Latest science

World can limit global warming without BECCS

Tuesday - It is possible to limit warming to 1.5deg above pre-industrial temperatures without using negative emissions from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), new research says.

BREAKTHROUGH: Science gets to the heart of methane

20 Mar 18 - Scientists have sequenced the genomes of the micro-organisms that make sheep and cattle emit methane.

Did burning coalfields cause Earth’s worst mass extinction?

14 Mar 18 - Earth has gone through five mass extinction events – scientists are worried we’re on course to trigger a sixth – and the deadliest one happened 252 million years ago.

Plastic pollution has now spread to rivers

13 Mar 18 - Microplastics are contaminating rivers as well as the ocean, say scientists.

Battered ecosystems almost never recover

2 Mar 18 - Ecosystems almost never recover completely from large-scale destruction — even when they're actively restored, says a team of international researchers.

Science being denied swamp kauri secrets

26 Feb 18 - Scientists fear secret excavation of ancient kauri logs from swamps is hampering their ability to predict future climate change.

Summer hottest on record

23 Feb 18 - This summer is about to become New Zealand's hottest in history - despite a sub-tropical storm and two ex-tropical cyclones.

Thank the seagulls – guano makes the world go round

16 Feb 18 - Three new studies of how the world works show that seabird excrement plays an unexpected role, as do polar algae and rotting trees.

Victoria University think-tank up there with the best

14 Feb 18 - The New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute has been named one of the best environmental policy think-tanks in the world.

WONDER WOOD: New material could replace steel in building

14 Feb 18 - A type of super-strong wood, which could replace the use of steel in manufacturing, has been developed by US researchers.

Climate change might cause birds to hatch early

12 Feb 18 - Climate change might cause birds' eggs to hatch early, a new study shows.

Is paint stripper causing new problems for the ozone layer?

8 Feb 18 - The ozone layer that protects people from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation is not recovering over most highly populated regions, warn scientists.

Negative emissions have ‘limited potential’

2 Feb 18 - The potential for using negative emissions technologies to help to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement could be more “limited” than previously thought, says a new report.

When the heat's at its worst, trees will sweat to stay alive

2 Feb 18 - Climate experiment shows trees release water but stop absorbing carbon in extreme heat.

Telling the story is climate panel's problem

1 Feb 18 - The IPCC is taking guidance on how to communicate its crucial findings beyond speciality scientific and policy circles.

Biomining delivers the elements of the future

1 Feb 18 - Biomining is the kind of technique promised by science fiction: a vast tank filled with microorganisms that leach metal from ore, old mobile phones and hard drives.

How our climate research was turned into fake news

1 Feb 18 - Science is slow. It rests on painstaking research with accumulating evidence. This makes for an inherently uneasy relationship with the modern media age, especially once issues are politicised.

Breakthrough could mean seawater fuel of the future

31 Jan 18 - Advances in electrolysis technology bring seawater one step closer as the fuel of the future.

Our phosphorus levels are getting dangerous

30 Jan 18 - Man-made phosphorus pollution is reaching dangerously high levels in freshwater basins, new research says.