One of the world's leading earthquake scientists has called on New Zealand to adopt cutting-edge technology that could give people as much as 25 seconds' warning.

New Zealand's cute pukeko, known for its colour both in plumage and personality, has been shown to have a power-hungry, aggressive streak - quite literally.

Kiwis are being encouraged to become citizen scientists to check the health of their own lakes, rivers and streams.

A gene linked to obesity which makes ice cream and sugary foods tastier for girls has been discovered by scientists.

Dame Anne Salmond has become the first social scientist to win the country's highest science and technology honour.

Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond, the current New Zealander of the Year, has been awarded the country's highest science and technology honour.

Kiwi researchers will play a star role in one of the biggest and boldest scientific projects in history - the construction of the world's largest radio telescope.

It's common knowledge that Australia gets too many of our best brains and skilled workers - but are we getting their wind-borne bugs?

Astronomers call it the monster. It was the biggest and brightest cosmic explosion ever witnessed. Had it been closer, Earth would have been toast.

DNA extracted from the arm bone of a child who died in southern Siberia about 24,000 years ago has shed light on the origins of the first people to colonise the Americas.

Kiwi scientists are combining leading cancer drug therapy research with cutting-edge computer modelling to create a simple system that could speed up the development of treatment agents.

It's been one of the mildest flu seasons in 20 years, but the young, elderly and Pacific Island and Maori people are still at serious risk from the flu.

Drug-resistant "superbugs" represent one of the gravest threats in the history of medicine, leading experts warn.

Scientists have discovered possibly the earliest signs of life on Earth - remains of bacteria that are almost three-and-a-half billion years old - in a remote region of northwest Australia.

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.

The Milky Way galaxy is teeming with Earth-like planets that are not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist at their surface - and so be capable of supporting life.

Forget all that creaking and groaning of stressed metal as the pressure of millions of tonnes of water comes to bear. That's pure Hollywood. It's actually dead quiet.

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