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Science New Zealand

Welcome to Science New Zealand. It represents the eight Crown Research Institutes: the power of 4,400 people advancing ideas and delivering results for New Zealand through excellent science and technology.

Last year, government, business, sectors and communities invested $625 million with the Crown Research Institutes.

From environment to trade, agriculture to manufacturing, in niche technologies and with leading edge science, the Crown Research Institutes
identify, respond to and solve science-based challenges affecting our lives today and tomorrow.

Throughout New Zealand and across the globe, their ideas, insights and connections are shaping new thinking and practical action.

Discover their stories, the results and the possibilities. The snippets click to external sites. We try to keep links current for 90 days.

For more on Science New Zealand Inc, the organisation, click here.

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ScienceNZ - The Value of Science Discovery

New Value

South Island to get quake sensors

From next year, GeoNet, a collaboration between the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and GNS Science, will roll out a monitoring station network across the upper South Island as part of a $45 million, five-year programme.

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Predicting success with NIWA supercomputer

Kiwis will have better warnings of floods, droughts and storms now a new supercomputer has been switched on – but don't expect the daily weather forecast to improve.

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The sound of science

A lifelong obsession with guitar playing, sound reproduction and acoustics led IRL scientist Dr Mark Poletti to develop a system that can transform a venue with less-than-perfect acoustics into a world-class concert hall.

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Government investment recognises wine industry success

The Sauvignon Blanc Programme - the world’s most comprehensive research investigation into Sauvignon blanc grapes and wine - is set to build upon the discoveries of recent years and offer new tools to New Zealand’s wine industry thanks to $12 million of new funding.

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Dynamic duo

A collaboration between IRL and itsTaiwanese counterpart, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), has resulted in the joint development of a unique product that is nearing market entry.

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King of the Crabs

A major study of the king crabs from the New Zealand, Australian, and Ross Sea regions has just been completed, finding a total of 23 species and almost doubling the number of previously known species from the area. Dr Ahyong has described five exclusively from New Zealand, five from Australia, and four common to both regions. 

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Three new kiwifruit cultivars to be commercialised

Plant & Food Research welcomes the decision by ZESPRI Group Limited announced today of the advancement of three new kiwifruit cultivars into commercial production.

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Earnings from NZ's horticultural industries exceed $6 billion

Figures from Plant & Food Research show fruit, vegetables, wine and flowers were worth more than $6 billion exports and domestic spend in the year to 30 June 2009, up around $470m on 2008.

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Scion makes waste pay

Scion, the Rotorua-based Crown Research Institute, will be highlighting practical technologies at this year’s Fieldays. Two of those technologies convert waste to profit.

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New geological map of Fiordland a decade in the making

Seven summers of fieldwork in remote parts of Fiordland by a group of GNS Science geologists has culminated  with the publishing of a new geological map covering this World Heritage area.

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Virtual vermin

Millions of stroke survivors worldwide could benefit from technology IRL has developed that uses virtual reality and assistive devices to speed up the rehabilitation process.

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New $3m accelerator a vital asset to NZ science

A new $3.4 million accelerator mass spectrometer, recently opened at GNS Science represents a major step forward in helping New Zealand understand climate change and its possible impacts.

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ArborGen Renews Agreement with Scion

ArborGen, LLC and New Zealand Crown Research Institute Scion have agreed to extend their multi-million dollar partnership in gene discovery and molecular breeding for forest trees.  Begun in 2006, the partnership has been successful in identifying gene-traits associated with wood quality improvements in pine.

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Even the paint is from New Zealand

When the NIWA research vessel Tangaroa goes to a Singaporean shipyard in July, it will carry all its own hull paint from New Zealand.

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New Thinking

The weighting game

IRL’s metrologists are taking a novel approach to bringing the kilogram — the last measurement to be based on a physical object — into the 21st century.

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Clean and green - NIWA harnesses Nelson’s sunshine

They are silent, produce no emissions when operating and create electricity - they are photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. NIWA Nelson has just installed 56 Jiawei 185W solar modules onto its rooftop to generate electricity.

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Scientists, take heart, says IRL CEO

Shaun Coffey says it is heartening that despite a tight fiscal environment, the current government has prioritised science in the 2010 budget.

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Rain a gauge of building needs

Years of research by NIWA into extreme weather patterns has led to the development of a database that will assist engineers to know how much rain they should allow for, when designing structures across New Zealand.

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CEO sought for Science Ministry

An outstanding leadership opportunity, with Science and Innovation at heart of Government’s economic growth strategy, says Minister Mapp.

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A cool $15M for Antarctic research

NIWA, Landcare Research and GNS Science receive over $15M to do further outstanding science research in Antarctica over the next four years.

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Scientist honoured for animal health and parasite management

AgResearch parasitologist Dr Dave Leathwick has received the 2010 McMeekan Memorial Award for his work in parasite management and drenching practices in the New Zealand sheep industry.

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New-look boards will get the best from CRIs

New appointees on Crown Research Institutes boards will place the CRIs at the forefront of innovation and economic growth, Minister of Research, Science and Technology Wayne Mapp said recently.

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Scottish College honours AgResearch scientist

AgResearch Principal Scientist Dr Liz Wedderburn has been honoured by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) with a five year visiting fellowship.

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Dr Tom Richardson appointed AgResearch CEO

The current head of the Rotorua-based CRI, New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, trading as Scion, Dr Tom Richardson, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of AgResearch Ltd, after the resignation of Dr Andrew West.

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Major petroluem geosience project commences

GNS Science has started a major two-year work programme that will substantially increase the quality and quantity of geoscience information available to the oil and gas exploration industry in New Zealand.

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AgResearch considers alternatives to Ruakura

AgResearch is likely to need new containment sites for its GM research activities as the existing Ruakura site becomes less suitable in the years ahead.

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Creating primary sector's edge

IRL CEO Shaun Coffey looks at how agricultural science can help give New Zealand competitive advantage in world markets.

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The unknown last frontier

In New Zealand, we are discovering new marine species faster than we have the capacity to name and classify them,” says NIWA principal scientist Dr Dennis Gordon.

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Rotorua Scientist a Finalist for Zonta Award

Dr Anna Hopkins, a scientist at Scion, Rotorua, is one of three candidates shortlisted for this year’s Zonta Science Award.

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Vote RS&T Budget “potentially game-changing”

Investments will re-shape society and economy by recognising knowledge breeds prosperity. 

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Scientists investigate ocean floor minerals

NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa will set sail next week to explore the minerals potential of deep-sea volcanoes of the Kermadec Arc, 200 km north-east of Auckland.

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New farms destroying native NZ

Intensive farming is destroying native plants at the fastest rate since European colonisation, Landcare Research says

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NIWA welcomes aquaculture reform

NIWA's Chief Executive John Morgan, has welcomed plans for the aquaculture industry regulatory reform announced by Phil Heatley, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

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New Science

Scientists plan to drill deep into Alpine Fault

GNS Science says that top international scientists are eyeing up a scrubby West Coast stream bed to carry out multimillion-dollar research into New Zealand's major "earthquake machine".

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Work at Tokanui Dairy Research Farm progressing well

Research at AgResearch’s Tokanui Dairy Research Farm in dairy cow productivity is further examining the role and interrelationships that environmental and genetic influences play in milk production.

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No gout about it

A potential treatment for gout co-invented by IRL is showing promising results in human trials being conducted in the US.

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Rare seafloor chimney cut up for science

GNS Scientists have sliced up a rare 2.5m-tall seafloor chimney to find out its age and the concentrations of the metallic minerals it contains. It is thought to be one of the largest chimneys recovered from the seafloor.

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GE discovery promises higher farm productivity and improved environment

AgResearch scientists and the team from subsidiary company, Grasslanz Technology Ltd, believe they can improve white clover (Trifolium repens) to give grazing animals a higher intake of protein, while at the same time reducing methane emissions.

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Creatures from the deep

New Zealand could have up to 50,000 marine species waiting to be discovered, say scientists who have spent 10 years exploring the marine life in our waters.

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Man with a mission

How fast is the earth’s climate changing and where do greenhouse gases go? Dr David Crisp is a man with a mission. He is the principal investigator of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is working with NIWA, and scientists worldwide to unlock these mysteries.

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Carnivorous NZ sponge among top 10 new species

A New Zealand sponge has been selected for the prestigious international Top 10 species of the year. Each year, an international Top 10 New Species selection committee selects the 10 most notable new species described from around the world.

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Farmers to benefit from high tech quad bike collaboration

Thanks to AgResearch, DairyNZ and Massey University scientists, farmers may soon be able to use their quad bikes to assess feed quality and pasture health.

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Faultless Northland shown in new geological map

A new geological map, published by GNS Science, covering central Northland shows the region has no known active faults.

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Crown Research Institutes

  • AgResearch logo.
  • Plant and Food Research logo.
  • ESR logo. GNS Science logo.
  • Industrial Research Limited logo.
  • Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua logo.
  • NIWA logo.
  • SCION logo.

Subsidiaries, associates, joint ventures

  • EBEX21
  • Biopolymer Network
  • GlycoSyn irl
  • EnCoate
  • PhytaGro, Inc
  • Atlastech
  • COHFE
  • grasslanz
  • Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics
  • VARNZ Ltd
  • Sirtrack
  • SLURI
  • Catapult Genetics
  • carboNZero
  • orico
  • NZCEE
  • Grasslands Innovation
  • farmax
  • Enviromark NZ
  • HTS110
  • Clone International
  • Prevar
  • BioPacific Ventures

Featured article

Science or sheep?

People misheard Lord Robert Winston, says Anthony Scott. New Zealand needs more, not just reallocation, if we are to increase national productivity.

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