There but for a quirk of DNA go we
There but for a quirk of DNA go we
The discovery of DNA has had a massive impact on our understanding of human evolution.
Magazine
Pragmatic word, poetic sight
Pragmatic word, poetic sight
I learnt a new word this week. It is not a poetic word, not one that rolls off the tongue or finds its way easily into a sentence. It sounds more like something you would scrape off a laboratory...
Coded cast of thousands
Coded cast of thousands
Hundreds of AI-generated shows are being launched daily, but here is proof of the value of the human touch, writes Miranda Sawyer.
The great escape
The great escape
The remarkable story of a German ship’s desperate flight from Dunedin in the early days of World War 2, has now been revealed.
A whip’s circuitous journey
A whip’s circuitous journey
Excitement at Dunedin’s first royal visit was capped by gift-giving. But after one gift was given, it began a journey of its own, writes Seán Brosnahan.
This is no mug’s game
This is no mug’s game
Any way you slice it, the pressure is on the food budget.
In search of sprites
In search of sprites
Last weekend, I ran into sprites. Two sorts, though only one gets to keep the name according to the rulebook.
Ways to wear your moko
Ways to wear your moko
My youngest son puts a fairly low key pressure on me about getting my moko kauae.
Our forebears dressed with flair
Our forebears dressed with flair
On April 11, the Otago Daily Times covered an exhibition of Queen Elizabeth II’s clothes.
Jade still stirs passions
Jade still stirs passions
Humans have been intrigued by brightly coloured stones and minerals for tens of thousands of years, and we still are.
They need no males and no time at all
They need no males and no time at all
I was recently asked to identify greenhouse thrips.
Planets gather as the sky decides
Planets gather as the sky decides
There’s a short window before sunrise when the sky feels undecided.
Not even in the bidding
Not even in the bidding
You’d think not getting married in white would make things easier.
Guardians of the pā
Guardians of the pā
The stories of Kātiki Point and the names associated with it are being given new life, Tom McKinlay and Luke Chapman learn.
Zapped in space
Zapped in space
The most important data from Nasa’s first crewed Artemis II mission may not be its photographs.
Powering on beyond the crisis
Powering on beyond the crisis
We must use this moment to address our fossil fuel dependence.
Teeth hold diet secrets
Teeth hold diet secrets
How do you reconstruct the diet of prehistoric people?
Astonishment still growing
Astonishment still growing
Tiny telescope, big discoveries.
Cancer link stronger than ever
Cancer link stronger than ever
The evidence is mounting that vaping causes cancer, Bernard Stewart writes.
When mozzies sniffed blood
When mozzies sniffed blood
Last month, a new genetic study of mosquitoes in Southeast Asia led by Catherine Walton, of the University of Manchester, came to a remarkable conclusion. It found that about 1.8million years ago,...
