Surgical Innovation
University of Otago scientists have patented a gel derived from squid that can reduce bleeding and scarring during surgery. The gel, named Chitodex, is a chemically modified form of the polymer chitosan, which is found in…
Tag Archives: University of Otago
Halo Helmed by NZ Boy Genius
This year’s most hyped video game, Halo 3, was engineered by a former child prodigy from Kakanui. Chris Butcher, 29, works for Seattle-based gaming company Bungie, which produces the Halo series for Microsoft Xbox. In…
Queen Bee Uncovered
A University of Otago study has unearthed the secret to queen bees’ dominance in the hive. According to its findings, queens keep their worker bee subjects calm and obedient by secreting a scent that prevents them…
More Scottish than Scotland
Otago University has launched a global search to fill its inaugural chair in Scottish studies. The newly created position is one of a small number of its kind in the world and is intended to position…
The Flynn Effect
James Flynn – Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at Otago University, intelligence researcher and “unassuming moral philosopher” – is profiled in the Guardian. Born in Washington DC, Flynn has lived and worked in NZ…
Another Reason to Eat Your Greens
A NZ research team has discovered cancer fighting properties in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. Researchers at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Otago University’s Health and Sciences found that compounds called…
Brian Barratt-Boyes
Internationally acclaimed New Zealand pioneering heart surgeon Brian Barratt-Boyes has died aged 82. Educated at Wellington College and Otago University Medical School, Barratt-Boyes battled against bureaucracy for more funding and staff to do what…
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…
Jail Over War
New Zealand doctor Malcolm Kendall-Smith may go to jail for refusing to obey the orders of the British Royal Air force and return to duty in Iraq. After already serving two tours in Iraq and one in…
Who is the Typical Kiwi?
An international study on cultural stereotypes, led by the US National Institutes of Health, has concluded that there is no relation between supposed cultural characteristics and the actual traits identified in real people. “People…
Finger on the Impulse
Researchers at Otago University, in conjunction with Germany’s Ruhr-University Bochum, have identified individual neurons in the pigeon forebrain that appear to control impulsive decision-making. The findings could prove invaluable to the understanding of such neuropathologies as drug…
Measuring by Memory
A group of Otago University researchers have proven that blind people are consistently more accurate in estimating the size of familiar objects – such as a loaf of bread – with their hands than their sighted…
Christopher Shaw leads motor neuron research
Professor Christopher Shaw, Professor of Neurology at Kings College London and Otago University graduate in Medicine (1984), is to co-lead a team to clone embryos to study motor neuron disease, in particular those patients whose condition cannot…
Make No Bones About It
NZ has again opened a new path in medicine, this time in the field of bone reconstruction. Dr George Dias of Otago University’s anatomy and structural biology department struck on the idea of using a material based…
Our History and Future in Global Spotlight
Otago University graduate Chris Ford penned an in-depth three part overview on NZ race politics for the Global Politician. The first provides a historical backdrop to the events of 2004 when, in Ford’s words, NZ’s widely…
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…
Antarctic Archives
NZ’s Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences has received international funding to drill more than a kilometre beneath Antarctica in order to gain access to the “untapped record of climate change” held in its sedimentary layers. Otago…
Gattaca Genetics
Ground-breaking research into congenital birth abnormalities by Otago University professor Stephen Robertson has been published in leading scientific journal, Nature Genetics. Robertson has identified a previously unknown gene responsible for severe malformations in infants. His success makes…
Do You Remember?
Why are our early years a blur? Otago University’s Gabrielle Simcock and Harlene Hayne have found a clue. According to their research, so-called “childhood amnesia” is ultimately informed by language development. After conducting controlled memory experiments, the…
Kaiwhekea Katiki-saurus
A new species of dinosaur has been discovered on a North Otago beach. The 70 million year old fossil is believed to be a type of plesiosaur – a giant, swimming reptile resembling “a…
Positive Reinforcement
Researchers from the University of Otago have been published in the totem of scientific veracity, Nature magazine. The paper builds on the notion that positive reinforcement helps the acquisition of learned behaviours.
Penguins Pegging Out
Global warming, along with over-fishing and oil-spills, threatens penguin populations around the world says University of Otago penguin biologist Lloyd Davies.
Fe-mail, He-mail
Gender can’t be hidden, even in faceless e-communication according to research by Tamar Murachver of Otago University.
Not Thick-skinned Enough
Rugby players who feel invincible because of protective clothing are more likely to be injured than their non-padded co-players says Otago study.
Picking the IQ Knot
Otago scholar James Flynn suggests our brains rise to the occasion, developing higher IQs in response to more challenging work and environments.
Rower Cola
University of Otago scientists says caffeine consumption prior to exercise boosts output, making you rower faster, run further and jump higher without even realising it.
Pot Luck
Marijuana causes disease, phlegm and coughing fits, as well as mild euphoria. The wacky backy is as damaging to the lungs as tobacco according to research studiously carried out at Otago University.
Obituary: Sir Peter Platt, Musicologist
Sir Peter Platt was born in Sheffield but spent a lifetime merging the music of the edges in the antipodes: he regarded an understanding of the music of the regions as crucial and guided his students…
Fortified Cereals May Reduce Heart Risk
Researchers from University of Otago report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that folic acid supplements and fortified cereals are more effective than a diet rich in naturally occurring folates in reducing levels of the heart…
Want Twins? Ewe May be in Luck
New Zealand scientists at the AgResearch Institute have found a gene responsible for twins in sheep, a discovery that could lead to understanding human fertility treatments and contraceptives, as well as increased agricultural production. Sue Galloway…
NZ Study Shows Women on Pill Face Increased Health Risk
Dr Skegg from the University of Otago, (in a study published in medical journal Lancet) found that although the risk of a fatal clot is still extremely low, women on the pill are nearly ten times more…
