Cancer was the leading cause of death in New Zealand in 2010, accounting for nearly a third of all deaths, writes Simon Sutcliffe. That's an increase of nearly 13 per cent between 2000 and 2010.

Genes associated with schizophrenia may also make people more likely to use cannabis, a new study has shown.

A sea floor diva known as the “disco clam”, which earned its name from vivid displays of flashing light, has revealed the secrets of its dazzling moves.

The world is turning to New Zealand's most threatening fault to better understand the levers that cause catastrophic earthquakes.

Driven by exceptionally warm ocean waters, Earth smashed a record for heat in May and is likely to keep on breaking high temperature marks, experts have said.

It will take another three decades for the Southern Hemisphere's humpback whale population to recover from the slaughter of the whaling era, scientists say.

University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Michelle Dickinson, reveals five ways that science is bringing comic-book superpowers closer to reality.

In the mid-1990s, Gus, a polar bear in the Central Park Zoo, alarmed visitors by compulsively swimming figure eights in his pool, sometimes for 12 hours a day.

Environment category: Colin Ogle is Wanganui's go-to man on all things botanical and has dedicated years to the area's parks and bush.

Fillings and the dentist's drill could soon become just an unpleasant memory thanks to a new technique aimed at rebuilding damaged teeth.

The regime governing genetic modification in New Zealand is one of the strictest in the world, writes Bob Forlong.

Albert Einstein may be most famous for his mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, but his work also laid down the foundation for modern quantum mechanics.

A ground-breaking development by a Kiwi is expected to reduce death and injury from dangerous button batteries worldwide.

Research spanning the effects of hormones on a pregnant mother's brain to the potentially negative health effects that pets may have on families can begin.

Bare-knuckle fighting has left its mark on the human face, according to scientists who believe it helped to shape how we look today.

Scientists are being told to use art and poetry to win public support in the battle to curb climate change.

"Sea," said King Canute, the 11th-century Danish King of England, "I command you to come no further!"

A pesticide made from spider venom has been found to kill insects without harming honeybees.

The creator of 'Big Brother' is to turn the "world's toughest job interview" - for a one-way ticket to Mars - into the ultimate reality show.

An endless video loop of cooking shows could hold the key to robots that can unstack a dishwasher and play Lego with the kids, a New Zealand student of robotics says.

Scientists in America are hopeful of a breakthrough in curing Alzheimer's, following a study that shows a way of bringing back the lost memories of dementia patients.

Six University of Canterbury students are taking part in what has been called a once-in-a-lifetime research opportunity.

Australian and Kiwi researchers have edged closer to the "holy grail" of plant science with a groundbreaking study that could change the way farmers irrigate and fertilise their land as the world warms.

Debate over New Zealand's stance on genetic engineering is set to reignite with a review of the rules defining what is - and what isn't - GM research.

Sea ice, winds and invertebrates will go under the microscope in the next stage of a major science programme turning to Antarctica to answer crucial questions about how the Earth will respond to climate change.

An animal believed to have been extinct for four million years has been found near Picton.

Large waves are apparently to blame for breaking up sea ice on a larger scale than thought, explaining a rapid decrease in Arctic ice.