Our Changing World

In 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 provide the solutions we need. Fossil fuels aren't just used for transport and energy - they're also used to make everyday products. As we move away from fossil fuels, where else can we find these...

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 why these specimens are kept, and finds out about its sister culture collection, which is helping in the defense against invading plant pathogens. The New Zealand Fungarium has a library feel - a qui...

Alison 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 fenced sanctuary, the Brook Waimārama team is now at the exciting stage of bringing native wildlife back into the area, including orange-fronted parakeets - kākāriki karaka - and giant land snails. Giant...

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 can be used to create customised surfaces for many purposes. But he is also investigating ways to encourage more Pacific students in science, including by developing projects that might be more attra...

While 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 there. Claire Concannon meets a team from the University of Otago trying to increase our knowledge of virus diversity, so that we can better understand their evolution. All of us can list at least a few...

Edin 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 trying to figure out how best to help the birds of the Hauraki Gulf, who are facing many threats, including warming waters. Many of northern New Zealand's seabirds are out of sight and out of mi...

The 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 Ōrākei involves planting blocks with different nursery plants and measuring individual tree growth and biodiversity indicators over time. They hope to figure out the recipe to cheaper and faster regenerat...

The 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 bacteria use to keep their DNA safe from the harsh conditions of the dry valleys. Antarctica is a continent of extremes. The coldest. The driest. The windiest. It pushes life to the very limits. Livi...

The 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 the globe, including as far away as the Mediterranean? Science communicator Ellen Rykers speaks to the scientists unravelling the secrets of this rare phenomenon. The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha&#x...

With their antler-like mandibles, Helm's stag beetles often get stuck in to one another. But they are fighting a bigger battle too - against predators and habitat loss. PhD student Luna Thomas is studying these little known endemic insects. She hopes her work will add to our sparse scientific knowledge, and maybe help some of the other native stag beetle species, some of which are critically endan...

The New Zealand data science programme, Taiao, aims to help researchers make sense of environmental data so they can make useful predictions to guide good decisions. Claire Concannon meets the team at the University of Waikato where the programme is hosted. And a group in the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are researching a new needle-free jet injector design that they think might lead to a hap...

PhD student Kiamaia Ellis describes crayfish as a vulnerable taonga species. Local iwi in Tauranga believe the crayfish population is decreasing because of urban, industrial and harvesting pressures. But Kiamaia is keen to be a part of the solution, so she's studying the resilience of pēpi kōura / baby crayfish. She wants to understand how these tiny species that take eight years to become an adul...

Working with the community and local schools, the Karioi Project aims to turn the tide on biodiversity loss in their area. In recent years they've rallied around the grey-faced petrel, or Ōi, who they hope to help return to the maunga. In the great cycle of nutrients between the ocean and the land, seabirds are an important link. Burrowing seabirds transport nutrients from the sea into the costal...

Two stories about the promise and perils of chemistry research. From a team recreating Renaissance beauty recipes in the hopes of rediscovering a 'miracle ingredient', to a researcher investigating New Zealand's deadliest synthetic cannabinoid. Natural products are the origin of many of today's beauty products and medicines, with plant, mineral and animal product extracts analysed and then of...

The Nevis Fault is a sleeping giant fault, one that awakens only every 10,000 years or so. This week, a team of geologists use paleoseismic trenching to answer questions about this fault and to figure out the pattern of past earthquakes. Aotearoa New Zealand is in a collision zone. It is the place where the mighty Australian and Pacific tectonic plates meet. The main fault line runs the length of...

It's Prime Minister's Science Prize time! We meet some of the people awarded the 2021 prizes for their mahi. The annual Prime Minister's Science Prizes recognise the best in New Zealand science research, teaching and communication. Now the 2021 results are in. Congratulations to all the winners! Listen to interviews with prizewinners Bianca Woyak, Carol Khor and Professor Dame Jane Harding in...

Researchers from the University of Waikato are tackling the tricky question of how to restore native biodiversity in our urban areas. For her Masters research at the University of Waikato, Hannah Rogers has gotten to know every green patch, nook and cranny of Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Follow Our Changing World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRADIO, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic or wherever...

We join Marine Science PhD student Namrata Chand on her Autumn field work collecting seaweed samples to learn more about this 'underdog of the ocean'. Namrata Chand began diving in the coral reefs and warm crystal-clear waters around her native Fiji. Diving to sample seaweed in Otago Harbour for her PhD is quite a different experience. Follow Our Changing World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher...

Pūtahi Manawa / Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa has an ambitious goal - to close the inequity gaps in heart health. Researchers in this Centre of Research Excellence explain the gaps that exist and how they plan to address them. Cardiovascular diseases - disorders of the heart and blood vessels - are the leading cause of death globally. In Aotearoa, alongside cancer and respiratory diseases, they are...

Claire Concannon meets with some of the people working to protect New Zealand's naturally rare ecosytems and the endangered plants found within them. Aotearoa is home to over 70 naturally rare ecosystems - places that make up a tiny amount of the total area of New Zealand but can hold incredible amounts of biodiversity. Follow Our Changing World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRADIO, G...

A visit to Scott's Terra Nova hut to learn about the care given to the objects by Antarctic Heritage Trust conservators. This is an edit of the Antarctic Heritage Trust's podcast 'Frozen in Time: Scott's Antarctic Legacy'. Scott's Terra Nova hut at Cape Evans in Antarctica has a history rich in both triumph and tragedy. Follow Our Changing World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRAD...

Justin Gregory finds out about a study investigating how pre-term babies are fed during their first few weeks, and whether there is a better way. Busy and happy, Isla Rothwell is a confident toddler with a great giggle. She loves an adventure. 'Oblivious to danger is the current mode,' says mum Olivia. '" What are you doing on the table and how did you even get up there?"&...

Stories about looking our warming world in the eye, and preparing for what is coming next. Collecting data about extreme temperatures in estuaries to help manage shellfish populations. Plus what might managed retreat of marae threatened by sea level rise mean for MÄori communities. We know that global temperatures are on the rise, and even if we could stop all greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow som...

At the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research a team of scientists are working on what they believe will be the future of cancer treatment in New Zealand. When she imagines the future of cancer treatment, Yasmin Nouri sees a very different landscape. Instead of chemotherapy, a blunt technique aimed at all fast growing cells, she envisions therapies that are personalised to the patient and targeted...

Two stories on addressing our energy problem - using AI to maximise locally produced renewable energy and reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia production. The latest release from the IPCC sixth assessment report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability didn't hold back on dire warnings. The UN secretary general referred to it as a 'code red for humanity'. Follow Our Changing Wor...