Research

A recent study suggests that people who enjoy consuming frightening fiction may be better adapted to cope with the fear and anxiety surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. Audio

The co-directors of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology say the key to the country's COVID economic recovery lies with the post-doctoral researchers. Dr Nicola Gaston… Audio

New research from the University of Otago shows that the number of people hospitalised in New Zealand because of assaults over the weekend has reduced significantly following 2013 restrictions on… Audio

Many of us think of cancer as a contemporary curse, a disease of our own making caused by our modern lifestyles, but it has always been with us. It killed our hominid ancestors, the mammals they… Audio

Health experts are seeing more COVID misinformation doing the rounds as the latest developments in New Zealand coincide with the lead up to a general election. Researcher Kate Hannah talks about… Audio

Australia has a 'national emergency' of domestic abuse, says investigative journalist Jess Hill. Her six-year investigation is the subject of the award-winning book See What You Made Me Do. Audio

Leftfield Innovation is looking for ways farmers can use their land to make high value food products that consumers want. It's investigating six crops we currently import but could grow and then use… Audio

The annual National People's Congress got underway in Beijing on Friday amid what state media are calling 'wartime measures'. China correspondent Nathan van der Klippe joins the show to discuss this… Audio

How much physical activity are Kiwis actually doing during the Level 4 lock down period? It's a question Associate Professor Elaine Hargreaves and her team from the University of Otago are asking in… Audio

The lockdown has reinforced the notion that humans are a social species who aren't designed to be alone. Yet more and more people are feeling isolated and lonely. Hannah Hawkins-Elder has worked… Audio

Konagh Garrett is a PhD student at Lincoln University. She has a particular interest in nutritional ecology and is looking at how a diverse, varied diet for animals can positively affect welfare and… Audio

In 1978, a seemingly straightforward experiment involving New Zealand rabbits discovered that kindness made the difference between a heart attack and a healthy heart. It's called the 'rabbit effect'… Audio

Otago University researchers have looked at the way balding men and men with heads of hair are perceived in certain traits.. Lead researcher Dr Nancy Blaker talks about what they've discovered. Audio

Janine Krippner can't remember a time in her life when she hasn't been completely besotted by volcanoes, and with a lead role at the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program in Washington D.C., she is… Audio

Joel Moskowitz, a researcher at the University of California, says the close proximity of AirPods to the brain and inner ear may raise cancer risks  But Australian professor Ken Karapidis says they… Audio

A major international research project aims to shed light on how religion impacts family size and child health. Dr John Shaver from the University of Otago tells us more. Audio

Professor Rod Snowdon was only meant to be heading to Germany for a short while when he first arrived in 1993, but circumstances changed, and over a quarter of a century later he remains based in… Audio

Research has found that people spending nine and a half hours or more each day sedentary are associated with a significant increased risk of death. Professor Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of… Audio

Short, succinct opinions from New Zealander on subjects of their choice. Here's consultant and former Auckland City Art Gallery Directory Christopher Johnstone on the issue of mispronunciation and the… Audio

Professor Penny Pexman was part of a team that conducted a series of studies looking at sound symbolism in names and the findings were fascinating. Audio