US student Allison Willen was making her way, alone, through flood water covering a section of the Young Valley walking track when she was swept to her death.

An American tourist found dead in a river near Wanaka yesterday had previously described her first tramping trip in a column published by Otago University’s student magazine Critic.

Allison "Ally" Willen was last seen on the Gillespie Pass track on April 25, Senior Sergeant Ben Butterfield said.

Milking cows under the cover of darkness has helped to produce a milk powder high in the sleep-promoting hormone Melatonin.

A process that could turn harmful gases into useful products like car tyres shows why scientists need to keep challenging our understanding of what are the proteins vital to all life on Earth.

Otago University's Dental School has been recognised as among the top 10 in the world.

Brains, brawn and beauty helped University of Otago medical student Deborah Lambie win the 2015 Miss World New Zealand crown.

Police fear a missing University of Otago student could have been swept away in a flooded river during a tramp in Mt Aspiring National Park at the weekend.

It's no Jurassic jest - meet the Velociraptor's vegetarian cousin.

New University of Otago research is providing the most comprehensive picture of the nearly 40million-year-long evolutionary history of baleen whales.

Organisers are staying tight-lipped on the future of the Hyde St keg party after a St John vehicle was attacked, a dozen party-goers were arrested and dozens more required medical attention at the event.

New research has identified potential early treatments for deadly genetic cancers, removing the need for drastic preventative surgery.

New Labour MP Stuart Nash was bankrolled to the tune of $4000 a month by political backers for more than a year leading up to last year's general election.

Analysis of election candidate donations has shown a wide variety of businesses are willing to open their wallets for politicians.

What started as a fantasy about flying back to his student flat after a long night at the local pub has turned into a reality worth an estimated $100 million for a former Dunedin man.

A large student population surrounds Otago University creating an intense, rich, youthful culture. Great ideas spew out of those messy flats. So does spew, writes Matt Heath.

An annual party at a sponsored student flat has been cancelled after more than 3000 people indicated they would attend.

A state-of-the-art laboratory near Franz Josef Glacier is being packed up after an ambitious drilling operation came to a premature end before scientists could bore through the high-risk Alpine Fault.

Ask Sir Murray Brennan about an esteemed medical career that has now been honoured with a knighthood and luck is a recurring theme.

Nobel Laureate and former United States Energy Secretary Steven Chu says New Zealand has an opportunity to quickly ramp up its use of renewable energy because of the huge strides being made in wind,....

A Kiwi researcher is studying how children exercise restraint from tempting lollies - and what it says about their likely self-control later in life.

A researcher's tireless efforts to ensure every Kiwi can have a safe, warm and dry home has been rewarded with the country's largest prize for science.

The death of a 22-year-old student who fell from his skateboard and suffered a fatal head injury has been referred to the coroner.

A team of scientists drilling deep into the South Island's high-risk Alpine Fault have been intrigued to encounter unusually high temperatures just several hundred metres below ground.

The Otago University student behind a "Rack Appreciation Society" Facebook page where members shared explicit pictures of young women says he's sorry.

The University of Otago's reputation has been ''sullied'' by an explicit Facebook page, vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne says.

Women are being urged to come forward to police if they think they have been exploited on a recently shut down Facebook page.