Passengers on board a research ship that has been trapped in Antarctic ice for a week are expected to be rescued by helicopter, officials say.

A rescue icebreaker sent to retrieve more than 70 people on a marooned research ship in the Antarctic sea ice has been forced to turn around after coming within 19km of the vessel.

Observer writers look at hot topics for next year, from surveillance to missions to map out the galaxy.

Kiwi ornithologist Kerry-Jayne Wilson's fourth day stranded on a ship trapped by pack ice in Antarctica started with news that rescue could still be days away.

A rescue icebreaker is making steady progress zig-zagging through ice to rescue an ice-trapped ship in Antarctica with 74 people on board, including six New Zealanders.

A ship trapped by heavy sea ice in Antarctica with 74 people on board, including six Kiwis, will not be rescued until tomorrow night at the earliest.

Kiwis are in for an astronomical treat in April and October next year

An icebreaker is expected to reach a stranded Antarctic research ship with six Kiwis on board late tonight.

The lines of thousands of love poems and songs may have to be rewritten, according to Professor Alain Carpentier.

DNA taken from the 50,000-year-old toe bone of a Neanderthal woman has shown that she was highly inbred.

A student has invented the answer to your problems - a T-shirt that is impossible to stain.

Computer giant's motto is 'Don't be evil', but some worry that tech purchase brings allure of defence contracts.

Three inexpensive sunscreens sold in supermarkets have come out tops in Consumer NZ testing.

As hardy perennials go, there is little to beat that science hacks' favourite: the hard-wiring of male and female brains.

NZ Science Media Centre staff and their Oz counterparts put together their 10 top picks for the world's biggest science stories of 2013.

Adults' rate of smoking has declined to 15 per cent in the latest census, down from 20.7 per cent in 2006.

Plastered across posters and T-shirts, inspiring a play, and named by a popular blog site as word of the year, "munted" became the catch-cry amid Christchurch's post-quake devastation.

Auckland University team heads first research on giant mammals' ability to sense sound waves of prey.

The oldest known stone javelins have been discovered in Africa, predating humans by 80,000 years.

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.