DNA detective work has found a simple explanation to a long-standing mystery surrounding New Zealand's earliest domestic chooks.

There are growing concerns an orca calf could starve after being separated from its family about two weeks ago.

COMMENT: We owe it to coming generations to do as much as we can to repair the damage of the past and to re-create a New Zealand.

Does an ancient race of reptilian psychos run the world? Paul Little goes inside the world of conspiracy theorists.

Researchers have happened upon a clever new way to fool a notorious kiwi-killing predator - by using its own sense of smell against it.

A pair of Kiwi scientists' dream of highways being filled with electric cars that drive without ever having to fill up or plug in has taken a big step closer to reality.

The secret of New Zealand's geological past has been found in the unlikely hiding place of a tiny native bird's DNA.

The US space physicist behind the Juno spacecraft's historic entry into Jupiter's orbit this month admits the whole concept seemed a pipe-dream at first.

COMMENT: Ninety per cent of strokes are avoidable if we actively reduce risk in these 10 key areas, says new research.

A study suggests a formula for physical activity and exercise can be spread out over the entire day.

Dwarf planet Ceres should be riddled with craters, but Nasa's scientists were surprised to find it was relatively smooth.

As well as being a focal point for many viral infections, the nasal cavity is also a rich ecosystem of 50 or so different species of bacteria.

Calling climate sceptics "deniers" is done with the intention of putting them in the same class as "Holocaust deniers".

The unusual warmth that dominated our climate last summer has had alarmingly apparent impacts on the South Island's postcard glaciers and mountain snowlines.

The ninth birthday this week of Dolly the cloned sheep's four genetic siblings - Debbie, Denise, Diana and Daisy - prove that large cloned animals age normally, say scientists.

Aliens will be on the agenda when Great Barrier Island, population 939, brings the Pope's astronomer and other top scientists to a quirky public event.

A scientist shares five reasons we might find alien life this century - and five we reasons we might not.

Aliens will be on the agenda when Great Barrier Island, population 939, brings the Pope's astronomer and other top scientists to a quirky public event.

COMMENT: There is no greater crime being perpetuated on future generations than that committed by those who deny climate change.

The hip, orange super food displacing French fries.

Findings held true even for people who already showed signs of brain damage, according to studies.

A cure for asthma is on the horizon after scientists discovered a genetic switch which prevents the condition.

COMMENT: This week I experienced 3 days at -70C and zero humidity while measuring stardust and witnessing southern lights all within one 10-hour flight.

US researchers have combined tissues from a sea slug with flexible 3D printed components to build "biohybrid" robots that crawl like sea turtles on beach.

Scientists want to find out whether bits of plastic junk commonly found inside the stomachs of seabirds is killing them.

A new Kiwi-led study has found a third of pups born to rats fed high doses of very rancid fish oil during pregnancy did not survive beyond two days.

Forty light years away in the constellation Aquarius, a trio of planets orbit a small, cool star. They are worlds quite unlike our

Could this breakthrough allow women to become mothers in their 50s or 60s?

New precision could immediately aid neurosurgeons in removal of tumours and epilepsy treatment.

Researchers got people drunk or high, then made a fascinating discovery about how we respond.