Navigation for News Categories
Our Changing World headlines with summaries.
-
Using sound to brew better beer
What happens if you play a Viennese waltz or death metal to beer as it brews? Experimenting with musical ways of making better beer.
Audio -
Osmium - heavyweight champion of the elements
19 Aug 2019Osmium is extremely rare and expensive. It is the densest chemical element, rivals diamond as being the least compressible of all known substances & has a distinctive 'pong' according to Allan…
Audio -
Nitrogen - a vital powerhouse
16 Aug 2019Most important biological molecules contain nitrogen, even though it takes lots of energy to make or break its chemical bonds, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 54 of Elemental.
Audio -
Risky decisions & gambling addiction
Electronic gaming machines, or the pokies, are highly addictive. Sonia Sly investigates why problem gambling develops and how it is associated with other disorders.
Audio -
Niobium - useful at high & low temperatures
12 Aug 2019Niobium is a metal that is useful at both very high temperatures, as in jet engines, and very low temperatures as a superconductor, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 53 of Elemental.
Audio -
Nickel - more than just a 5 cent coin
9 Aug 2019The chemical element nickel is named after a German word for Satan or the Devil, but nickel is now more usually thought of as a North American five cent piece, says Allan Blackman in ep 52 of…
Audio -
Detector Gadget the conservation dog
8 Aug 2019Detector Gadget is a dog with a job. She is a conservation dog trained by her handler Sandy King to sniff out rodents on predator-free islands.
Audio -
Kākāpō chicks growing up
5 Aug 2019The kākāpō chicks are graduating to being juveniles and only seven birds are still sick with aspergillosis, in ep 23 of the Kākāpō Files.
Audio -
Neon - the red of neon lights
5 Aug 2019There are no known compounds of the noble gas neon, which does however produce the brilliant crimson of red - and only red - neon lights. Ep 51 of Elemental with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT.
Audio -
Neodymium - the secret behind supermagnets
2 Aug 2019Neodydmium magnets include the strongest permanent magnets known and are found in devices like speakers & headphones, says chemistry professor Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 50 of Elemental.
Audio -
Challenging gender norms & the threat of female sexuality
Professor Ciara Cremin explores the politics of cross-dressing and gender identity in both her personal and her professional life.
Audio -
Molybdenum - a catalyst at bacterial to industrial scales
29 Jul 2019Molybdenum has an essential role as a catalyst at microbial and industrial scales and is an important element in enzymes, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 49 of Elemental.
Audio -
Written in stone - the first Māori gardens
The Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, in South Auckland, is home to New Zealand's earliest gardens and is a significant archaeological site.
Audio -
Mercury - mesmerising quicksilver
26 Jul 2019Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, says Allan Blackman in ep 48 of Elemental.
Audio -
Restoring Fiordland's 'island lifeboats'
25 Jul 2019The Department of Conservation and volunteer groups, including the Coal Island Trust, are hard at work removing pests such as stoats and deer from Fiordland's many islands.
Audio -
Manganese - the 'essential' essential element
24 Jul 2019The metal manganese is a vital part of photosynthesis and is found in aluminium drink cans, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 47 of Elemental.
Audio -
Magnesium - loved by everyone and everything
22 Jul 2019Magnesium is loved by plants, folk suffering constipation and boy-racers, as Allan Blackman reveals in ep 46 of Elemental.
Audio -
Lutetium - an obscure Parisian
19 Jul 2019After a fierce struggle for naming rights, the last lanthanoid element to be discovered was eventually named after Paris, says Allan Blackman in ep 45 of Elemental.
Audio -
New way to stop unwanted biofouling
18 Jul 2019Electroclear is a start-up company at the University of Auckland using electric fields to deter small marine organisms from settling on boats and underwater structures.
Video, Audio -
Kākāpō dads revealed
17 Jul 2019Paternity testing has revealed who the top kākāpō dads are, as well as the success of the artificial insemination programme, in ep 22 of the Kākāpō Files.
Audio -
Lithium - a mood enhancing element
Lithium is the lightest metal, and it is used in batteries and for the treatment of bipolar disorder, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 44 of Elemental.
Audio -
Lead - sweet-tasting but deadly
12 Jul 2019Lead is the element that took down an empire, and its sweet taste belies a metal that is dangerous for human & animal health. All this and more with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 43 of Elemental.
… Audio -
Children's art - more than just a picture
Prof Harlene Hayne investigates childrens' artworks: are they just a picture or do they offer insights and clues into the kid's emotional world?
Audio -
Lanthanum - curious case of a 'lost' element
8 Jul 2019Despite giving its name to a whole group on the periodic table, chemists can't agree if lanthanum even belongs in that group, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 42 of Elemental.
Audio
Top News stories
- Leo Molloy censured, ordered to pay $23k by Vet Council for Grace Millane suppression breach
- Rotten lunches remained at school without refrigeration for three days - NZ Food Safety
- Thrift shop gets over 520kg in donations this year alone
- Netball: Frustrations boil over in Noeline Taurua territory - but will other zones follow?
- 'Gun fanatic' ex-police officer to stand trial in Victoria over weapons cache
