Rebecca Priestley is a science writer and historian with a particular interest in New Zealand’s science history. Her anthology, The Awa Book of New Zealand Science, won the 2009 Royal Society of New Zealand Science Book Prize and Atoms, Dinosaurs & DNA: 68 Great New Zealand Scientists, co-authored with Veronika Meduna, won the Elsie Locke Award for Children’s Non-fiction in 2009. Rebecca curated The Art of Science, a joint exhibition between the Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, which opened in March 2011. As well as her regular science column for The Listener, she writes the occasional book review or travel feature and is working on two books: one about New Zealand’s nuclear and radiation history and the other an anthology of Antarctic science.
Rebecca Priestley
Water, water everywhere …
… but we need to be careful how we manage it, says public policy and law professor Robert Glennon. [more]
How safe are airport body scanners?
As Australian airports roll out full-body scanners, our science columnist looks at the scanners already in use in the US. [more]
Higgs boson solution
Are physicists closing in on the elusive Higgs boson or is a surprise in store? [more]
The wind turbines of Scott Base
‘The three sisters’ – a trio of wind turbines – have dramatically cut Scott Base’s fuel bill. [more]
A holiday in seismically calm Oamaru
The northwest and southeast of New Zealand are the least earthquake-y this summer. [more]
Observing the transit of Venus
New Zealand is in a prime spot for viewing this symbolic event in our history. [more]
Christine Winterbourn interview
The first woman to win our top scientific honour has one piece of advice – eat your broccoli. [more]
Measuring the fallout from Rena
The impact on seabirds is dramatic, but the effect on other marine species will take longer to quantify. [more]
Ernest Shackleton’s 100-year-old whisky
Scientists have helped replicate the Mackinlay's whisky found in Shackleton’s Antarctic... [more]
The race to host the Square Kilometre Array
New Zealand and Australia are in the running to host the world’s most powerful... [more]
Exceeding our planetary boundaries
We have gone far past some of the boundaries within which humans can safely operate, says environmentalist Mark Lynas. [more]
The ocean acidification equation
Carbon dioxide is not only warming the atmosphere but also acidifying the oceans. [more]
So long, Happy Feet
After six anaesthetics, five x-rays and the removal of 3kg of sand, the lost Emperor penguin goes home. [more]
The end of the age of the automobile
Peak oil has come and gone, and we should be looking to trains, trams and buses. [more]
Allan Wilson: New Zealand’s Galileo
A lecture series celebrates the greatest New Zealand scientist you've never heard of. [more]
The dawning of the age of Anthropocene
Scientists think it’s time we had a new geological epoch to recognise the impact of human beings on the... [more]
Colony collapse disorder – New Zealand under threat?
But the question is: can New Zealand avoid colony collapse disorder? [more]
Why the hold-up on CO2 emissions?
New Zealand's attitude to reducing our carbon emissions is part of a global problem. [more]
How dangerous is Fukushima?
The disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant may no longer be daily news, but the situation is far from under control. [more]
Stoats – threat to island birdlife
Stoats are a much greater threat to island birdlife than previously thought. [more]