Science writer Matt Ridley caused quite the stir when he published The Myth of Basic Science, arguing that the bulk of scientific discovery came from technological innovation – and rarely from government. Naturally, Ridley’s argument sent a million lab-coated troughers into a fit of the screaming mee-mees. But, much as
James Scott University of Otago NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars this morning, and has already begun beaming back images. But people might be surprised to learn there have been another 48 missions to the red planet so far. Of these, more than half failed at stages
I once had the dubious pleasure of being harangued by an elderly hippy about “Nibiru”, the supposed mysterious planet that was going to collide with the Earth in the next year. That was several years ago, so I can chalk that up to yet another end-of-the-world that I’ve survived.
Ever since ditching the execrable Malcolm Turnbull, the Coalition under Scott Morrison has steadily been turning a paler shade of the deep teal it had become. Although reviled by the left-media as a deep-blue conservative, Morrison is steadily flushing greener as he endlessly panders to the shrill left on issues
Just how many times do we have to say it? How many scientific studies have to be published, proving it? Lockdowns. Do. Not. Work. We’ve been reporting the evidence that lockdowns are a lunatic policy for nearly a year now. From the moment real-world data was available, the science
We are currently in the grip of not one but two, virus-like predicaments. One, COVID-19, is very obvious because of the way it is constantly drawn to our attention by our prime minister and her minions, the news (or should that be views) media. COVID-19 is a very real problem
Dr John Maunder sunlive.co.nz Monthly rainfalls for Tauranga have been recorded at several recording sites during the last 123 years. From January 1898 to December 1904, the observation site was described as the Tauranga Harbour, from November 1904 to April 1907 the site was described as simply ‘Tauranga’
Marc Grey Are COVID Vaccines…Vaccines? In a previous article, the 4 COVID vaccines coming to New Zealand were discussed in some detail. In this one, we examine some common questions that people have about these vaccines. Firstly, because most of them are made via novel technology (in particular the
Alice Gorman Flinders University Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University On January 31, 1961, an intrepid chimpanzee called Ham was launched on a rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States, and returned to Earth alive. In this process, he became the first hominin in space. In
The Wuhan plague sure is a tricky little virus. It seems particularly determined to show up the arrogant bullshit of “experts” and public health bureaucrats. An endless parade of lab-coated media tarts posturing as our sole sources of truth have been continually confounded by the Chinese virus. Whether it’s
The common perception of Australia as a land inhabited mostly by vicious, poisonous animals is not entirely unearned. After all, we have sharks, taipans, redback spiders and Clementine Ford. But, to us country folk especially, it can all seem a bit too much ado about nothing. But, then you read
The discovery of the depletion of the ozone layer in the late 1970s and the subsequent Montreal Protocol of 1987 are often cited by climate alarmists as the paradigm case to support their delusions. But, in reality, it’s mostly an object lesson in everything that’s wrong with climate
Marc Grey We are getting 4 COVID vaccines in New Zealand. These vaccines are especially interesting as novel technology has made their development rapid. At the same time, the precise nature of this technology is not as well-publicised as it could be. For instance, there is useful data on the
I recently reported on a promising technology whereby processed spinach plants can be turned into carbon nanosheets, which can in turn be used to make batteries and fuel cells more efficient. In a neat and somehow appropriate twist, old batteries can also be recycled into plant food. An Australian recycling
I’ve long argued that dogs are humankind’s closest mental animal cousins. The great apes may be genetically closest, but they are separated by a gulf of several millions of years of evolution. Dogs, on the other hand, have spent the last 40 000 years growing ever closer to
