New electronic signs will alert trampers on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to increased risk of volcanic eruption. Lights on the signs

A national body representing freshwater scientists has joined other experts in hitting out at shortcomings in new government reforms to improve the controversial state of our waterways.

Picture a car you can drive for as long as you like without ever having to fill it up or plug it in.

Two University of Auckland professors whose technology stands to change the world have won this year's Prime Minister's Science Prize.

Scientists studying North Island robins, bowel bacteria and condensed matter physics are among the winners of prestigious research fellowships announced this morning.

The European Space Agency says its GOCE research satellite will crash to Earth on Sunday night or during the day on Monday, but debris is unlikely to cause any casualties.

The study of blood-splatter patterns, made famous by popular TV crime shows CSI and Dexter, is being looked at by NZ researchers.

The Curse of Mars also applies to Asian countries, writes Gwynne Dyer. About two-thirds of the attempted missions to Mars have failed, many of them even before leaving Earth's orbit.

A joint Japanese/New Zealand survey of the Kermadec Trench has returned with shots of the weird and wonderful life deep beneath the sea off New Zealand. Photos / Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

They are novel DNA-changing techniques that blur the lines around what is and what isn't genetic engineering.

In the last of a three-part series, Young New Zealander of the Year and CEO of the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust ,Sam Judd, discusses the United Nations Environment Programs’ Global Partnership on Marine Litter.

Solving problems isn't exclusively human but working out how animals do it is tricky, writes Clint J. Perry.

For decades, scientists have observed how giant ice streams have flowed out of West Antarctica, eventually feeding the frozen continent's largest ice shelf.

A Kiwi invention is helping the blind to see - virtually.

A good night's sleep may be the key to preventing brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, a study has found.

New Zealand scientists have unearthed what may be a main reason nicotine replacement therapy is not a failsafe cure for tobacco addiction.

A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman - the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas. He thinks it's a bear.

The discovery of a 1.8-million-year-old skull of a human ancestor buried under a medieval Georgian village provides a vivid picture of early evolution and indicates our family tree may have fewer branches than some believe, scientists say.

Scientists found that men with masculine, low-pitched voices are better at attracting women - at least those looking for short-term flings.

A recent discovery that agricultural practices help form clouds could change the way we see New Zealand's environmental performance.

Sam Judd writes that perhaps the biggest environmental problem we currently face is the contamination of our waterways by nutrients.

Brain expert Jenni Ogden was one of handful of specialists granted access to the most studied patient in medical history.

The brain is the most complicated object in the known universe, writes Fred Mendelsohn. Its 100 billion nerve cells (nearly 20 times the number of people on earth) are each connected to thousands of other nerve cells in a bewilderingly complex network.