In 1970s, some of NZ's leading thinkers were correctly predicting a future of smartphones, broadband and HDTVs. Did we stop trying to gaze beyond horizon?

Australasia's first Exponential Technology summit organiser Kaila Colbin shares five things she expects to see in the not-too-distant future.

COMMENT: Scientists have taken phytoremediation one step further by combining it with nanobionics - the process of modifying biology with engineering.

While post-election US has already been compared to an episode from The Walking Dead, researchers have worked out what a zombie apocalypse would look like.

The countdown has begun in earnest for a Kiwi dad who wants to boldly go where no man has gone before - Mars.

On Monday the largest supermoon in almost 70 years will light up the night sky ... but Tuesday night might bring the most spectacular New Zealand moonrise.

A world-famous thinker says New Zealand could be the "Athens of the modern world".

Efforts to tackle a major eye problem that can lead to blindness could be boosted by a world-first Kiwi study into newly discovered and potentially game-changing adult stem cells.

Do you have superior face recognition skills? If so, you might be able to help police solve crimes.

A clever tracking innovation dubbed DroneCounts, combining the use of drones with radio tags and pioneered by a pair of Kiwis, has scooped a major conservation award. The prototype Duckatron is used to locate a pateke in Habitat Te Henga, in the Waitakere Ranges

A clever tracking innovation, combining the use of drones with radio tags and dubbed DroneCounts, has scooped a major conservation award.

Horror parasites brainwash their victims, driving them to kill themselves. And they're in your backyard.

Ever had a near-death experience? A Massey University psychologist wants to hear from you.

For the first time, scientists will construct a detailed picture stretching back more than 500 years of how we've affected our most important fisheries species - potentially genetically.

Scientists are to harness the power of ultra-fast lasers to finally reveal how an intriguing and complex UV filter within our bodies protect us from the sun.

COMMENT: Having a song stuck in one's head, known as an earworm, is an experience that over 90% of us have on a regular basis.

The hottest year on record globally in 2015 could be an average year by 2025 and beyond if carbon emissions continue to rise at the same rate, new research has found.

Two-headed sharks sound like a monster ripped straight out of a B-list horror movie, but scientists are increasingly finding more of them worldwide.

Eating plenty of tomatoes could stave off wrinkles - and even skin cancer, say scientists.

Scientists will reconstruct more than 20,000 years of NZ's ecological history to better understand how our species will respond to climate change.

Ultra-sensitive fibre-optic sensors extending nearly a kilometre below the Southern Alps will transform what we know about one of the biggest earthquake threats facing New Zealand.

A study of 12 million Facebook users suggests that using Facebook is associated with living longer - when it serves to maintain and enhance your real-world social ties.

Vegetarians have often argued that their diet is more environmentally friendly, but a carbon footprint study reveals how friendly our food really is.

This month marks a decade since icebergs thrust Otago into the world spotlight, ODT illustrations editor Stephen Jaquiery recalls how it played out.

Scientists have struck upon a simple equation that shows the true effect of greenhouse gases.

Kiwis are set to be treated with the most spectacular "supermoon" since 1948 - if bad weather doesn't hide it from us.

Auckland University chemical scientist Dr Erin Leitao, searching for what could be the next wonder-material, has been honoured with a major award. Leitao, who just received the 2016 New Zealand Fellow of the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme, talks about her work.

A Kiwi expedition to the far-flung Kermadec Islands has put scientists up close with some of the ocean's most fascinating residents.

A new study explains the birth order puzzle, and the impact of changes to parenting behaviours.

Research to find new Earth-like planets, clean up our waterways and boost our health have just received $65 million from the Marsden Fund. We look at 10 of the best.