This year is set to become New Zealand's hottest on record, breaking the previous record set in 1998, scientists say.

Tests on brains of 3-year-olds can reveal who is likely to become part of the minority of adults to use the biggest share of social services, says study.

Long queues have formed at two petrol stations in Gisborne apparently driven by an earthquake predicted posted on Facebook.

The President-elect said he is "studying" whether the US should withdraw from the Paris agreement.

"The rocket's the easy part. It's people who really throw a monkey wrench into things."

There are an estimated one hundred million pieces of space junk floating around Earth.

Hollywood has long been fascinated with the idea of communicating with space aliens. But is it even possible? Or wise?

COMMENT: Like in politics, fake news can also be a problem in the world of science - proliferated by the net, repeated many times over.

Researchers have found that some of what we see in the periphery - the areas just outside our eye's direct focus - could be a visual illusion.

A major expedition to the submarine Kaikoura Canyon is assessing whether the November 14 quake elevated tsunami risks to coastal settlements.

Earth will be destroyed in a nightmarish inferno as the sun balloons to 100 times its normal size, scientists predict.

COMMENT: We've recently been supported by a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund grant for a project called: What is the Southland accent?

Can you spot the penguin? If you're struggling, stop squinting and take in the big picture.

The ice base from which the hole in the ozone layer was first detected is in danger of falling into a huge chasm, it has emerged.

NZ students rank above OECD average, but girls and rich students have seen their results drop.

Scientists have discovered a huge, mysterious dead zone - 60,000 sq km virtually devoid of oxygen and life.

Schools are struggling to recruit hundreds of teachers ahead of the 2017 school year.

A total of 800 tonnes of sea lettuce has been collected from Tauranga shores in the past week. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Many Kiwis affected by the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake will need "significant ongoing psychological support", the PM's chief science adviser says.

Why do we keep buying the same brands at the supermarket? Scientists explain.

The former astronaut, who became ill while visiting Antarctica, has been told to rest up in Christchurch while congestion in his lungs clears.

New Zealand has been spared half a billion dollars in damage from a notorious pest - and scientists say it's an Irish wasp we have to thank for it.

We all seem to use more Māori kupu as each year goes by. But a three year study at Waikato University aims to learn how and why that's happening, and if one Māori word will attract others. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

They're usually found inside the guts of fish: but glow-in-the-dark bugs also look great on canvas.

COMMENT: Technology is advancing at such a pace there is a risk our lawmakers, unless they are up to speed, will founder on legal and ethical decisions.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is helping Massey University research into Ebola and other deadly diseases be received on the world stage.

Children learn new words using the same method as robots, psychologists say.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Explore the behaviour of volcanoes that lie beneath Auckland and see whether your area is in a danger zone.

Kaikoura's fur seals famously splashed and frolicked in a pool at the foot of a waterfall. And then the earthquake came.

History-making astronaut Buzz Aldrin has always set his sights on the stars.