Our Changing World

Every year in New Zealand, recreational hunters shoot more than half a million wild game. Most are shot with lead-based ammunition. Now, researchers are investigating what happens to that lead, and how much of it is getting into the food chains of humans and the endangered kea. Alison Ballance speaks to scientists at Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology, and kea conservationists and predator control experts at the Department of Conservation to learn more.

Guests:

• Dr Eric Buenz, biomedical researcher at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
• Professor Gareth Parry, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
• Adjunct Professor Myra Finkelstein, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Tom Brookman, Department of Conservation
• Dr Kerry Weston, Department of Conservation

Learn more:

• Read the web article for this episode.
• In Kea get a helping hand, Alison Ballance joins kea researchers at Arthur’s Pass.
• The kea’s close relative the kaka is also at risk from lead poisoning – check out Alison’s story on The dark side of being an urban parrot - kaka and lead.
• Find out more about the element lead in “Lead – sweet tasting but deadly” from the Elemental podcast series, which investigates the periodic table of chemical elements.
• Read the research mentioned in this episode about X-ray screening, and the latest research about kea and lead.

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To keep their eggs safe, some birds build simple cup-shaped nests. Others craft elaborate fully enclosed domes, with porches, fake entrances and ledges. But is this intricate construction of nests a set, encoded behaviour? Or can birds adapt in different conditions? Researchers are keen to learn about flexibility in nest design, to better understand how different species might be able to respond as the climate changes.

Guests:

• Dr Iliana Medina Guzman, University of Melbourne
• Kane Fleury, Tūhura Otago Museum

Learn more:

• See nest pictures and read the related article for this episode here.
• Iliana’s colleague Dr Claire Taylor spoke to Nine to Noon about some of this work in July, their work has been written up by the University of Melbourne, and their investigations of the role of climate and the analysis of variation in nest design have been published.
• Some birds use spikes as weapons around their nests, while in Wellington, some kākā might be trying to nest in unhelpful places.
• Explore the Our Changing World bird episodes back catalogue, for heaps more bird and nest stories.

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Almost 40 years on from the first reports of the Antarctic ozone hole, and 35 years since the Montreal Protocol to ban CFCs came into effect, what’s going on with the ozone hole? How does it form? How do we measure it? And having solved the CFC problem, why are we still monitoring ozone so closely? Claire Concannon heads to NIWA's Atmospheric Research Station in Lauder, Central Otago, to find out.

Guests:

• Dr Richard Querel, NIWA
• Dr Ben Liley, NIWA
• Dr Olaf Morgenstern

Learn more:

• Read the article that accompanies this episode.
• This year’s World Meteorological Organization ozone bulletin was positive about the recovery trend for the ozone layer.
• In Ozone holes & UV radiation Alison Ballance investigates the particularly large ozone hole of 2020, and why New Zealand has such high UV levels.
• The University of Otago researchers who published findings indicating a growth in the ozone hole in some parts of the stratosphere spoke to Morning Report last year.

Thanks to Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision for some recordings from the 1980s and 1990s used in this episode.

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We love our four-legged friends. It’s estimated about a third of New Zealand households share their home with at least one dog, and two thirds of dog owners consider their furry friends to be family members. Some dogs work, others keep us company, make us laugh, get us walking twice a day, and shower us with unconditional affection….. But are we looking after all their needs? Claire Concannon speaks with a dog welfare expert about the science behind how we know our dogs love us, and what to do to make sure we are looking after them.

Guests:

• Dr Mia Cobb, University of Melbourne
• Ellen Rykers, RNZ

Learn more:

• See more cute dog photos in the article that accompanies this episode.
• Mia coordinated on a Map of the Month project to check if Melbourne is a dog-friendly city.
• Listen to what it takes to train a dog to detect cancer, or train a sheepdog, or how to train a puppy and interpret dog signals.

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We all experience anxiety – when our brains look into the future and imagine bad things happening. It’s normal and has helped keep us alive as a species. But levels of anxiety are rising, particularly in young people, and at the severe end of the spectrum clinical anxiety prevents people from going about their lives. This Mental Health Awareness Week we meet a team of researchers at the University of Otago investigating the brain-body connection in anxiety, and how different potential treatments might help. …

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It’s been almost 30 years since a team joined forces to investigate a particularly aggressive form of stomach cancer that was afflicting one Tauranga whānau. Kimi Hauora Health and Research Clinic in Tauranga and University of Otago geneticists together found the cancer-causing genetic change, helping save thousands of lives worldwide. Justine Murray is at Mangatawa Marae with Maybelle McLeod and Erin Gardiner to reflect on that time, and Professor Parry Guilford discusses those first formative years.

Guests:

• Maybelle McLeod, CEO and Nurse at Kimi Hauora Health and Research Clinic
• Erin Gardiner, Nurse at Kimi HauoraHealth and Research Clinic
• Professor Parry Guilford, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying article, Solving a genetic cancer puzzle.
• Read the press release about the 2023 Prime Minister's Science Prizes
• Read here about the history of Mangatawa Marae
• RNZ interview following the 2023 Prime Ministers Science Prizes

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This week, we’re hanging out in the terahertz area of the light spectrum. Sandwiched between infrared light and microwaves, terahertz has been the long-forgotten cousin of the light family. But no longer! At the Australian Synchrotron, intense and focused beams of terahertz light are used to test new materials for carbon capture, clean energy applications, and the next generation of computing.

Travel to Australia for reporting on this story was supported by the New Zealand Synchrotron Group Ltd.

Guests:

• Nicholas Page, PhD candidate at the University of Otago
• Kiri Van Koughnet, PhD candidate at Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington
• Kane Hill, physics master's student at the University of Auckland
• Dr Freddy Lyzwa, the Photon Factory, University of Auckland
• Dr Dominique Appadoo, senior beamline scientist at the Australian Synchrotron

Learn more:

• Read the article that accompanies this episode, Using light to study materials.
• Listen to a previous OCW episode about the future of long-term data storage.
• The Dodd-Walls Centre for photonics and quantum technologies got a boost of funding in 2023 for its quantum technologies programme of research.
• Learn more about MOFs in this Nine to Noon interview.

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Electrons! High speeds! Intense beams of light! Claire Concannon takes a tour of our nearest particle accelerator – the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne. Designed to create high-energy x-ray light useful for science, the synchrotron enables an incredible diversity of research. And, because of long-standing funding support, New Zealand scientists can also use it. Claire finds out what interesting research questions some visiting New Zealanders are shining a light on.

Travel to Australia for reporting on this story was supported by the New Zealand Synchrotron Group Ltd.

Guests:

• Dr Emily Finch, Australian Synchrotron
• Dr Helen Brand, Australian Synchrotron
• Dr Rosie Young, Australian Synchrotron
• Ben Krinkel, University of Auckland
• Shayhan Chunkath, University of Auckland

Learn more:

• Read the article that accompanies this episode  - The 'science donut' across the ditch
• Physicist Suzie Sheehy spoke to Nine to Noon about synchrotrons as part of the conversation about the 12 physics experiments that changed our world.
• For more on the Australian Synchrotron, you can visit their website, read this piece on The Conversation, or learn about the New Zealand Synchrotron group.
• Jamie Morton of the NZ Herald wrote a piece about the New Zealand research aimed at the life on Mars question.
• The scientific report about the Degas painting is available here. While the writing is quite technical, the images are pretty neat. One of the synchrotron scientists wrote this piece for The Conversation that’s an easier read.

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Advances in the field of genomics (the study of DNA and genomes) have meant big leaps in our ability to sequence, understand and manipulate the genomes of living things. Damian Christie explores research happening now in New Zealand in this area.

Guests:

• Damian Christie of Aotearoa Science Agency
• Professor Emily Parker, Ferrier Institute, Victoria University of Wellington

Learn more:

• Watch the What if….? video series on genomics in Aotearoa
• Listen to the recent episode of The Detail on Modifying our gene modification laws
• Previous Our Changing World episodes have investigated the future of genomic medicine in Aotearoa and the use of genome sequencing during the pandemic.
• Visit the gene technology regulation page on the MBIE website to learn more about the proposed regulations, and learn more about gene editing on the Royal Society webpage.
• Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

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