The genomic zoo
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3775 15th Sep 2012
By sequencing the tuatara genome, scientists hope to better understand the evolution of humans.
Rebecca Priestley
(@RKPriestley) 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.
The mystery of the pumice raft
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3774 8th Sep 2012
Active underwater volcanoes are regularly spewing debris into the Pacific Ocean.
Evolution: Whales, dolphins and hoofed mammals?
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3773 1st Sep 2012
Recent genetic evidence tells us the hippo is the closest living relative of whales and dolphins.
Commercial fishing to blame for Antarctic toothfish decline?
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3771 18th Aug 2012
A fall in antarctic toothfish numbers would seem to have an obvious cause.
A surprise encounter while sailing to the Kermadecs Islands
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue Listener Plus 12th Aug 2012
From aboard the HMNZS Canterbury, Rebecca Priestley observes the raft of pumice, thought to be the result of an underwater explosion.
Gareth Morgan’s pest-free campaign for the Antipodes Islands
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3770 11th Aug 2012
The campaign to rid the Antipodes Islands of introduced mice is almost halfway to its target.
Hangi – helping to reveal the mysteries of the Earth’s magnetic field
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3769 4th Aug 2012
Hangi are helping to reveal the mysteries of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Getting hands-on at the NZ International Science Festival
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3768 28th Jul 2012
Getting hands-on with preserved body parts is a good way of understanding what makes us tick.
The universe and beyond
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3767 21st Jul 2012
A cosmologist answers questions about the nature of light and how many dimensions there are.
Blast from the past: the nuclear test ban treaty
By Rebecca Priestley in Science
Issue 3766 13th Jul 2012
Half a century after a bomb blast 400km above Johnston Atoll, the nuclear test ban treaty has still not taken effect.