For as long as there have been lights in the night sky, humans have been coming up with names for them.

The Government has been accused of gutting a major longitudinal study tracking the experiences of kids growing up in New Zealand, after a funding cut resulted in the number of its participants being slashed by two thirds.

Global interest in a Kiwi company's anti-aging drug is ramping up, with three major clinical trials now under way to test it against a range of ailments.

As tomatoes come in to season, research reveals the common place you shouldn't store them - unless you're hell bent on killing their flavour.

The powerful combination of two vitamins could be a hidden key to curing human diseases through regenerative medicine.

A walk after a meal could help people with type-2 diabetes better manage their blood-sugar levels, new research has found.

White blooms of plankton appearing east of New Zealand suggest the ocean is responding to climate change.

A Massey Uni researcher is adamant he's not studying surf rage as an excuse to hit the water and says the aggressive behaviour is common on NZ water.

British scientists will face "six minutes of terror" this week as the Schiaparelli space probe plunges to the surface of Mars after a seven-month journey.

As top Kiwi scientists fly south for NZ's 60th research season in Antarctica, Jamie Morton takes a look at some of the fascinating studies planned.

“Medicinal cannabis prices are set to tumble after the Government approved a new Canadian product, for an Auckland woman. Campaigners say high costs and inaccessibility have driven tens of thousands of pain sufferers to the black market for medical marijuana. A handful of law-abiding patients have been paying more than $1000 a month for the only legal alternative.”

Professor Craig Cary, director of the Waikato University-based International Centre for Terrestrial Antarctic Research (ICTAR), is leading a new study investigating how a changing climate and human impacts are affecting Antarctica's famous Dry Valleys.

As stories of sinister clown encounters surface in NZ and around the world, sociologists talk to Russell Blackstock about what is driving this dark fad.

COMMENT: How on earth do these findings translate to people who drink gin, coffee or beer being probable psychopaths? Quite simply, they don't.

COMMENT: This week I ate a 3D printed pancake. The printer used standard pancake batter as its "ink" and printed it on to a non-stick hot-plate.

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has revived calls to send humans to Mars by 2030s - but even if astronauts get there, would they remember much of it?

Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck has been crowned EY New Zealand entrepreneur of the year.

"Somebody was walking through this exact spot, at this moment in time, thousands of years ago," said scientist Kevin Hatala.

Collating data on eruptions, earthquakes and gas emissions promise new predictive tools.

The potential environmental impacts of controversial off-shore mining will be investigated in a new multi-million dollar study.

COMMENT: Baby talk plays an important role in development and babies prefer it to other types of speech.

Sarah Kessans spent the "best week of her life" at a Nasa training centre in Texas.

COMMENT: Following the recall of faulty airbags by Japanese manufacturer Takata, it's timely to look at the science behind these livesaving devices.

Scientists have just discovered a new species of heavyweight shark - but we're 20 million years too late to have seen it.

A visiting world-renowned expert on childhood behavioural disorders is set to share insights into how kids' sleep problems can hurt their academic performance and later success in life.

Kiwi food company's product range includes wild ants, huhu grubs, locusts and cricket powder.

A new million-dollar study could deliver the key to the Government's bold bid to clear the nation of pest predators by 2050.

Huge dinosaur footprint discovered in Gobi Desert is possibly largest ever.

Will we get arthritis like our parents used to tell us?

Scientists have revealed new insights into the ancestors of Maori, confirming that the first people to settle in Pacific were from Asian farming groups.