The blast of the harpoon may have given way to the click of the camera, but whales are still the cornerstone of commerce—and the subject of many a decorative mural—in the north Canterbury town of Kaikoura. In little more than a decade, marine ecotourism has transformed a coastal backwater into an international travel hotspot....
Herceptin is a drug that has attracted a fair measure of attention and controversy in recent years. It is used in the treatment of a certain type of breast cancer where some deem it to be of considerable benefit. Unfortunately, it is also very expensive and has adverse effects on the hearts of some patients. […]...
ICE. At one extreme, it is the humble cube which puts the clink in your drink on a hot summer’s afternoon. At the other, it is a major cog in the engine which drives the world’s weather. Furthermore, its behaviour over the ages may have played a pivotal role in human evolution. At the heart […]...
The sea ice around Antarctica melts and refreezes with the seasons, usually doubling the size of the continent by the end of winter. For most of 2023, about two million square kilometres has been missing in action—a record low. We’ve only been keeping satellite records of sea ice for 44 years, but the extent of […]...
Welcome to the “Science Round-up”, the first of what is anticipated to be a regular summary of interesting science stories relevant to New Zealanders. There are many worthwhile articles published each week in scientific journals, but where can they be found? In this first column I will attempt to answer that question. Access to current […]...
Publishing is invariably a one-sided relationship. You produce words, pictures, illustrations, then print and despatch them, as if tying messages to the feet of so many carrier pigeons. Occasionally a message comes back. And no matter what its content—whether affirmation or disagreement—there is joy in the completing of the loop. That is why any editor […]...
