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New science column for The Press
The Press has unveiled a new weekly science column that will run every Friday and wrap-up some of the big research-related stories of the week.
Edited by Press science reporter Dr Sarah-Jane O'Connor, the "What We've Learned" column will put in context some of the major studies that have been published during the week.
This week features the sequencing of the sheep genome, which involved Agresearch scientists, a citizen science project tracking the impact of the calicivirus which was illegally released in the South Island in 1997 and a study detailing how rats experience regret.
Sarah-Jane has just moved to Hokitika to become the West Coast reporter for The Press and is on the look out for good science stories.
Read the following Q&A with Sarah-Jane...
SMC: Why did you get into science journalism? SJ: I initially pursued a research career, but at the end of my PhD I switched to journalism. I felt very strongly that there was too big a gulf between scientists and the public - who I think are interested in science if we just present it in a friendlier format. SMC: Which are your favourite issues to cover? SJ: My PhD was in ecology, so I've got an affinity for environment and conservation stories. Although now that I'm reporting, I also find I enjoy health stories. They've got good news value and are relevant to many of us. SMC: What challenges are there to being a science reporter in New Zealand? SJ: I'd love to be able to report on more overseas science, but with small newsrooms we have to focus on local stories - and of course there aren't as many science stories coming out of New Zealand. What have you enjoyed most in your time reporting science? I just really enjoy talking to researchers. Everyone told me academics would be hard to interview, but they're often my favourites. I get to hear about amazing research and learn new things constantly. SMC: What would you say to aspiring science reporters? SJ: I may be biased, but I do think having a science degree is useful (though perhaps don't go to the same extent I did). Having a grounding in science gives you a different way of viewing the world, and it will teach you important ways of thinking critically that you'll need for dissecting science stories. |
On the science radar this week...
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Rabbits, guns and citizen science
Mystery still surrounds exactly how a group of renegade farmers imported the calicivirus into New Zealand in 1997 and spread it around the South Island in a bid to kill the rabbits that were destroying their land.
 But 17 years later, scientists have been able to give some indication of the impact the illicit introduction of the virus had on rabbit populations. They used data gathered over 23 years at Alexandra's Great Easter Bunny Hunt where the rabbits shot during that day are counted up. It turns out that rabbit kills counted after the hunt fell 60 per cent following the introduction of calicivirus - or Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) as it is now known. Kill rates remained low for several years afterwards before gradually increasing again and then fluctuating year to year.
As the scientists, from Landcare Research, who this week published their findings in Wildlife Research, note:
"The disease initially had a dramatic negative effect on kill rates, but this effect began to wane 4 years later. Similar results based on spotlight counts have been reported from the same area, and from the MacKenzie Basin nearby."
Counting rabbits killed in the Bunny Hunt could be a good indication of the health of rabbit populations, indeed better than spotlight counts, where rabbits can easily be double-counted. But the researchers point out that not all farms in the region participate in the Bunny Hunt, so it's not a true random sample.
However, the authors do write, "the data collected from this hunting competition are a good example of how 'citizen science' can be used to capture large volumes of pest-monitoring data from a wide geographic region for very little cost."
So how many rabbits do they kill at the Great Easter Bunny Hunt? Well between 1991 and 2013 they counted 248,000 dead rabbits. That equates to 35.1 rabbits shot per team member in a 24 hour period.
You read more about the research in coverage from MSN NZ News, Radio New Zealand and even the Daily Mail in the UK.
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New prices, scholarships for SAVVY
Applications are open for our Science Media SAVVY courses in Auckland and Hamilton.
Check out the details here, including a detailed course breakdown.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has increased SMC funding for SAVVY workshops allowing us to drop the price to $595 per person!
We can now also offer two post graduate scholarships per workshop. This is an incredible opportunity to gain some intensive training to give you confidence working with the media - whatever stage of your scientific career.
APPLY HERE
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"You need everything packed, right down to the nails. It's not like you can go to Bunnings if you need something."
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The Friday video...
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Policy news and developments
Phosphate submissions: The EPA is taking submissions on a marine consent application by to mine phosphate nodules from the Chatham Rise.
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Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's Sciblogs posts:
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Research highlights
Some of the research papers making headlines this week.
Children beat crows for clever causal thinking: New Caledonian crows, while pretty clever, are no good at observing a cause-effect relationship and coming up with a new behaviour to replicate it, according to a new study from University of Auckland researchers. However, two year old children faced with the same task (dropping a block through the right hole in a box to get a reward) can come up up with a novel action to after observing such a relationship. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Harder diamonds stand the heat: A synthetic diamond material with unprecedented mechanical and thermal properties has been developed by Chinese scientists. The researchers show that diamond samples containing a high density of nanoscale 'twin' domains are harder than natural or other synthetic types of diamond, while also having significantly better thermal stability. NatureBacteria fingered as heart attack culprit: Scientists believe they have an explanation for the axiom that stress, emotional shock, or overexertion may trigger heart attacks in vulnerable people. Hormones released during these events appear to cause bacterial biofilms on arterial walls to disperse, allowing plaque deposits to rupture into the bloodstream, according to new research. mBioMoles linked to breast cancer: Cutaneous nevi, commonly known as moles, may be a novel predictor of breast cancer, according to two large population studies from the US and France. In both cases the researchers report that women with a large number of were more likely to develop breast cancer than those with few or no moles (35% and 13% more likely in the US and French studies respectively). PLoS MedicineSmall water foot print for NZ sheep, beef cattle: AgResearch scientists have for the first time calculated the water foot print of New Zealand sheep and beef cattle. The authors found that, over an animal's life, the amount of water used per kg of live weight is much, much lower than in UK and Australia. The authors say this confers a environmental 'market advantage' to NZ meat, but that further efforts to lower water use will also improve environmental impacts on freshwater. Journal of Cleaner Production
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Upcoming sci-tech events
For these and more upcoming events, and more details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.
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New Zealand International Science Festival - International and local guests, presentations and events - 5 - 13 July, Dunedin.
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