What does a ‘good day’ look like for you? Researchers are using wearable sensors and wellbeing surveys to understand how lifestyle patterns impact life satisfaction. Perhaps this can help us plan for more ‘good days’. Plus, with the help of an EEG study, one neuroscientist graduate considers how social media use might be impacting his brain. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Learn more:Sleep is a fundamental process for us humans, we just don’t function well without enough of it. But what if your job requires long working hours across time zones?Exercise is good for our bodies and mental health and, research suggests, can also help our brains maintain and grow nerve cells.Recently, a report by the Education Review Office suggested the mobile phone ban in New Zealand schools is working, and that social media should be banned next.Australia’s social media ban for those under 16 comes into effect on the 10th of December, while debate continues here as to whether New Zealand should follow.Guests:Professor Scott Duncan, Auckland University of TechnologyDr Anantha Narayanan, Auckland University of TechnologyTom Bolus, University of OtagoGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
--------
26:26
--------
26:26
Return of the kākāpō files!
This upcoming summer is likely to be the biggest ever kākāpō breeding season, and RNZ will be following the twists and turns as they happen. The kākāpō files with Alison Ballance return for a second season. New Kākāpō Files II episodes will appear when news breaks on the Wild Sounds and Kākāpō Files podcast feeds. Don't miss out. Find and follow them now. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
--------
2:10
--------
2:10
Restoring freshwater forests
Our freshwater ecosystems are facing numerous challenges. Many of New Zealand’s lakes have lost much of their native underwater plant life. At the Ruakura ‘tank farm’ in Hamilton, researchers have been working on a project to help restore the freshwater forests. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Learn more:Listen to Invasive: the story of Stewart Smith from the Black Sheep podcast to learn more about New Zealand’s pest fish issue.Read more about the koi carp bow hunting that removed tonnes of pest fish.While the announcement of the eradication of lagarosiphon from Lake Ngatu was welcome it came on the heels of the disappointing news about finding this invasive weed in two South Island hydro lakes.It’s not just invasive plants that are an issue, invasive critters like the gold clam can also cause issues. Contained to the Waikato for the last two years, it has recently been found in a Taranaki lake.Restoring freshwater lakes and wetlands is a catchment wide effort, but groups around the motu are working on this.Guests:Mary de Winton, Earth Sciences New ZealandReferences: NIWA’s RotoTurf webpage.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
--------
25:57
--------
25:57
Mixing oil and water, the greener way
Oil and water don’t mix — unless surfactants step in. At Auckland University of Technology, a team of chemists has created a new kind of surfactant made from wood pulp rather than fossil fuels or palm oil. They hope that the cosmetic industry will be interested in this greener way to make smooth creams and lotions. Plus, what do geothermal spring microbes have to do with smelly wine? Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Learn more:Dr Jack Chen has been on RNZ several times to talk about the chemistry of dishwashing, oven cleaning and laundry detergents.Soap is also a surfactant, which is what makes it good at washing oils off our hands, as well as busting open viruses.The cosmetic industry is not new, and during the Renaissance there were some ‘interesting’ recipes about, but did they have some good ideas?Listen to episodes exploring the use of chemistry in reconstructing past lives, honey fingerprinting, reducing the carbon cost of producing ammonia and creating a perfume to trap invasive spiders.Guests:Dr Jack Chen, Dr Mohinder Naiya, Dr Victor Yim and Josh Van Dongen of Dot Ingredients.Sarah Manners, University of CanterburyGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
--------
26:35
--------
26:35
Resurrecting Wellington's Flowers of the Underworld
Until late 2024, nobody had seen te pua o Te Rēinga “the flower of the underworld” in the Wellington region for more than a hundred years. A chance discovery of a small struggling population has kick started a race to protect the plants and help them return. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Learn more:First Up interviewed Avi Holzapfel about Te Pua o Te Rēinga in 2024In 2020, OCW looked at efforts to resurrect a transplanted population of Te Pua o Te Rēinga at Zealandia.Graeme Atkins is also one of the driving forces behind an effort to help the ngutukākā plant return to the wild, plus the 1769 Garden – a living library of rare local East Coast native plant species.Guests:Graeme Atkins (Ngāti Purou, Rongomawahine)Barrett Pistoll – Greater Wellington Regional CouncilAvi Holzapfel – Department of ConservationRhys Mills - Ngā Manu Nature ReserveBart Cox – Wellington City CouncilGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Netherlands