The Cavendish banana is facing extinction from a deadly fungus and may have to be genetically engineered into a new variant, experts say.

Scientists analyzing dinosaur fossils believe they've figured out why some had cumbersome horns and frills: to attract mates.

Kiwi scientists are sampling Sub-Antarctic trees to better understand the mysterious Antarctic Convergence.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly uses hydrophobic paddles to move a ball of water on the International Space Station.

Inside the rear cargo bay at Scott Base's Hillary Field Centre, it sounds - and feels - like an anti-aircraft gun is letting loose just a few metres away.

For the first time in more than 10 years it is possible to see all five "bright" planets together in the sky.

Controls are now in place to restrict the movement of some fruit and vegetables outside of a defined circular area.

Are we willing to accept such compromises when watching science fiction? I guess it depends on how captivating the movie is and how pedantic we are.

Could more science be slipped into science fiction, including the Star Wars movies, without spoiling the fun? Michael Brown investigates.

Near the margin where Pram Point drops on to the McMurdo ice shelf stands a small shack, set against a dramatic and ever-changing Antarctic backdrop.

It's not the alarm clock's fault that you're not getting enough sleep.

If Spider-Man were real, he would be forever falling off vertical walls and struggling to maintain credibility as a superhero, research suggests.

The penthouse has long been associated with wealth and prestige, but a new study suggests it could actually be the death of its inhabitants.

Call it extreme geology: a team of Kiwi scientists is venturing to a remote part of Antarctica to dig up ancient evidence of a warmer world.

Herald science reporter Jamie Morton is spending the next week in Antarctica and will be filing a regular diary from Scott Base.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has released video of its rocket tipping over upon landing and exploding.

Falcon 9 rocket come close - but not close enough - to making the first sea landing of a booster rocket.

The biggest creature to ever walk the surface of the earth is revealed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

An Auckland biodiversity student is part of a team of scientists researching and monitoring humpback whales and their migration in the Cook Islands.

Herald science reporter Jamie Morton is spending the next week in Antarctica and will be filing a regular diary from Scott Base. Here is his second entry.

A simple jab could stop cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and junk food, say scientists.

Freezing wind storms. Temperatures plunging to -40C. Months of perpetual daylight or darkness. These brutal, barely imaginable conditions seem positively Martian.

Self-drive is set to take on a whole new meaning, transforming our cities, unclogging our roads and changing our very idea of car ownership.

Herald science reporter Jamie Morton will be filing regular stories from Antarctica's Scott Base over the next week, along with a daily diary entry. Here is his first.

Minerals released by giant icebergs capturing carbon is slowing the rate of global warming.

The uncanny appearance of Bowie's eyes was ideal for a performer who embraced ideas of the alien, the outsider, the otherworldly and the occult, writes Kevin Hunt.

In a paper published in the open access journal eLife this week, researchers say they have pinpointed what may well be one of evolution's greatest copy mess-ups yet.

Retired NASA astronaut Fred Haise, of famous failed lunar mission, Apollo 13, gives a guided tour though the Houston Space Centre, Texas

Scientists at the University of Auckland have proved that fish communicate to keep safe from predators in the same way animals such as chimpanzees and elephants do. The research - captured with an underwater GoPro camera is the first direct evidence that fish communicate to maintain group cohesion.