February 21, 2017

Did you know the little spotted Kiwi was nearly lost when just 5 individuals remained? A conservation program saw its numbers grow. But a bigger population is not enough. Dr Helen Taylor, research fellow in conservation genetics at the University of Otago, is tackling what happens when a population crashes and inbreeding – a threat to even thriving populations – affects the survival and reproduction of subsequent generations.

Dr Taylor discussed how conservation is often considered to be a numbers game – if we increase the size of a threatened species’ population, we think this a conservation success. Unfortunately, population growth is not always the full story; factors such as genetics have a big part to play in whether or not a species will survive.

[Read more…]

February 14, 2017

Three top international women scientists working in advanced materials and nanotechnology conference inspired an overflowing audience, including primary and high school students, by describing their work and experiences on the road to science.

Many common threads bound together the stories of Professor Silvia Giordani, Dr Carla Meledandri, and Professor Natalie Stingelin. We learnt that science is hard and science is unexpected – taking the path of science opened doors they never expected and took them to places they never thought they’d go. Science means learning all the time – it means being driven by curiosity and being stubborn to get results. And all three had inspiring high school science teachers! For more on the panel’s talk and Q&A with the audience, read the article in The Spinoff.

 

February 14, 2017

Catalyst plucked bioengineer Dr Albert Folch from the 2017 AMN8 conference and took him to Shotover Primary School to talk to students about the science of soccer and the end of the world. You can read more about his talk at The Spinoff.

February 9, 2017

Donald Trump and Treaty of Waitangi issues added topicality and spice to the Constitution Aotearoa discussion with Former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and constitutional lawyer Dr Andrew Butler. In Queenstown at the invite of Catalyst, they met with an engaged audience keen to participate in a nationwide conversation about New Zealand’s Constitution.

New Zealand does have a constitution, but it is neither well-known nor well understood.  It is subject to political whim, as Parliament can change or remove fundamental rights and protections without consultation or a popular mandate.

Palmer and Butler argued a modern, codified Constitution would strengthen democracy, make government more transparent and accountable, and protect human rights. They proposed a constitution “that is easy to understand, reflects New Zealand’s identity and nationhood, protects rights and liberties, and prevents governments from abusing power”.

[Read more…]

January 29, 2017

Bangs, whizzes, levitation and the secrets of the universe were revealed when Nobel Laureate Professor William D Phillips of the Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Maryland, presented a lively, multimedia presentation on Einstein’s insights into light and how they have changed how we think about time.

In the 20th century, scientists used light to cool a gas of atoms to temperatures billions of times lower than anything else in the universe. Now, these ultracold atoms, Einstein’s theory of gravity and the discoveries of optics pioneers from Ibn al-Haytham to today, are converging upon a great scientific and technological wonder: atomic clocks, the best timekeepers ever.

[Read more…]

September 28, 2016.  

Prof Bob Huish has spent much of the last two years listening to North Korean defectors and studying what is literally a black hole on the satellite map – largely through detecting its ripples.  Like who is trading with North Korea, following the flow of sea traffic into Nampo Port and investigating how different companies, governments and individuals get around the substantive international sanctions banning business dealings with DPRK.

He spoke of the Songbun ‘caste’ system, where unbiased loyalty to the Kim dynasty buys favours while those classed as hostile are punished for political crimes by being sent to political labour camp – a punishment then inflicted on their children and grandchildren. Satellite photography suggests 150 – 200,000 North Koreans are currently in these camps.

[Read more…]

July 12, 2016

Dugald McTavish’s “seeds of activism” were sown when three projects threatened the Moeraki Boulders, and hewn as peak oil reared its head. As a water engineer he had the background knowledge, but how to get people interested? Thus the Hampden Community Energy Forum was born, filling the local community hall for three weekends in a row.

That group, started in 2004, is still going strong with a recycling shop at the local transfer station creating an ongoing revenue stream for its activities. It showed Dugald that lecturing didn’t work; “people don’t want to be preached to, so you have to do more projects.”

[Read more…]