision-making centres" to target following the use of new US and European arms on Russian territory. It follows weeks of the war ramping up in rhetoric and fighting, as the long winter descends along the relatively stagnant eastern front. Despite the difficulty of fighting in the conditions, both sides are attempting to reshape the…

Human beings have an emotional and psychological need to convert history into a science, for we have longed to have life and the world make sense. Yet, there are no general laws of history that can give precise measurement to human thought or action. There is for historians only the intelligible disorder of life, the fragments of which they gather, and from which they try to uncover truth, describe reality, and craft meaning. I. The Rise and…

Even before November, the once trendy concepts of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) were already sinking. Now the election of Donald Trump all but guarantees their accelerated decline. The DEI push gained momentum during the 2020 George Floyd riots, after being nurtured for years on most college campuses. Many companies, including Walmart, adopted its associated practices. But new research…

If you've never heard of fox nuts, you'd be forgiven for assuming that they don't sound particularly palatable. But they're actually starchy seeds harvested from an aquatic lily and are being hailed as a versatile superfood, with recent studies supporting why they've been a powerhouse in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for 3,000 years, treating everything from obesity to high cholesterol and inflammation. And no foxes are harmed in the process. …

Injecting a natural hormone directly into the gut reduces the cognitive impairment that accompanies a stroke in the long term, according to a new study. The findings add to evidence that a healthy gut means a healthy brain and pave the way for a treatment that reduces the chronic after-effects of stroke. What with the number of studies confirming it, it’s pretty much a given now: the gut and brain are linked, such that the health of one…

Frederick Bennett, who had a Ngāti Whakaue mother and an Irish father, was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1897. He spent 13 years as superintendent of the Māori mission in Rotorua before moving to Hastings for mission work in Hawke’s Bay. The idea of a Māori diocese with its own bishop was a response to the formation of the Rātana Church, which threatened to draw Māori away from established churches. For three years, there was deadlock…

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the…

When it comes to monitoring the health of crops, aerial images captured by aircraft flying high overhead are only going to tell you so much. That's where an experimental new spectral sensor comes in, as it's mounted directly on the underside of individual plants' leaves. Developed by Ko-ichiro Miyamoto, Kaori Kohzuma and colleagues at Japan's Tohoku University, the device is intended to be used on a number of "sentinel plants" located in…

Swedish startup Heart Aerospace is gearing up for the first experimental flight of the X1 early next year, an electric demonstrator aircraft that's the same size as its upcoming 30-seater commercial plane. "The initial experimental flight of the Heart X1 demonstrator is designed to validate the capabilities of Heart’s innovative electric propulsion technology," the company says. It'll be a major milestone for the Gothenburg-based firm, which…