This week on the Tuesday Wire Casper and Emily were joined remotely by Marcus Jones who caught them up on the latest science news. Casper had his weekly chat with the National Party’s Dr. Shane Reti, talking this week about the elective surgery waiting list.
Casper also spoke to Len Cook, the former government statistician, about the dangers of a proposed Data and Statistics bill.
Emily spoke with Jason Young from the New Zealand China Resarch Institute about New Zealand’s relationship with China- past, present and future. She also chatted with Water Safety New Zealand’s Chief executive Daniel Gerrard about their new report on drownings in Aotearoa
In 1923, Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck) documented the last confirmed capture of a special fish – the upokororo or New Zealand grayling. Now, researchers are using using its ancient DNA to finally provide some answers to how it went extinct.
Genetic data provides a new tool in the search for survivors. Environmental DNA in water samples from remote catchments can now be compared routinely to known DNA from the upokororo.
Fish populations are in sharp decline globally. Lessons learned from past extinctions, like that of the upokororo, can help us preserve fish species for future generations. Hopefully we can heed the lessons from the past.
Joe speaks to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Palaeogenetics Lab at the University of Otago on the matter.
Breast cancer affects thousands of Kiwis, particularly women, every year. This year, the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation raised funds to purchase a new campervan, which they painted pink and dubbed Pinkie.
This campervan travels to more remote regions of the country with two nurses on board, helping to screen those for cancer and raise awareness of the importance of early detection.
To find out more, Arno spoke to NZ Breast Cancer Foundation chief Ah-Leen Rayner. Arno started our interview by asking what the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation does.
Following the pandemic, hybrid remote and in office work has become more prevalent. According to data from StatsNZ on the September 2024 quarter, more than 40% of businesses offered a work from home option, while 898,700 people worked from home.
In 2023, 5 academics (and work friends) published a study on the nature of workplace friendships in the absence of physical presence. The study indicated several benefits of having work friends, as well as revealing foundational elements to maintaining these friendships.
Producer Athena spoke to Senior Lecturer Dr Stefan Korber, from the University of Auckland Business School, about the benefits of having work friends, and the ways workplace friendships can flourish.
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