Science
“Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It’s posing questions and coming up with a method. It’s delving in.”
‘This wasn’t obvious’: the potato evolved from a tomato ancestor, researchers find
Hybridisation event took place about 9 million years ago, helping to ‘spark the emergence of a new organ’. When it comes to the senses, there could not be a greater difference between Friday night chips and juicy Mediterranean tomatoes. However, scientists have discovered that these two foods are not so far from each other after all. Landmark research has found the potato evolved from a tomato ancestor nearly 9 million years ago.
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Source. theguardian.com, 31.07.2025
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English warship sunk in 1703 storm gives up its secrets three centuries on
Race against time to study HMS Northumberland as shifting sands expose part of well-preserved wreck off Kent. The English warship HMS Northumberland was built in 1679 as part of a wave of naval modernisation overseen by Samuel Pepys, a decade after he had stopped writing his celebrated diary and gone on to become the Royal Navy’s most senior administrator.
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Source. theguardian.com, 31.07.2025
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US lightning flash was longest on record at 515 miles, scientists say
The 2017 flash, which stretched from east Texas to near Kansas City, beat the previous record by almost 50 miles. A 515-mile (829km) lightning flash has set a new record as the longest ever identified. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed the new world record for the flash registered on 22 October 2017 over the Great Plains in the US. It stretched from east Texas to near Kansas City, Missouri, the distance between Paris and Venice.
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Source. theguardian.com, 31.07.2025
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Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores’ and feasted on maggots, scientists say
Researchers believe humans’ closest relatives may have stored meat from their kills for months before eating it. For hungry Neanderthals, there was more on the menu than wild mammals, roasted pigeon, seafood and plants. Chemical signatures in the ancient bones point to a nutritious and somewhat inevitable side dish: handfuls of fresh maggots.
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Source. theguardian.com, 25.07.2025
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Discovery of ancient riverbeds suggests Mars once wetter than thought
Scientists spot traces of 10,000 miles of rivers in area where many believed ‘there wasn’t any evidence for water’. Thousands of miles of ancient riverbeds have been discovered in the heavily cratered southern highlands of Mars, suggesting the red planet was once a far wetter world than scientists thought. Researchers spotted geological traces of nearly 10,000 miles (16,000km) of ancient watercourses, believed to be more than 3bn years old.
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Source. theguardian.com, 10.07.2025
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Scientists find Antarctic clues on how life survived the ice age
A group of New Zealand polar scientists have helped uncover clues to life's survival during the global ice age. Some of their research used samples collected by Robert Scott's Antarctica expeditions. Researchers from the University of Waikato were part of an international team - including scientists from MIT, the Natural History Museum and Cardiff University - which examined meltwater ponds on Antarctica's McMurdo Ice Shelf.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.07.2025
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Astronomers left puzzled by high-altitude clouds forming on young planet
Experts say thick slabs of cloud in YSES-1 system could consist of mineral dust & iron, which would rain down. Should humans ever venture to a particular planet that circles a sun-like star in the constellation of the fly, they would do well to keep an eye on the weather. The thick slabs of cloud that blot the planet’s skies are mostly made from mineral dust, but astronomers suspect there may be iron in them, too, which would rain down on the world below.
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Source. theguardian.com, 10.06.2025
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Sun’s south pole revealed for first time, in images from Solar Orbiter spacecraft
Groundbreaking observations map chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity, said to be key to understanding how sun’s field flips. The sun’s uncharted south pole has been revealed for the first time in striking images beamed back from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa mission swooped below the planetary plane and, for the first time, captured the sun’s mysterious polar regions.
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Source. theguardian.com, 11.06.2025
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Wildfire science heats up
As flames engulf the bush, a wave of heat washes over the onlookers and glowing ash showers the lab. High above, where the flames flicker at the ceiling, a giant rangehood sucks up all the smoke and funnels it into instruments that analyse gases. This bonfire isn't just for fun. It's for science. The fire engineering lab at the University of Canterbury is a special facility where scientists can set things on fire and study how they burn.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.05.2025
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Arctic, feathered … or just weird: what have we learned since Walking with Dinosaurs aired 25 years ago
As the BBC updates its groundbreaking series, a look at some of the recent scientific discoveries. In the intervening years, science has not stood still. About 50 species have been discovered each year since 1999 and the advent of powerful imaging techniques and digital reconstruction have led to major advances in our understanding of what dinosaurs looked like and how they lived. Here are some of the biggest developments.
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Source. theguardian.com, 25.05.2025
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‘Manu jumping’: The physics behind making humongous splashes in the pool
Whether diving off docks, cannonballing into lakes or leaping off the high board, there's nothing quite like the joy of jumping into water. Olympic divers turned this natural act into a sophisticated science, with the goal of making a splash as small as possible. But another sport looks for just the opposite: the extreme maximum splash, one as high, wide and loud as possible.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 18.05.2025
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Return of the huia? Why Māori worldviews must be part of the ‘de-extinction’ debate
The recent announcement of the resurrection of the dire wolf generated considerable global media attention and widespread scientific criticism, but beyond the research questions, there are other issues we must consider - in particular, the lack of indigenous voices in discussions about de-extinction.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 15.05.2025
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Feathered fossil provides clues about how earliest birds first took flight
‘Beautifully preserved’ Archaeopteryx has tertial feathers that appear to have been key to making it aerodynamic. An exquisitely preserved Archaeopteryx fossil has delivered fresh insights into how the earliest birds first took flight 150m years ago. The fossil is the first Archaeopteryx in which scientists have been able to identify specialised wing feathers that would have made flight possible.
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Source. theguardian.com, 14.05.2025
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Moment of heart’s formation captured in images for first time
Time-lapse footage reveals cardiac cells in a mouse embryo begin to organise themselves during early development. The moment a heart begins to form has been captured in extraordinary time-lapse images for the first time. The footage reveals cardiac cells in a mouse embryo begin to spontaneously organise themselves into a heart-like shape early in development. Scientists say the technique could provide new insights.
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Source. theguardian.com, 13.05.2025
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Ocean near New Zealand warming faster than anywhere else, study finds
A study has found New Zealand's slice of the ocean is absorbing more heat than any other. One of the scientists behind the work says the effect is not just making the sea feel a bit warmer for a dip, but worsening storms like ex-tropical Cyclone Tam, which wreaked havoc with heavy rain over Easter. Hotter oceans do not just affect marine creatures - they are linked to shrinking glaciers and wilder, wetter storms.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 07.05.2025
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Sea bass in space: why fish farms on the moon may be closer than you think
The Lunar Hatch project aims to blast eggs into space, hoping that aquaculture will provide protein for astronauts on missions. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything special about the sea bass circling around a tank in the small scientific facility on the outskirts of Palavas-les-Flots in southern France. But these fish are on a mission.
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Source. theguardian.com, 28.04.2025
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Paul Hawken tells the story of carbon
It began in stars and is fundamental to the extraordinary mix of factors that enable us, and the world we know, to exist. Carbon is a prolific and near ubiquitous element, at the heart of everything from fungi networks to the tip of the tallest trees. Environmentalist, and author Paul Hawken delves into the wonder of us and our world, through carbon, whilst also examining the environmental crises that have beset our modern age.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.04.2025
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Dinosaur tracks uncovered at site of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s refuge
Jacobite leader was unknowingly ‘following the footprints’ of megalosaurs after escaping to the Isle of Skye in 1746. When Bonnie Prince Charlie fled the Scottish Highlands after defeat at the Battle of Culloden, his route may have crossed the fossilised footsteps of massive meat-eating dinosaurs, researchers say. Newly discovered impressions at Prince Charles’s Point on the Isle of Skye, where the Young Pretender is said to have hunkered down.
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Source. theguardian.com, 02.04.2025
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Space probe to map carbon content of world’s remotest tropical forests
Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestation. Scientists are about to take part in a revolutionary mission aimed at creating detailed 3D maps of the world’s remotest, densest and darkest tropical forests – from outer space. The feat will be achieved using a special radar scanner that has been fitted to a probe, named Biomass, that will be fired into the Earth’s orbit later this month.
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Source. theguardian.com, 05.04.2025
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Scientists target queen bees in search of secret to longer life
UK’s £800m research body backs project that could unlock radical therapies to extend human lifespans. The curious case of the queen bee has long had scientists pondering whether the head of the hive harbours the secret to a long and healthy life. While queen bees and workers have nearly identical DNA, the queens enjoy what might be regarded as royal privileges. They are larger, fertile throughout life and survive for years compared with workers.
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Source. theguardian.com, 07.04.2025
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Just a big toy – or key to the universe? Row over even Larger Hadron Collider
Ambitious project could soak up funding for subatomic physics for decades, say opponents. Scientists are refining plans to build the world’s biggest machine at a site beneath the Swiss-French border. More than $30bn (£23bn) would be spent drilling a 91km circular tunnel in which subatomic particles would be accelerated to near light speeds and smashed into each other.
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Source. theguardian.com, 29.03.2025
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Iron age hoard found in North Yorkshire could change Britain’s history
More than 800 objects unearthed near Melsonby show the north was ‘definitely not a backwater’ 2,000 years ago. One of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK has been revealed, potentially altering our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. More than 800 objects were unearthed in a field near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire. They date back to the first century.
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Source. theguardian.com, 25.03.2025
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Dark energy: mysterious cosmic force appears to be weakening, say scientists
Findings could open up possibility the universe will end in a reverse big bang or ‘big crunch’, say cosmologists. Dark energy, the mysterious force powering the expansion of the universe, appears to be weakening, according to a survey that could “overthrow” scientists’ current understanding of the fate of the cosmos.
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Source. theguardian.com, 19.03.2025
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Underwater ‘doorbell’ helps scientists catch coral-eating fish in Florida
Researchers use innovative cameras to identify fish species hindering coral reef restoration. Marine scientists in Florida working to help reverse a calamitous decades-long decline in coral reefs caught fishy “porch pirates” in the act with an innovative underwater doorbell-style surveillance camera.
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Source. theguardian.com, 16.03.2025
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‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds
Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations. The red tape of government bureaucracy spans more than 4,000 years, according to new finds from the cradle of the world’s civilisations, Mesopotamia. Hundreds of administrative tablets – the earliest physical evidence of the first empire in recorded history – have been discovered by archaeologists from the British Museum.
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Source. theguardian.com, 15.03.2025
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‘It’s human conceit to think we’re alone’: life must extend beyond Earth, leading space scientist says
It is imperative humans expand their understanding of space, argues Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Life must exist beyond Earth, a leading space scientist says, adding it is yet another example of human pride to suppose otherwise. The British space scientist said that while science had made giant leaps in the understanding of space, including the sheer size of the universe, there was still much to learn – not least whether humans were alone.
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Source. theguardian.com, 14.03.2025
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Passing probe captures images of mysterious Mars moon
Hera spacecraft takes photos of red planet’s second moon, Deimos, while en route to asteroids 110m miles away. A European spacecraft has taken photos of Mars’s smaller and more mysterious second moon during its flight past the planet en route to a pair of asteroids more than 110m miles (177m km) away. The Hera probe activated a suite of instruments to capture images of the red planet and Deimos, a small and lumpy 8-mile-wide moon.
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Source. theguardian.com, 13.03.2025
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Astronomers discover 128 new moons orbiting Saturn
Planet now has 274 moons, almost twice as many as all the other planets in the solar system combined. Astronomers have discovered 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, giving it an insurmountable lead in the running tally of moons in the solar system. Until recently, the “moon king” title was held by Jupiter, but Saturn now has a total of 274 moons, almost twice as many as all the other planets combined.
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Source. theguardian.com, 11.03.2025
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Scientists create ‘e-Taste’ device that could add flavour to virtual reality experiences
Potential uses for gadget could include online shopping, weight management and sensory testing, say researchers. If your colleague bores you to tears with pictures of their lunch, then a new gadget could make your life even worse. Scientists have developed a device to recreate the flavours of food and drink, allowing them to be shared remotely in a matter of seconds – but they have not yet cracked spicy food.
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Source. theguardian.com, 28.02.2025
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Striking images show Blue Ghost Mission 1’s successful moon landing
US firm Firefly Aerospace celebrates second-ever commercial lunar landing. A US company has successfully landed its spacecraft on the moon, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone – and the first to do so upright. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 8.34am GMT near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon’s north-eastern near side.
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Source. theguardian.com, 02.03.2025
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Scientists aiming to bring back woolly mammoth create woolly mice
Genetically modified mice have traits geared towards cold tolerance, in step towards modifying elephants. A plan to revive the mammoth is on track, scientists have said after creating a new species: the woolly mouse. Scientists at the US biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences plan to “de-extinct” the prehistoric pachyderms by genetically modifying Asian elephants to give them woolly mammoth traits.
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Source. theguardian.com, 04.03.2025
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Mars once had an ocean with sandy beaches, researchers say
China’s Zhurong rover finds evidence of shoreline buried deep underground. Mars may not seem like a prime holiday spot with its arid landscape and punishing radiation levels, but it once boasted beaches, researchers have found. While previous discoveries of features including valley networks and sedimentary rocks has suggested the red planet once had flowing rivers, there has been debate among scientists over whether it also had oceans.
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Source. theguardian.com, 24.02.2025
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Dozens of jobs open up ... in Antarctica
Job openings so cool they are practically ice cold have opened up. Antarctica NZ is looking for a crew of 40 to join Scott Base for the 2025/26 research season - and you do not need to be a scientist. General manager for Antarctic operations Mike Shapland told RNZ's Midday Report Scott Base was "almost like a small city, it's like a small town".
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 24.02.2025
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‘You dream about such things’: Brit who discovered missing pharaoh’s tomb may have unearthed another
Archaeologist believes his ‘find of the century’ – of Pharaoh Thutmose II – could be surpassed by ongoing excavation. To uncover the location of one long-lost pharaoh’s tomb is a career-defining moment for an archaeologist. But to find a second is the stuff of dreams. Last week British archaeologist Piers Litherland announced the find of the century – the first discovery of a rock-cut pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt since Tutankhamun’s in 1922.
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Source. theguardian.com, 22.02.2025
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Space mission aims to map water on surface of the moon
A probe to be launched this week aims to pinpoint sites of lunar water, which could help plan to colonise the Earth’s satellite. Space engineers are set to launch an unusual mission this week when they send a probe built by UK and US researchers to the moon to map water on its surface. Lunar Trailblazer’s two year mission is scheduled to begin on Thursday when the probe is blasted into space from Florida on a Space X Falcon rocket.
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Source. theguardian.com, 22.02.2025
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Many birds-of-paradise species emit light through their plumage, study finds
Researchers found that most birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent – meaning they absorb light through their bodies. Birds-of-paradise are known for their bright and colourful plumage, but it turns out they are even more dazzling than previously thought. Researchers have found 37 of the 45 species show biofluorescence – in other words, patches of their plumage or other body parts absorb UV or blue light, and emit light at lower frequencies.
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Source. theguardian.com, 12.02.2025
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Asteroid’s chances of hitting Earth in 2032 just got higher – but don’t panic
Space rock now has 2.3% risk of collision – up from 1.3% in December – but danger is likely to fall with more data. It might not be the world-ending apocalypse foretold in the Netflix drama Don’t Look Up, but astronomers have significantly upped the odds of a direct hit from a giant asteroid currently hurtling towards Earth. According to Nasa’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (Cneos), the odds of a strike in 2032 by the space rock 2024 YR.
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Source. theguardian.com, 06.02.2025
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Cockatoos show appetite for dips when eating bland food, find scientists
Birds observed going to lengths to flavour food, with particular penchant for blueberry-flavoured soy yoghurt dip. Whether you savour Ottolenghi’s recipes or prefer a feast from Nigella’s cookery books, humans enjoy mixing flavours and textures when preparing food. Now research suggests some cockatoos do too. Researchers have previously discovered that some of the birds dunk dry rusks in water before eating them.
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Source. theguardian.com, 10.02.2025
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Euclid telescope captures Einstein ring revealing warping of space
Dazzling image shows galaxy more than 4bn light years away, whose starlight has been bent due to gravity. The Euclid space telescope has captured a rare phenomenon called an Einstein ring that reveals the extreme warping of space by a galaxy’s gravity. The dazzling image shows a nearby galaxy, NGC 6505, surrounded by a perfect circle of light. The ring gives a glimpse of a more distant galaxy, sitting directly behind NGC 6505.
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Source. theguardian.com, 10.02.2025
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Scientists find that things really do seem better in the morning
UCL study into mental health and wellbeing finds that people generally feel worse at night and on Sundays. Nightmare day at work? Date stand you up? Don’t worry, things really will seem better in the morning. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, scientists have found that generally, the world feels brighter when you wake up.
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Source. theguardian.com, 05.02.2025
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UK scientist wins prize for invention that could help avert ‘phosphogeddon’
Phosphate, key to food production, is choking waterways, but a new sponge-like material returns it to the soil for crops. It is one of the least appreciated substances on the planet and its misuse is now threatening to unleash environmental mayhem. Phosphorus is a key component of fertiliser’s that have become vital in providing food for the world. But at the same time, the spread of phosphates into rivers and lakes and streams killing marine life.
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Source. theguardian.com, 02.02.2025
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‘A neural fossil’: human ears try to move when listening, scientists say
Researchers found that muscles move to orient ears toward sound source in vestigial reaction. Wiggling your ears might be more of a pub party piece than a survival skill, but humans still try to prick up their ears when listening hard, researchers have found. Ear movement is crucial in many animals, not least in helping them focus their attention on particular noises and work out which direction they are coming from.
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Source. theguardian.com, 31.01.2025
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It came from outer space: the meterorite that landed in a Cotswolds cul-de-sac
Meteorite falls are extremely rare and offer a glimpse of the processes that formed our world billions of years ago. When a space rock came to an English market town in 2021, scientists raced to find as much out as they could. At 21.54 on 28 February 2021, 16 cameras belonging to amateur sky-watching network UKMON picked up a bright shape headed towards Earth. Pictures show a long white line, which was visible for eight seconds.
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Source. theguardian.com, 04.02.2025
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AI to revolutionise fundamental physics and ‘could show how universe will end’
Advanced artificial intelligence is to revolutionise fundamental physics and could open a window on to the fate of the universe, according to Cern’s next director general. Prof Mark Thomson, the British physicist who will assume leadership of Cern on 1 January 2026, says machine learning is paving the way for advances in particle physics that promise to be comparable to the AI-powered prediction of protein structures that earned Google DeepMind.
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Source. theguardian.com, 03.02.2025
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'Reclaim the real estate of your own mind' - meditation tips from a wellbeing professor
Until a couple of years ago, Julia Rucklidge assumed her own 'mile-a-minute' brain would never be capable of meditation. But tasked with teaching about the science of wellbeing, the University of Canterbury psychology professor - and director of the university's Te Puna Toiora/ Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab - realised she had to give it a go.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 26.01.2025
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Bioluminescence resembles 'hundreds of blue dimmed LED lights in waves' in Wellington
More bioluminescence may be seen in Kāpiti after a spectacular light show on Paraparaumu beach on Tuesday night. Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction that takes place within some organisms, causing them to emit a light known as luminescence. It typically makes the water's surface appear to have a blue glow. Local photographer Bruce Wang was among those who captured the phenomenon last night.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.01.2025
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Supermassive black hole sends out mysterious x-ray flashes, surprising astronomers
A supermassive black hole 270 million lightyears away has surprised astronomers by sending out x-ray flashes that have increased in speed. An international team of astronomers have been monitoring the black hole and according to NASA, they have detected features that have never been seen before. It was the first ever measurement of its kind around a supermassive black hole, NASA said.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.01.2025
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Dinosaur dolphins in NZ waters long after extinction elsewhere
Dinosaur dolphins have been found to have survived in Aotearoa's waters long after they went extinct elsewhere. Icthyosaurs are marine reptiles that looked like dolphins, which died out around 100 million years ago. The analysis revealed the ichthyosaur was evolving from a reptile into something more like a whale and managed to survive for 5 million years after its peers around the world went extinct.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.01.2025
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Shrinking trees and tuskless elephants: the strange ways species are adapting to humans
As people have shaped the natural world, so wildlife – from mahoganies to magpies – has had to evolve to survive. From the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean, humanity’s influence has touched every part of planet Earth. Many plants and animals are evolving in response, adapting to a human-dominated world.
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Source. theguardian.com, 06.01.2025
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‘Kiss and capture’: scientists offer new theory on how Pluto got its largest moon
Findings suggest Charon collided with dwarf planet and then pair briefly rotated together before separating. Unlike Earth, where the moon orbits the planet, Pluto and Charon orbit each other, with the icy bodies found in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. Now experts say they have unpicked how the system came to be, suggesting Charon and Pluto ended up orbiting each other after a “kiss-and-capture” event.
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Source. theguardian.com, 06.01.2025
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‘The hair stands up’: citizen archaeologists unearth ancient treasures in Scotland
Members of the public are helping to sustain digs across the country, even as volunteering declines. They were moving forward in a line across the 10 sq metre trench, volunteer excavators elbow to elbow with academics, and Joe Fitzpatrick was at the far edge. Fitzpatrick, who has always had a passion for history, got involved with the regular community dig at the site of the East Lomond hillfort, beside the village of Falkland in Fife, as an activity.
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Source. theguardian.com, 03.01.2025
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Prehistoric fossil in museum found to be new species of large carnivorous turtle
Scientists have discovered a new species of prehistoric turtle from what was once a lush forest in Central Australia, after re-examining an unidentified fossil on display in the Northern Territory's largest museum. For years, the fossilised turtle shell sat alongside stuffed birds, insects, lizards and marsupials at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.01.2025
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Chinese avalanche photos reveal electrical phenomenon
Star-gazer’s long-exposure shots unexpectedly capture mysterious blue light of triboluminescence. On 27 October, photographer Shengyu Li set up his camera on a long exposure to record stars in the night sky near a mountain in Sichuan, China. As he waited, suddenly an unstable block of ice broke free from a glacier near the peak of the mountain and set off an avalanche.
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Source. theguardian.com, 26.12.2024
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Cambridge study aims to find out if dogs and their owners are on same wavelength
Scientists to examine if humans’ and dogs’ brains synchronise when they interact in a way similar to parents and babies. Standing patiently on a small fluffy rug, Calisto the flat-coated retriever is being fitted with some hi-tech headwear. She is about to have her brainwaves recorded. Calisto is one of about 40 pet dogs taking part in a study to explore whether their brainwaves synchronise with their owners when the pair interact.
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Source. theguardian.com, 03.01.2025
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Rare new fossil sheds light on NZ’s extinct dolphin-like reptiles
Ichthyosaurs were reptiles that swam in the seas during the time of the dinosaurs. They evolved separately around 250 million years ago, possibly from a crocodile-like ancestor, to resemble fish and modern dolphins. Then, they went extinct around 94 million years ago.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 01.01.2025
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Biggest trackway of dinosaur footprints found in Oxfordshire quarry
Cetiosauruses and a megalosaurus are thought to have left prints at trackway dating to nearly 166m years ago. Gary Johnson was clearing clay with a digger at the Oxfordshire quarry where he works when he hit an unexpected bump in the limestone surface. Johnson had discovered part of an enormous dinosaur trackway dating to nearly 166m years ago, when the quarry was a warm, shallow lagoon crisscrossed by the huge creatures.
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Source. theguardian.com, 02.01.2025
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