Stories by Alison Ballance

University of Canterbury's John Hopkins and Toni Collins explain disaster law and shortcomings in NZ's legal system highlighted by the Canterbury earthquakes. Audio

Misko Cubrinovski is interested how the ground and the structures on - and in - it behave during an earthquake. Audio

Biotechnologist David Leung finds ways to make plants solve environmental issues. Audio

University of Canterbury engineers plan to 3D print the next generation of wastewater treatment filters. Audio

Victoria University of Wellington's Wokje Abrahamse talks about environmental behaviour change, and projects to get people to save energy and use their cars less. Audio

Summer students from Victoria University of Wellington have been helping the Innermost community gardens in Wellington put numbers on their social and environmental values. Audio

Each year Jo Bonner and the team at Coastlands Plant Nursery in Whakatane grow 300,000 spinifex and pingao plants for dune replanting at beaches around the North Island. Audio

Discover the hidden world of arboreal plants, which get a leg-up in the world by living on trees. Audio

Low-damage buildings don't just save lives in an earthquake - they are designed to be resilient so they can stay in use. Audio

When it comes to having a 'good life', there are several key elements - strong intimate relationships and time to relax. Audio

Information from past earthquakes can be used to prepare a more resilient society that will be better able to cope with future shakes. Video, Audio

Two self-driving underwater robots are making surprising discoveries about where river water ends up at sea, far from land. Video, Audio

Cancer epidemiologist Brian Cox, from the University of Otago, talks about studying the causes of cancer and new research on diet and bowel cancer. Audio

NIWA's Richard Querel talks about the ozone hole, including this year's large one, and Ben Liley explains why NZ has such high UV levels. Video, Audio

Iwi representatives & conservationists journey to Zealandia sanctuary to plant seeds of the mysterious parasitic flowering plant Dactylanthus or flower of the underworld. Audio

The 2020 Tahunui-A-Rangi Award goes to David Tipene Leach for the wahakura, a woven bassinet to address the problem of sudden unexpected death in infancy. Audio

Geneticist Neil Gemmell has won the 2020 Hutton Medal for using DNA & new genomic technologies to better understant plants & animals. Audio

NZ's top research award, the Rutherford Medal, has gone to Brian Boyd, whose work spans Shakespeare to Nabokov to Popper, & weaves arts and sciences together. Audio

Maria Bargh's work on political economies and the environment is focused on Māori communities and has won her the 2020 Te Puāwaitanga Award. Audio

Unravelling how genes control colour in petunias has won Nick Albert the 2020 Hamilton Award and could help breed more nutritious fruit. Audio

Researchers from the sciences and the humanities have had their achievements recognised with awards from the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Deep sea corals are being put to the test at NIWA to find out how they cope with sediment. Audio

Jocelyn Turnbull from GNS Science is measuring how much CO2 we're producing in NZ towns - and she's doing it by cutting the grass. Audio

Dave Lowe on measuring CO₂ in New Zealand for 50 years, and how Carbon Watch NZ is a bird's eye view on our carbon balance. Audio

Emily Parker and her team at Victoria University of Wellington are identifying the genes that allow fungi to create natural medicinal compounds. Audio