Parents, we report, are being urged to read to their kids over the holidays, or ensure they keep reading, to maintain their mental development.

Scientists have demonstrated how robots can learn much like tots do.

Experts meet in Washington to set out a safe path ahead for technology that could lead to designer babies.

New Zealand boosted its efforts in the field with the opening of AUT University's state-of-the-art neurocomputing lab - the NeuLab.

Pacific Edge widened its first-half loss, spending more on the roll-out of products across America.

A research agenda focused on tackling the biggest issues facing New Zealand has been praised by the visiting head of one of France's largest research institutes.

Bilingual people are twice as likely to recover from a stroke as those who speak only one language, a study has found.

Women are less likely to get top jobs in companies that already have women in senior positions, according to analysis of 20 years of data.

A test that spots one of the deadliest female cancers with unprecedented accuracy has been developed by scientists.

Drinking three to five cups of coffee a day might help you live longer.

Humans who have had their DNA genetically modified could exist within two years after a private biotech company announced plans to start the first trials into a ground-breaking new technique.

The rugby party continues as we welcome home the All Blacks with their newly- engraved Webb Ellis cup.

The spuds Matt Damon's stranded astronaut Mark Watney grew in The Martian may be closer to science fact than science fiction, say Kiwi and Australian researchers.

Researchers are attempting to go inside the minds of infants to get a baby's-eye-view of the first years of life.

Clergymen attempting to prove claims that a skull found in a Worcestershire church vault is that of William Shakespeare have been thwarted by a senior church lawyer who has barred them from carrying....

The phenomenon of 3D printing has given us printed guns, printed cars and printed hamburgers - now it might have ushered in the age of printed hair.

With two days to go, Massey University answers the hot questions on performance, featuring specialist opinion from across the university

Family members could be kept alive forever virtually so living relatives could interact with their avatars, an academic has suggested.

Women using IVF are a third more likely to develop ovarian cancer, the biggest study of fertility treatment in the world has discovered.

A set of 47 human teeth found in China is giving scientists food for thought.

Cryonics: The preservation of animals and humans at ultra-cold temperatures is booming in the US, notwithstanding the $100,000 minimum price tag.

Pig organs could soon be transplanted into human patients after Harvard University scientists found a way to genetically modify pig DNA to be more compatible with humans.

It's been called the "Genghis Khan" of the ant world, and for good reason.

Deleting a gene could extend life by up to 60 per cent, say scientists.

Controversial findings by scientists suggest that some boys turn homosexual during childhood because of genetic changes triggered by their environment.

A team of researchers discovered the hog-nosed rat during a expedition in a remote and mountainous area of Indonesia two years ago.

A new study published this week challenges that notion and puts forth a theory that the 'high' feeling joggers experience can be known as a 'self-produced marijuana'.

The teeth of a dog may provide new insight into how humans migrated across the world's largest ocean to New Zealand, and where they came from.

Kiwi scientists have uncovered another secret of a wonder-protein that's already been shown to play a hand in reproduction and early brain development.

A blood test that can screen an unborn child for all known genetic abnormalities is to be offered to pregnant women by a private British clinic from next week.