Dog owners love their pets in the same way as they do their children, and the feeling is mutual, scientists have found.

Using slow-motion video, researchers were able to see what occurred inside the joint.

When men donate to charity it's not so much the giving that counts but the desire to compete with other men for the attentions of attractive women, according to a study.

The world's oldest tools - made by ancestors of modern humans around 3.3 million years ago - have been found in Kenya.

For the first time researchers have found that humans can detect whether another person is feeling joyful by their scent.

Frustrated by the glacial pace of academic research, Daniel Johnston and Andrew Preston decided to propel scientific publishing into the 21st century.

A chef was filmed in 3D performing kitchen tasks. His actions were then translated into digital movement using algorithms.

Dark matter may not be so dark after all, after scientists witnessed the mysterious cosmic entity interacting with the universe around it in a new way.

The surface of Mars may still hold water - albeit the saltiest variety possible - according to scientists, after Nasa's Curiosity rover found evidence of liquid brine on the planet.

A New Zealand expert has dismissed plans for the world's first body transplant as "science fiction".

Thunderbirds creator's son tells why he took a DIY test to learn if he would inherit Alzheimer's.

Murray Jackson says he would rather die than suffer again the 19 violent jolts he received from a small defibrillator that had been implanted within his chest.

A small but ambitious group of investors has a novel plan to mine asteroids for fun and profit. But it is possibly illegal.

What makes one person seek out the spiciest chillis, while another enjoys only bland foods?

People could perceive your post-surgery personality differently, too, new research suggests.

That cool pinot gris you enjoy after a tough day at the office is really just a mutant spin-out of pinot noir - or so scientists have found.

Is there anyone out there? The answer is almost certainly yes, says a top Nasa scientist who believes we may know for sure within a decade.

Men are up to five times more likely to commit a sex crime than the average male if their father or brothers have been convicted of a serious sexual offence.

Violet Pietrok is two minutes older than her twin sister. She was born with a Tessier Cleft, a rare condition that left a fissure in her skull, so the facial bones didn't fully come together.

Tuatara have hatched in the wild in the South Island for possibly the first time in several hundred years, experts say.

Sexual behaviour is notoriously difficult to measure, and the findings often dubious. Rowan Pelling meets the Cambridge academic who is analysing our most intimate secrets.

New Zealand has been blasted as "stupid" by a top space engineer for not investing more in science and engineering.

A new form of commercial fishing has improved the survival rates for by-catch, scientists involved in the NZ project said.

Stargazers around the country were treated to a total lunar eclipse over the weekend - the last chance to witness the spectacle for several years.

NZ is home to tens of thousands of endemic plant, animal, insect and marine species. Jamie Morton looks at 10 new finds.

Venus may get its name from the goddess of love but it is more like a vision of medieval hell.