Fuel of the future 
Two national institutes are hoping to reduce NZ's national oil consumption by developing the production of cellulosic ethanol. Ag Research and Scion (formerly the NZ Forest Research Institute) are working with US company Diversa on turning byproducts from the country's forestry and paper businesses into cellulosic ethanol. While ordinary ethanol is made from corn or sugar cane, the cellulosic variety comes from agricultural products with little or no other value, thus driving down the cost of production. Diversa spokesman William Baum predicts that a cellulosic-ethanol plant could be built in NZ in approximately three years. He believes that, if successful, the plant could help NZ offset a significant portion of its oil imports. 
(26 January 2007)

No such thing as waste 
A NZ company has stunned international researchers by successfully developing a fuel which blends petrol with organic waste. The Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation's breakthrough bio-diesel is made up of 95% petrol and 5% liquid squeezed from algae grown on human sewage. While the first batch of algae used came from sewage ponds, the company claims that organic waste from freezing works and dairy farms is equally effective. NZ energy minister David Parker and Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons recently drove a 4WD powered by the Aqaflow bio-diesel through central Wellington and claimed the fuel "performed admirably." 
(28 December 2006)

Kiwi creation joins world's supercars 
NZ's first supercar, the Hulme.F1, secured a rare invitation to show at Britain's prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. The annual event showcases the latest designs by big names Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin, as well as those of boutique car makers. Named in honour of Kiwi Formula One champ Denny Hulme, the Hulme.F1 has been developed in secrecy over the last two years. Hulme Supercar Managing Director, Jock Freemantle, explained the significance of showing at Goodwood in NZ's Sunday Star Times. "We are getting in front of the most exclusive prestigious market in the world. Probably a very high percentage of the supercar owners of the world will be there." Designed by Tony Parker, the Hulme.F1 has received financial backing from fashion label Zambesi, Air NZ, paint company Dupont, and former Air NZ CEO Ralph Norris. 
(7-9 July 2006)

Nile by mile
NZer Cam McLeay is co-leading an expedition aimed at accurately measuring the length of the River Nile. The six person team began their journey at Rosetta, Egypt, and will travel through Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and possibly Burundi to find the river’s starting point. “Our goal is to accurately measure the length of the Nile to its longest source,” says McLeay. “There's been a lot of debate over the last several hundred years about the source of the Nile.” The British/NZ crew will travel in motorised inflatable boats, which will be air-lifted over difficult stretches by microlight hang-gliders. Possible hazards include crocodiles, hippos, and border security.
(21 September 2005)

Dishing the dirt
NZ scientists at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research have developed a high-tech yet cost-effective new crime-fighting technique. The revolutionary system uses DNA analysis of the bacteria in soil to match a database of samples – the equivalent of a soil “fingerprint.” Says study leader Jacqui Horswell, "If the person says I didn't murder her because I didn't go into that back garden, you can say, actually, I think you'll find you did." Unlike current techniques, which involve hiring pricey experts, the ESR kit can be used by any forensic scientist familiar with molecular biology. In a spin-off study, doctoral student Rachel Parkinson is creating a tool which will be able to pinpoint a victim’s time of death by looking at the bacteria the body produces as it decomposes and its presence in the surrounding soil. Both studies have sparked considerable international interest, particularly from the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facility, known as the “Body Farm.”
(26 May 2005)
   

Industry in good hands
Malaysian Star feature looks at NZ's thriving film, multimedia and technology schools; specifically Auckland's South Seas Film and Television School, Media Design School, and University of Technology (AUT), and Palmerston North's University College of Learning (UCol). "Thanks to the success of award-winning trilogy Lord of the Rings, NZ's creative schools are seeing a surge in interest in film-making, 3D-animation, computer graphic design and a host of other artistic disciplines." 
(19 June 2005)
   

Warning heard around the globe
Top Kiwi scientist, Dr Peter Barrett, has warned the world “if we continue our present growth path, we are facing extinction … Not in millions of years, or even millennia, but by the end of this century.” An expert on climate change, Barrett is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Marsden award and Director of Victoria University's Antarctic Research Centre.
(17 November 2004)
  

Dynamic partnership
Christchurch based Nano Cluster Devices Ltd (NCD) has secured a potentially lucrative partnership with American organization and manufacturer, NanoDynamics. NanoDynamics is to take over international sales duties for NCD’s groundbreaking technologies, which include the self-assembly of nanowires in production of semiconductors and electronic components.
(18 October 2004)
     

One computer to rule them all
The supercomputer used to create Oscar-winning special effects for the LotR trilogy is now for hire. Weta Digital and Gen-I (a Telecom subsidiary) have established the NZ Supercomputing Center in Wellington, where commercial and scientific research can be undertaken by local and international customers. Currently ranked 80th among the world's 500 most powerful computers, it can perform 2.8 trillion calculations per second. Weta and Gen-I plan to add extra servers in the near future, boosting it to the top 10.
(8 September 2004)
     

Quantum leap
Otago University's Dr Murray Barrett joined a team of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado examining teleportation via quantum information processes. The group's groundbreaking findings - which proved that it is possible to "reliably and readily shuttle information within a quantum computer" - were published in June editions of both Science and Nature.
(14 July 2004)    

Talking Turkey
Evolutionary biologists at Auckland University have made ivory tower headlines by providing compelling evidence of the origins of the Indo-European language family. Associate Professor Russell Gray and PhD student Quentin Atkinson applied a complex computer program modelled on those used in genetics to the question which has baffled linguists for nearly two centuries: whether the Indo-European language was spread by Kurgan horseman invading Europe and the Near East from the Russian steppes 6,000 years ago, or via agricultural expansion from Anatolia (modern Turkey) 3,000 years earlier. The findings of Gray and Atkinson aver that the language family diverted from its predecessors well before the Kurgan horsemen, which places its origins in Anatolia. The ground-breaking theory - published in leading British science journal Nature - made headlines around the world and has been championed in the US by Stanford University's renowned geneticist, Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza.
(1 December 2003)

Time travellers beware
NZ relativity expert, Professor Matt Visser, attended a Cambridge University discussion on the troublesome issue of time travel, in honour of Stephen Hawking’s 60th birthday. “Most physicists view time travel as being problematic, if not downright repugnant,” he said in an Age feature, pointing to the famous paradox of a time traveller killing his infant grandmother. “Is chronology protected? Despite a decade's work, we don't know for certain.”
(1 October 2003)
   

Kiwi scientists search for Merrick's ma
Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man) is still drawing crowds. This time round, Merrick's deformities are attracting genealogists and scientists, rather than circus-goers. A team of NZ researchers wants to find living descendents of Merrick and take samples of their DNA. It is then hoped that the cause of his disfigurement can be established using the latest genetic techniques. 
(28 October 2002)

Blast from the past
Edge inventor Paul Williams' gasification technology leads the way in turning waste into energy.
(13 June 2001)
           

Money on trees
New Zealand scientist Dr Chris Anderson grows gold on trees through phyto-mining.
(24 May 2001)
    

Machine to the milker
Edge-inspired milk-machine gives room service.
(3 March 2001)

Classical stirrer
"By instinct a man of the left and no respecter of reputations," influential Cambridge Classical scholar Professor Robert Coleman "brought from his native New Zealand a suspicion of the great English institutions and took delight in expressing his forthright and sometimes paradoxical opinions."
(26 February 2001)
           

Asparagus are from Mars, potatoes are from Venus
Lincoln University researchers have successfully grown potatoes and asparagus in soil collected from Mars. "Space-based soils could potentially support future human expansion in the solar system," according to Professor Michael Mautner. "I wouldn't say very soon, but in a few centuries."
(1 January 2001)

Frankenfood
New Zealand's Royal Commission on Genetic Engineering is being watched closely as the first chance for citizens of any country to say what they think about Frankenfood.
(18 October 2000)
              

Great Steaming Geysers!
18 year old Rawiri Waru's developed a system to check Rotorua's geysers don't run out of steam, winning himself a Grand Award and an internship at Bayer AG in Singapore at the Worldwide Young Researchers for the Environment Expo 2000.
(22 October 2000)
 

Soft-soaping protector
Waiuku orchardist Chris Henry has created the world's first organically acceptable soft-soap fungicide. The product,  branded as Protector, is "just what environment conscious growers and customers have been demanding".
(21 September 2000) 
           

Seeding change
New Zealand scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research have been collaborating with their Australian and British counterparts in experiments that may hold the answer to global warming. By adding extra iron to the sea they hope to encourage the growth of phytoplankton which capture CO2, a major greenhouse gas.
(23 September 2000)
              

The end of an Aussie icon: hats off to NZ scientists
"It just may spell the end of the world's ugliest headgear: that staple of the Australian tourist shop regular, the cork-fringed hat." Two researchers from Massey University have developed a technique that kills female fruit flies in the laboratory. The research may single not just the end of an irritant to people, but also the end of an often fatal threat to sheep.
(19 July 2000)   
           

The truth is out there
An international effort to find biological life in the stars, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy ('Sophia'), a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Centre, will spend two months of every year in New Zealand, the place from which they can observe our galaxy, the Milky Way, the clearest.
(17 July 2000) 
           

Wild weather
New Zealander Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section of the Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado, is in the middle of the wild weather/global warming storm
Search to view
(June 2000)
         

Kiwi innovation helps blind see the future
A Christchurch company has taken computers for braille users from the age of the typewriter to the age of the super-computer, with Braillenote, the first notebook computer for the blind. Asiaweek (CNN) profiles the innovation in its 'Cutting Edge' column.
(5 May 2000) 

Great balls of fire
Making the cover of the April New Scientist, New Zealand researchers at the University of Canterbury believe they have solved the mystery of one of nature's oldest puzzles - ball lightning - a mysterious floating light that appears fleetingly, gives off no heat and has no obvious power source,
(April 2000) 
 

Dolly Schwarzenegger - muscle-bound merinos the future of food?
Undertaking controversial research, New Zealand scientists are seeking government permission to take a naturally occurring mutant gene isolated from double-muscled Belgian blue cattle, which makes them grow exceptionally large, and insert it into sheep.
(27 April 2000) 
            

Great Balls of Lightning: A Lucky Find
Two New Zealand scientists report in Nature today a more down-to-earth explanation for something that has been puzzling physicists for hundreds of years
(3 February 2000)

Massive robotics 
New Zealand software company Massive, famous for its on-screen swarms of pillaging orcs in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, recently showcased new business potential in Hanover, Germany. This included engineering, architecture and robotics. Software used in The Rings enabled characters the ability to react to their surroundings based on sight, touch and hearing. When scaled into a crowd, the characters interacted with each other, creating a more realistic result. Massive now sees this software being used for safe-building design, disaster scenarios, traffic and municipal planning, and possibly for scientific research into the behaviour of species. Massive CEO Diane Holland said it is unclear how many markets the company's technology could serve. "If you can accurately simulate what we as human beings think and do, [the possibilities are] absolutely endless," she said. 
(9 March 2008)

King talks technology 
The Guardian interviewed Black Sheep director Jonathan King about his favourite gadgets on the eve of his film's UK release. King's favourite piece of technology is his Apple iBook G4 laptop - "I use it to write, read, chat, think, goof off, listen to music, goof off, research, write ... all in the one spot at my desk." King describes himself as more "nerdular" than luddite and dreams of a day when filmmakers will be fully autonomous. "I think most filmmakers are like people who starved in war time: even if you believe you can get funding for your films in the future, you are always working toward the day you'll be self-sufficient," he says. "That's getting more and more possible as this technology gets better and cheaper, closing the gap between having the idea and shooting and cutting the pictures."  
(12 October 2007)

Skim straight from the cow
Scientists in NZ have found cows that produce skim milk naturally, a discovery that could potentially revolutionise the dairy industry. If researchers can identify the genes responsible for skim milk production, they could breed cows that produce full-fat milk that contains only the unsaturated or "good" fats. The cows were found when NZ biotech company ViaLactia screened the composition of milk from its herd of four million animals. ViaLactia also hopes to breed a herd of cows that can produce milk suitable for spreadable butter. The discovery could prove incredibly lucrative, with skim milk dominating dairy sales in key export markets such as the UK.
(28 May 2007)

Cheap solar power a step closer
Massey University researchers have developed a novel means of harnessing solar energy, at a fraction of the price. Scientists at the university's Nanomaterials Research Centre have produced a range of coloured synthetic dyes for use in dye-sensitised solar cells. The synthetic dyes are based on light-harvesting compounds found in nature, such as chlorophyll and haemoglobin, and are made from titanium dioxide - a plentiful, renewable and non-toxic mineral found in NZ black sand. The dye-sensitised cells cost a tenth of the price of currently available silicon-based solar cells, and are more efficient to run and produce. "The refining of pure silicon, although a very abundant mineral, is energy-hungry and very expensive. And whereas silicon cells need direct sunlight to operate efficiently, these cells will work efficiently in low diffuse light conditions," says study leader Dr Wayne Campbell. "The next step is to take these dyes and incorporate them into roofing materials or wall panels." The solar cells are the result of more than ten years research funded by NZ's Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
(6 April 2007)

The future of fabric
Auckland-based Zephyr Technology Ltd has developed "smart fabric" for the US army which is capable of monitoring wearers' vital signs. The patented fabric works through flexible sensors which detect and measure displacement, distance, pressure and bio-data. Wireless connectivity and graphical diagnostic tools deliver status updates in real time, or record information for later analysis. The technology is designed to save lives by assessing how well soldiers cope in combat situations. Zephyr's Business Development Officer Steven Small says the fabric could also be useful for athletes, as it can measure how their bodies react to training. 
(20 March 2007)

Everest round two 
NZ innovation could conquer Everest for a second time thanks to the invention of an unmanned helicopter capable of rescuing stricken climbers from its summit. Auckland-based company TGR Helicorp has spent six years developing the Alpine Wasp, an unpiloted full-size helicopter with a revolutionary diesel engine and rotor blades designed to function at high altitudes. While normal helicopters are unable to fly beyond 4300m, the Alpine Wasp can reach heights of 9000m - 150m above the summit of Everest. "We are going to challenge the science of aviation at extreme altitude and conquer new frontiers on Mt Everest and in Nepal," says TGV Helicorp president Trevor Rogers. Initially sceptical, NZ amputee climber Mark Inglis is now acting as a goodwill ambassador for the company. "Much of my early career was in search and rescue, and the first rule is that a rescuer doesn't put their own life at risk," he says. "This [helicopter] is one of the first ways I've seen of really being able to ensure that on Everest." The Alpine Wasp will be tested this year in the NZ Alps and - if successful - will be stationed from spring 2008 in the sherpa town of Namche Bazaar, at 3440m on the route to Everest base camp. 
(10 February 2007)

Mammal mystery uncovered 
NZ palaeontologist Trevor Worthy claims to have evidence that NZ once had an indigenous land mammal, challenging years of accepted scientific theory. Worthy and his team of researchers found two parts of a jaw and a femur of a mouse-like creature in Otago's St Bathans fossil bed during digs between 2002-4. The creature is estimated to have lived in NZ 16-19 million years ago. "Scientists have long held the view that NZ has this weird and wonderful avian biota that lived on the ground because there were no mammals to impede or compete with birds," says Worthy. "It appears that this little mouse-like animal was part of the fauna on the ancient Gondwana supercontinent and it got stuck on NZ when the latter separated more than 80 million years ago." Worthy's study has been published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 
(28 December 2006)

Dinosaurs of the South Pacific
The first proof that dinosaurs lived on remote South Pacific Islands has been revealed by Dr Jeffrey Stilwell of Monash University, Melbourne. Stilwell, who trained at Otago University under NZ's leading palaeontologist Ewan Fordyce, has discovered a 2km-long pocket of dinosaur bones on the Chatham Islands. These include at least three kinds of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaur, one kind of flying reptile and marine reptiles such as mosasaurs and elasmosaurs. "Prior to our discoveries, only a few isolated examples of dinosaur fossils had been found in the northern part of NZ," says Stilwell. "Now we've found dinosaur remains almost 1000 kilometres east out in the middle of the South Pacific. [The dinosaurs] were on their own evolutionary path for probably 15 million years since the separation of the Chathams-NZ region some 85-80 million years ago. No one had even hypothesised that there were any fossils out that far."
(30 March 2006)

Race with a difference 
February 22 saw the official launch of Earthrace, a 100% biodiesel fuelled boat aiming to set a new world record for circumnavigating the globe. The brainchild of Pete Bethune, Earthrace is a charitable foundation promoting the use of renewable fuel. The boat will tour NZ from mid-April to June before heading to North America. The global circumnavigation attempt is scheduled to begin in either September 2006 or March 2007 (depending on the weather) from Barbados. 
(17 March 2006)

NZ has the edge online
NewZealand.com, Tourism NZ's award-winning website, earned further raves in a feature article by Brand Channel. "A ninth annual Webby Award winner, the homepage of NewZealand.com is a vibrant blend of heritage and enterprise, with both tourism and trade promoted in a decisive but considerate manner," writes reviewer Ian Cocoran. "Bedecked in images of raw, natural beauty and with multi-lingual functionality, the portal is easily navigable and appealing in its simplicity. Far from being superficial however, the real allure of the website lies within its sub-culture, perhaps not too dissimilar to the country it represents." 
(9 January 2006)

The wonders of technology
77-year-old Aroha Pearless used the internet to track down her first crush, a US marine stationed in NZ during WW2. Pearless had found photos of her former flame, Carl Leary, while cleaning out an old album. Remembering Leary came from Flint, Michigan, she set her grandchildren to work online. “I hadn't forgot about her,” said 81-year-old Leary. “As soon as I heard her voice, I knew who she was.”
(27 September 2004)