An important breakthrough, unveiled today, will help scientists get to grips with what shapes the different parts of our bodies.

Are we doing enough? As another report lays out the benefits of a green economy science reporter Jamie Morton looks at what we're doing to achieve it.

Humans have a far greater sense of smell than previously thought, but daily showers and fridges, which mask bad odours, have reduced our ability to detect scents, scientists believe.

A pill could "reset" the body clock, curing jet lag and easing the strain of working nights, scientists have discovered.

The familiar scent of its owner lingers like perfume in a dog's brain, US scientists claim.

Imagine a world in which the advances of the science since the publication of 'On the Origin of Species' - or even since Charles Darwin was born - were ignored.

A new survey has reaffirmed the threat of an underwater landslide sending a rapid-fire tsunami towards the Kaikoura coast.

Cosmologists were last night excitedly anticipating one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in history - a direct window into how the universe was born.

A Kiwi believes she has what it takes to spend a year on "Mars" - although any close encounters won't be with cute aliens but curious polar bears.

Kaikoura's world-renowned wild marine environment will be better protected by a new marine reserve.

A New Zealand forensic scientist helped provide the crucial breakthrough in a horrific Australian murder cold case.

Pauline Boyd wants to grow a new breast. This might sound unlikely, but with a technique pioneered by a world-renowned surgeon, the Whangarei breast cancer survivor expects to do just that.

135 years ago today, Albert Einstein, one of the world’s most influential physicists was born in Germany. Today, in celebration of his birthday, we share 10 of his most enduring quotes.

The humble radiata pine might not seem an obvious target for millions of dollars of research and development.

European humans have become "whiter" in the past 5,000 years, undergoing a distinct change in their DNA due to natural selection, according to scientists.

Caroline Little isn't scared of earthquakes. She has found herself beset by them for much of her life.

A UK scientist who linked old mining operations to serious floodwater contamination in Wales has begun a similar investigation in the Hauraki Plains.

Oxygen-deprived babies born with brain damage could make miraculous recoveries thanks to research that aims to help prevent the injury spreading.

Dr Nicola Gaston tells a story about an encounter at an international conference dinner one night in 2012.

The brains of patients with Parkinson's disease who had deep brain stimulation treatment produced new stem cells, according to new research.

It's been called the poor man's teleporter, based on the fictional Star Trek invention that beamed humans on to hostile planets and reassembled them, molecule by molecule.

A look into how some of New Zealand's biggest volcanoes erupted hundreds of years ago could help predict lava flows for future eruptions.

From the steaming banks of Lake Rotomahana, watching a man hanging off the side of a boat and dropping a strange yellow object into the water may seem an odd sight.

Scientists have uncovered an infectious giant virus that had been entombed in Siberian permafrost for 30,000 years.

The pillars that form Stonehenge may have been chosen because they were like sacred "prehistoric glockenspiels", according to researchers.

There's no signpost to say you're nearing New Zealand's subantarctic islands, but a welcome that's a little more dramatic.

Ears and noses could be grown in a laboratory and transplanted into humans using a technique developed by British scientists.