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Science Media Centre Update Issue 145

Thu Aug 11, 2011 22:53 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Issue 145 August 12 - 18 In This Issue Smarter meters Food insecurity Moon Spooned New from the SMC Sciblogs highlights Research highlights Policy updates Sci-tech events Quick Links SMC Alerts Briefings

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Onset of polar outbreak in deep south overnight Sat

Thu Aug 11, 2011 22:38 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

An extremely cold southerly outbreak is expected to bring snow to sea level over the south of the South Island early on Sunday morning. Snow is forecast to spread to many other parts of the South Island and the lower North Island later on Sunday.

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Shocking diabetes rates can be reduced

Thu Aug 11, 2011 20:26 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Leading medical specialists, public health researchers and nutritionists warn that not enough is being done to prevent the rapidly increasing diabetes rates, largely caused by significant increases in obesity in adults and children in recent years.

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Everyone Take a Bow -- Group Bent Spoon Award for media

Thu Aug 11, 2011 18:28 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

The NZ Skeptics have awarded their annual prize for journalistic gullibility to all those media outlets and personalities who took Ken Ring's earthquake prediction claims at face value, thereby misinforming the public and contributing to 50,000 people ...

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Exceptionally Cold Outbreak to Spread Over NZ - 12/8/11

Thu Aug 11, 2011 18:04 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Highest confidence at this stage is for significant snowfalls in southern Fiordland, Southland, and Otago, on Monday, right down to sea level. Further north, snow will probably fall to sea level in Canterbury,but amounts and extent of the snowfall remain ...

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Severe Weather Outlook - Cold Snap Expected

Wed Aug 10, 2011 22:11 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

On Sunday, a cold front should sweep northwards over the country, followed by a very cold southerly outbreak.

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Impacts of hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'

Wed Aug 10, 2011 20:26 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Hydraulic fracturing -- a technology commonly known as "fraccing" or "fracking" -- widely used in the oil and gas industry overseas has recently triggered some controversy in New Zealand, with critics raising questions over potential environmental impacts. ...

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Christchurch Tech CompanyAwarded Contract with Google

Wed Aug 10, 2011 17:39 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Web and mobile software company Resolve Digital Ltd has won a second development contract with tech giant Google Inc., based in Mountain View, California.

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Breakthrough Research Holds Clues About MS Cause

Wed Aug 10, 2011 15:09 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Breakthrough Research Holds Clues About MS Cause In one of the largest human genetic studies ever undertaken, scientists have identified the major common genetic variants that contribute to the cause of the devastating neurologic disease, multiple sclerosis ...

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Experts respond: UK Riots and crowd psychology

Tue Aug 9, 2011 22:40 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

As rioting continues in London and other UK cities, the public are left wondering how the mob mentality of a riot develops – and how authorities can effectively respond.

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New science and more at Massey Open Day 0

Tue Aug 9, 2011 17:50 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Imagine a university degree that could lead to scaling the remote peaks of the Himalayas in search of snow leopards, exploring the Ugandan jungle to observe mountain gorillas, or working with rare native kakapo.

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Free FB Limiter Scores More Than 10,000 Downloads

Tue Aug 9, 2011 06:29 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

AxiomCoders announced that it got more than 10,000 downloads on the first day of launching free version of FB Limiter, software that is used to block facebook access on computer .

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Shill bidding: Unlawful, unethical and dumb

Mon Aug 8, 2011 21:05 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Trade Me has applauded the conviction of Christchurch business Morrison Car Company for shill bidding on its own auctions. “Shill or ghost bidding is one of the most immoral forms of behaviour in a marketplace,” said Trade Me’s Head of Trust & ...

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Termites eradicated

Mon Aug 8, 2011 20:25 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

An incursion of Australian subterranean termites has been declared eradicated from a site in Richmond, Nelson. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has now ended its surveillance of the site, five years after termites of the species [Note to Ed: ...

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Expansion for Meat Research Company

Mon Aug 8, 2011 20:19 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

A purpose designed building with extended taste testing and electronics development facilities is the new home for Carne Technologies Ltd. The Cambridge based meat research company has moved to the new premises in the Aotearoa Park industrial area adjacent ...

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Lotus Makes a New Noise – to Save Lives

Mon Aug 8, 2011 20:05 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Given its reputation for racing and road performance going cars that are anything but quiet, it should come as no surprise that, Lotus Engineering, the design and technology division of one of the most famous car brands in the world, is working ...

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New Research Trust to be launched by Agriculture Minister

Sun Aug 7, 2011 21:48 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

The New Zealand Poplar and Willow Research Trust (NZPWRT) will be formally launched by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. David Carter on 9 August 2011. Soil erosion is a major issue over much of New Zealand's land surface. Poplars and willows are ...

Getting spinal injury victims back on their feet

Sun Aug 7, 2011 17:30 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

New Zealand’s first Spinal Cord Injury Research Unit, dedicated to gaining a better understanding of the causes of disability following injury and to developing new treatments towards a cure, will be launched at The University of Auckland this week.

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Encrypt the Web with HTTPS Everywhere

Sun Aug 7, 2011 16:32 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), in collaboration with the Tor Project, has launched an official 1.0 version of HTTPS Everywhere, a tool for the Firefox web browser that helps secure web browsing by encrypting connections to more than ...

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Scottish Professor in New Zealand to discuss plant pathology

Sun Aug 7, 2011 15:30 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Auckland, 8th August 2011 Plant & Food Research, in association with AgMARDT, is pleased to be hosting plant pathologist Professor Dale Walters during a visit to New Zealand where he will be presenting his research on induced resistance in ...

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Long working hours can lead to alcohol addictions

Sun Aug 7, 2011 15:21 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

A University of Otago, Christchurch, study has found that working at least 50 hours a week increases the risk of alcohol problems by up to three times.

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Climate Science Coalition - Statement

Sun Aug 7, 2011 02:50 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

“New Zealand’s temperature record is a dog’s breakfast” says the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, commenting on its finding that average temperatures have remained stable for the last 150 years. “And it underscores our vulnerability to ...

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Emissions Don’t Raise NZ Temperatures

Sun Aug 7, 2011 02:48 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition 5 August 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Emissions Don’t Raise NZ Temperatures No correlation here between CO2 and climate New Zealand temperatures were flat during the 20th century and have been declining during the ...

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NZ unaffected by human-caused global warming

Sun Aug 7, 2011 02:47 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

NZ unaffected by human-caused global warming No temperature increase in the last hundred years The current emissions trading scheme (ETS) has no justification, because New Zealand has not been affected by global warming, whether of natural origin or ...

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Scientist condemns misrepresentation of obesity paper

Fri Aug 5, 2011 19:30 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Scientist condemns misrepresentation of obesity paper Professor Sir Peter Gluckman has moved to correct a misleading interpretation of a commentary paper which he co-authored: “Losing the war against obesity: the need for a developmental perspective” published ...

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SMC Heads-Up to 11 August

Thu Aug 4, 2011 23:30 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Last night, TVNZ's Media 7 aired a special programme on science, which included Sciblogs' readers picks for the best and worst of media coverage of science stories over the past year.

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Cancer study just one piece of the puzzle

Thu Aug 4, 2011 23:10 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Federated Farmers is interested to find out more about Massey University research around growing up on livestock farms and a possible association with increased blood cancer risks.

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ESR reaffirms prescription drug found in synthetic cannabis

Thu Aug 4, 2011 21:42 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

ESR reaffirms prescription drug found in synthetic cannabis 5 August 2011 ESR scientists are rejecting false statements about their testing of synthetic cannabis products and the presence of the controlled substance phenazepam. The claims were made in ...

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Chiefly kiwi is a girl while boys warm new eggs

Thu Aug 4, 2011 18:24 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Manukura, the first white kiwi chick hatched in captivity, is a girl. Seen as a sign of new beginnings by local Maori, the rare chick may be just that – because new, out-of-season kiwi eggs have been found in the native forest at her Pukaha Mount ...

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Reminder NZ needs to protect itself from cyber attacks

Wed Aug 3, 2011 22:40 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

The developing revelations around Operation ‘Shady RAT’ highlights how important it is for the New Zealand Government, critical infrastructure and corporates to continuously review their protection against cyber attacks and espionage.

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Study sees fishery by-catch as reason for sea lion decline

Wed Aug 3, 2011 21:53 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

University of Otago research examining why numbers of the threatened New Zealand sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri, are declining on their main breeding ground of the Auckland Islands has identified squid fishing as the most likely cause. Lead Researcher ...

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Researchers unveil body clock battle for the blind

Wed Aug 3, 2011 18:36 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Nearly 3000 blind and partially sighted New Zealanders could be suffering from undiagnosed sleep timing disorders according to a recent study from The University of Auckland.

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Second NZ anticancer “stealth” drug targeted for development

Wed Aug 3, 2011 15:53 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

A second anticancer “stealth” drug designed by New Zealand scientists has been targeted for clinical development under a collaborative agreement between Proacta Incorporated (San Diego) and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo).

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NZ designed compound starves cancer cells of glucose

Wed Aug 3, 2011 15:48 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Scientists from the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC) and Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery have designed a new compound that starves certain cancer cells of glucose, depriving them of energy.

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NIWA fights against biosecurity invasion

Tue Aug 2, 2011 17:14 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Exotic aquatic plants, introduced to New Zealand for the aquarium and ornamental pond trade, are silently invading our waterways, but new research by NIWA scientists is helping to lower this risk by finding native alternatives for the trade.

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Public urge caution on climate change policy, survey suggest

Mon Aug 1, 2011 21:51 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

New Zealanders seem to want a cautious approach to climate change policy, seeing other issues as more important and expressing concern about the cost of dealing with climate change, this year’s Greenhouse Policy Coalition survey shows.

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NZ Skeptics Call for Building on Solid Science

Mon Aug 1, 2011 18:55 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Building on solid science is the theme for this year's annual NZ Skeptics conference, an appropriate-enough theme for a meeting being held in Christchurch (26-28 August). "When we're unsure of things, looking for better understanding of what's happening ...

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National Climate Summary – July 2011

Mon Aug 1, 2011 15:37 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

• Wind: Westerly winds south of Christchurch extremely strong and frequent. • Temperature: Monthly mean temperatures near average in many regions, but temperatures on some days during the month anything but typical. • Precipitation: Well above ...

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Compromise of Biosecurity and Brand Too High a Price for TPP

Mon Aug 1, 2011 15:16 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Confidential trade negotiations may be covering up dangerous compromises that will undermine the clean-green foundations of New Zealand's economy. All topics under discussion for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) deal with the US should ...

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NIWA scientists find wood burners need careful owner/drivers

Mon Aug 1, 2011 15:13 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

New Zealanders love their wood burners and keeping warm in winter, but wood burners and how they are being used are the major contributors to winter urban air pollution. NIWA scientists are assessing the emissions from wood burners, and learning more ...

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New Zealand school students win medals at Chemistry Olympiad

Sun Jul 31, 2011 18:34 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

2011 New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad team with their medals after the Closing Ceremony of the 43rd International Chemistry Olympiad in Ankara, Turkey. From left: Andy Chen, Kailun Wang, Thomas Fellowes, Jade Leung.

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Women in Science Entrepreneurship award

Sun Jul 31, 2011 18:11 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

A director of Landcare Research’s DNA diagnostic facility, EcoGene®, has won the inaugural Women in Science Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Pacific Channel, New Zealand’s leading venture development and investment firm and the Association ...

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Seasonal Climate Outlook: August – October 2011

Sun Jul 31, 2011 17:40 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Mild conditions with near average rainfall likely in most places

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Science Media Centre Update Issue 144

Fri Jul 29, 2011 00:14 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Report highlights avoidable deaths A report on maternal and perinatal deaths has raised some tough questions about maternal care in New Zealand. The Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee (PMMRC) released a report this week examining ...

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Scientists discuss best ways to study ‘silent’ earthquakes

Thu Jul 28, 2011 22:48 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

MEDIA RELEASE from GNS Science 29 JULY 2011 SCIENTISTS GATHER IN GISBORNE TO FOCUS ON ‘SILENT’ EARTHQUAKES

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HP Announces HP TouchPad Availability in New Zealand

Wed Jul 27, 2011 20:38 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

HP today announced that the Wi-Fi version of HP TouchPad will be available in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore in mid-August. The HP TouchPad is the breakthrough webOS user interface realised in the tablet experience.(1) With its vibrant 9.7-inch ...

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Eco-friendly LanzaTech’s green chemistry wins

Wed Jul 27, 2011 18:35 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

LanzaTech will collect the Frost & Sullivan 2011 Global Green Excellence Award for Technology Innovation in “green chemistry” at a banquet in Singapore in August. The award focuses the international spotlight on LanzaTech’s evolution of its proprietary ...

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Liggins Institute "Losing the war against obesity"

Wed Jul 27, 2011 16:33 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Auckland academic urges policy makers to view whole picture when considering obesity in developing countries

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Otago Study finds Māori miss out on medicines

Wed Jul 27, 2011 16:14 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

University of Otago researchers at the School of Pharmacy have found that rural Māori are much less likely to receive antibiotics in spite of the fact that they need them more due to far higher rates of rheumatic fever.

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Gluckman: Launch of Green Paper For Vulnerable Children

Tue Jul 26, 2011 23:21 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

Peter Gluckman's speech at today's launch of the Green Paper for vulnerable children.

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NZCA condemns attack on conservation board chairperson

Mon Jul 25, 2011 22:36 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

New Zealand Conservation Authority chairperson, Don Ross, said that he was horrified at the attack on Arthur Hinds, the Waikato Conservation Board chairperson. “Arthur puts his heart and soul into saving our precious native species from predators. When ...

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NZ resource sector position paper: Fraccing

Mon Jul 25, 2011 19:43 from Scoop NZ - Sci-tech

A r ecent anti-resource campaign in New Zealand has focused on hydraulic fracturing – also known as fracture stimulation, “fracking” or “fraccing” - of gas-bearing rock strata and coal seams. This campaign has conflated legitimate concerns with ...

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Analysis: Recession risk unless oil prices fall further

Fri Aug 12, 2011 07:30 from Reuters: Top News

LONDON (Reuters) - If history is any guide, another oil-induced recession may be just around the corner, at least for the United States and some of the other developed economies.

Italy eyes tax hikes as cabinet meets on crisis

Fri Aug 12, 2011 07:13 from Reuters: Top News

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government will pass a sweeping package of cuts and tax increases at a cabinet meeting on Friday as it scrambles to meet European Central Bank demands for action to shore up confidence in its public finances.

China delays retirement of senior state banker: sources

Fri Aug 12, 2011 02:57 from Reuters: Top News

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao has delayed the retirement of China Development Bank's (CDB) chairman, sources said, suggesting that Beijing wants to keep a steady hand at the helm of the country's most powerful policy bank at a time of rising economic risks and global market volatility.

Cameron denies austerity drive caused UK riots

Thu Aug 11, 2011 14:32 from Reuters: Top News

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron blamed the worst riots in Britain for decades on street gang members and opportunistic looters and denied government austerity measures or poverty caused the violence in London and other major English cities.

Analysis: More austerity may be the last thing Italy needs

Thu Aug 11, 2011 08:54 from Reuters: Top News

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's problem is not a high budget deficit but chronically weak growth, and forcing it to frontload austerity measures just as its economy is moving into yet another downturn may prove dangerously counter productive.

Israel okays 1,600 settler homes for East Jerusalem

Thu Aug 11, 2011 07:04 from Reuters: Top News

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's interior minister has given final approval for a plan to build 1,600 settler homes in East Jerusalem, a project whose announcement last year during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden caused a diplomatic rift with Washington.

Evacuate West Bank settlers without delay: Israeli court

Tue Aug 2, 2011 07:47 from Reuters: Top News

(Reuters) - Israel's supreme court ordered the evacuation of a hilltop outpost where some 250 Jewish settlers live without further delay Tuesday, upholding a petition made by Palestinians and an anti-settler group over five years ago.

Climate scientists shine new light on methane mystery

Thu Aug 11, 2011 05:25 from Reuters: Top News

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Atmospheric levels of methane, 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat, stayed steady for two decades to 2006 on wider fertilizer use to grow rice or a surge in natural gas demand, according to two separate studies in the journal Nature.

Putin says U.S. is "parasite" on global economy

Mon Aug 1, 2011 15:45 from Reuters: Top News

LAKE SELIGER, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States Monday of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy and said dollar dominance was a threat to the financial markets.

A debt deal that solves the wrong problem: Summers

Wed Aug 3, 2011 13:16 from Reuters: Top News

-- Lawrence H. Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard and former U.S. treasury secretary. He speaks and consults widely on economic and financial issues. The opinions expressed here are his own. --

Analysis: Is China left holding the credit baby?

Wed Aug 10, 2011 06:16 from Reuters: Top News

LONDON (Reuters) - August's dramatic financial shock, which is now both feeding off and risks fueling another economic downturn, may well introduce a third phase of the four-year-old global credit crisis -- the infection of the ultimate creditors

Analysis: Behind the bluster, China reprices U.S. risk

Mon Aug 8, 2011 02:07 from Reuters: Top News

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese editorials flaying Washington for fiscal recklessness over its debt dramatics and downgrade mask a growing unease in Beijing: a fear that China's own economic policies are shifting too slowly.

Special report: The "shorts" who popped a China bubble

Fri Aug 5, 2011 02:00 from Reuters: Top News

By Daniel Bases, Ryan Vlastelica, Clare Baldwin and Mark Bendeich

Honda says studying shift overseas to avoid yen effect

Tue Aug 9, 2011 07:08 from Reuters: Top News

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co is studying possible production bases overseas to replace export-bound car production in Japan that has been battered by a strong yen, a top executive said on Tuesday.

Hitachi, Mitsubishi edge towards groundbreaking merger

Thu Aug 4, 2011 05:44 from Reuters: Top News

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd have begun talks on what would be Japan's biggest domestic merger, three sources said, heralding a long awaited shake-up of the nation's industrial behemoths.

Oracle, other companies "punkd" in hacking contest

Sun Aug 7, 2011 22:17 from Reuters: Top News

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A weekend contest at the world's largest hacking convention in Las Vegas showed one reason why big corporations seem to be such easy prey for cyber criminals: their workers are poorly trained in security.

Government hankers for hackers

Mon Aug 1, 2011 23:03 from Reuters: Top News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Security Agency has a challenge for hackers who think they're hot stuff: prove it by working on the "hardest problems on Earth."

Power companies prepare as solar storms set to hit Earth

Sat Aug 6, 2011 08:47 from Reuters: Top News

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three large explosions from the Sun over the past few days have prompted U.S. government scientists to caution users of satellite, telecommunications and electric equipment to prepare for possible disruptions over the next few days.

Honda recalls 2.5 million vehicles on software issue

Fri Aug 5, 2011 12:04 from Reuters: Top News

DETROIT (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co Ltd will recall 2.49 million cars, small SUVs and minivans worldwide, including its popular Accord sedan, to repair a software problem that could damage the automatic transmission.

HIV epidemics emerging in Middle East, North Africa: study

Tue Aug 2, 2011 17:19 from Reuters: Top News

LONDON (Reuters) - Epidemics of HIV are emerging among gay and bisexual men in the Middle East and North Africa and high levels of risky sexual behavior threaten to spread the AIDS virus further in the region, researchers said Tuesday.

Bombers target churches in northern Iraq: police

Tue Aug 2, 2011 07:56 from Reuters: Top News

KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded near a Catholic Church in northern Iraq on Tuesday, injuring at least 16 people in part of a coordinated attack on Christian places of worship in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk, a senior police official said.