With the touch of a button and a whirring sound, the robot was off.

Work on the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway unearthed a human skull today, which appears to have been buried in a kumara pit.

Earthquakes are a natural hazard - except when they're man-made.

Food that's only touched the floor for five seconds is okay to eat, isn't it?

Leafy suburbs like Parnell might be seen as Auckland's elite neighbourhoods but more affordable areas have the upper hand in something, it seems.

New study shows challenging the immune systems of kakapo and other endangered species may help bring them back from the brink.

The explosive history of Rangitoto has again been rewritten, after scientists recovered buried clues of ancient blasts deep below the Island.

Bugs capable of everything from curing diseases to mopping up pollution are a step closer after scientists created an artificial lifeform in a lab.

The extrasolar planet HD 20782, about 117 light years from Earth.

Award-winning science writer Dr Rebecca Priestley's new anthology of Antarctic science, Dispatches from Continent Seven, starts out with her own experience on the ice.

Study finds people more likely to mingle with people with similar physical traits — including levels of attractiveness.

Psychologists reveal why we close our eyes when locking lips.

Kiwi researchers have used an elaborate stadium experiment to show that beautiful people really are the centre of attention when it comes to how we mingle.

The science behind this and five other long-pondered questions.

New findings are being described as a "paradigm shift" in the understanding of diabetes.

A recent breakthrough poses new hope.

We are releasing carbon into the atmosphere at an alarming rate, and we will soon eclipse the only known "thermal maximum".

New Horizons spacecraft has transmitted spectacular images back that reveal surprises. Here's a summary of just a few scientific results to date.

The so-called Tully Monster could be the most repulsive looking creature to ever have roamed the oceans.

British astronomers have discovered a cluster of nine "monster" stars 30 million times brighter than the Sun which could change our understanding of the way stars are formed.

It's one of the most enigmatic specimens ever found. And now, half a century after its discovery, researchers claim to have found its place in the tree of life.

COMMENT: Alan Duff's vitriol and vilification of religion is counter-scientific and unwarranted.

A new drug is being trialled that enables the body's immune system to detect and attack cancer tumours.

Scientists believe by 2045 they will have achieved immortality.

As a daughter who has watched her father lose his battle with cancer, I am empathetic to families who try to access cannabis products illegally, writes Michelle Dickinson.

Pathologists stunned by "staggering" results.

What if we could fight climate change by capturing emissions and locking them away? It sounds good, but the obstacles are huge, reports Chris Mooney.

Reseachers from across the world have attended a major conference in Christchurch showing off their latest theories, technology, data, and videos furthering the state-of-the-art in human robot interaction.

And here's what they do to your brain.

The "root of all evil" has been discovered by scientists who found that part of the brain fires up before nefarious acts are carried out.