Scientists have discovered just what it is that makes the tails of New Zealand glow worms light up and now hope to use the knowledge to aid medical research. The small glow worm larvae that later bloom into a flying insect produce their light using a chemical reaction that is different to all other glowing…

It is clear family and friends will play a critical role in meeting rapidly rising palliative care needs predicted within the next 30 years. However, this is not recognised in most mainstream palliative care policy, writes the University of Auckland’s Merryn Gott Being at home, in our own bed, surrounded by loved ones, is an…

While expecting her first child, Dr Clare Reynolds switched from normal fizzy drinks to diet. It was a rational move – the lesser of two evils, she figured – yet when she checked what research had been done, she found surprisingly little. That prompted Reynolds, a researcher at the University of Auckland-based Liggins Institute, to…

New Zealand has a high rate of self-harm among young people, but there are ways to help them cope, writes Victoria University psychology professor and Listener columnist Marc Wilson. “All the people I see hurt themselves,” said the clinical psychologist from the Youth Specialty Service. “What do you mean, like accidents?” I asked. “No, they…

The Federal Government has announced a $69 million boost to help medical researchers in their fight against rare cancers and rare diseases. The funding is aimed at assisting patients who often have few options and poor life expectancy. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Government was committed to investing in research to find the answers…

Researchers have shown, for the first time, why exercise has positive health effects across the entire body. The new Australian research, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, reveals tiny protein-filled packages, called vesicles, are used by our muscles and other organs to communicate with each other during exercise. Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research undertook…

The tenth Closing the Gap report to be tabled in Parliament today is expected to show progress in the two health targets — to close the gap in life expectancy by 2031 and halve the child mortality (death) gap by 2018. But only the latter is on track. The Indigenous death rate has dropped by…

In many modern animated movies, the trick to achieving realistic movements for individual characters and objects lies in motion-capture technology. This process often involves someone wearing a tracking suit covered in small, colored balls while a camera captures the position of those colored balls, which is then used to represent how the person is moving.…