Our Changing World

RNZ

Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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30 episodes
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Avg 27 min
English

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#417
June 8 · 26 min
Building New Zealand's RNA capabilities
Scientists had long been exploring RNA technology as a way to make vaccines before it had it’s breakout appearance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, interest in the potential uses of RNA to make vaccines and disease treatments has bloomed. In late 2023 a government-funded platform began work to enhance New Zealand’s capacity to design and make RNA. Three years in, how is the platform going? Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: RNA interference (RNAi) technology is being investigated to help honey bees fight off the varroa mite. US based Dyne Therapeutics conducted a clinical trial study of their RNA-based therapeutic for myotonic dystrophy in New Zealand. Our Changing World covered how the new RNA vaccine tech works in 2021. Dr Lisa Connor spoke to RNZ’s health reporter Ruth Hill last August after the US made funding cuts to their RNA vaccine research. Guests: Dr Lisa Connor, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research Dr Rebecca McKenzie, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#419
June 1 · 27 min
Working towards a pest free Purerua-Mataroa peninsula
One peninsula to the north of the Bay of Islands is home to an estimated three thousand Northland brown kiwi. The Pest Free Purerua-Mataroa project aims to reduce predators numbers on the peninsula and defend its narrow neck from re-invasion. Working across a patchwork of landuse and landowners, the team are using AI traps and technology to help catch the remaining pests. But one feral cat continues to elude them, and the ongoing threat to kiwi from pet dogs is proving tricky to solve. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: Northland kiwi are a genetically distinct subspecies of the North Island brown kiwi, whose numbers are doing pretty good in recent years, due in large part to Operation Nest Egg facilities like the National Kiwi Hatchery. Predator Free South Westland is also working across different land types and usages in their bid to remove pests from a huge area. Wellington is set to be New Zealand’s first predator-free city, with an ambitious target of ten years. RNZ’s Northland reporter Peter de Graaf has been following the situation of dog attacks on kiwi on the Purerua peninsula and kiwi deaths due to cars. Guests: Andy Mentor, Pest Free Purerua Zane Wright, Pest Free Purerua Mariao Hohaia, Ngāti Rēhia, Tapuaetahi Incorporation Grace Walsh, Onekura road trappers Tiwai Rawiri, Ngāti Torehina, Pēwhairangi Whānui Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#418
May 25 · 26 min
Hydrogen detectives
Could the answer to the current fuel crisis be right under our noses? On Our Changing World this week, Sharon Brettkelly talks to some of the scientists analysing ultramafic rocks in places like Lake Pupuke on Auckland’s North Shore and gases from various hotspots around the country, in the hopes that one day hydrogen could power local communities. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: New Zealand already has hydrogen trucks on our roads and active hydrogen refueling stations. However, some critics say battery technology is a better way to decarbonise. After delays from an international supplier, diesel trucks are being converted to hydrogen in New Zealand. Professor Allan Blackman looks at how the Hindenburg disaster has haunted the development of hydrogen technology and why that might be changing. And Jesse talks with Dr. Linda Wright from the New Zealand Hydrogen Council about if hydrogen could displace diesel. Guests: Kevin Faure, Senior minerals geologist and Team lead National Isotope Centre, Earth Sciences New Zealand Paul Viskovic, Geomodeller, Earth Sciences New Zealand Thijs van Soest, Isotope Hydrogeologist, Earth Sciences New Zealand Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#416
May 18 · 25 min
How can Aotearoa eliminate cervical cancer?
The World Health Organisation has set an ambitious goal to eliminate cervical cancer. New Zealand health experts are optimistic we can do it, but suggest there are challenges to achieving that aim. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: Listen to The Panel Plus with Wallace Chapman, discussing the release of the Cancer Society's election manifesto and treatment options for cancer. Read about the Matariki Fund's plans to eliminate cervical cancer across the Pacific. RNZ's Māori issues reporter Pokere Paewai wrote this article on the need to extend free cervical screening. The efficacy of the HPV vaccine was discussed on Morning Report, following a study which showed a 60% reduction in cervical cancer. Guests: Professor Bev Lawton (Ngāti Porou), is founder/director of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine (the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa) at Victoria University of Wellington Nicola Coom, Chief Executive of the Cancer Society Alice Hyatt, cancer survivor Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#415
May 11 · 28 min
Looking to a wild future for kākāpō
Today kākāpō breed on three remote islands, each bird wears a transmitter and they are carefully monitored and minded. But the ultimate goal of the kākāpō recovery programme is to restore the mauri of the kākāpō – to have them back in our forests as wild, nameless birds. What are the steps to get there, and how can science help keep kākāpō safe through this transition? Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: Kākāpō need new habitat, could fenced ecosanctuaries be an option? That’s why kākāpō were released into Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in July 2023, to start a trial of how they would do in this new, mainland, North Island habitat. A year later, there had already been a lot of lessons learned. One of the possible future habitats mentioned by Deirdre Vercoe is South Westland, where a massive effort is underway to clear stoats, possums and rats from a huge area. For all the details about this record-breaking breeding season, listen to the Kākāpō Files podcast. Guests: Deirdre Vercoe, Kākāpō and Takahē recovery programme operations manager, Department of Conservation Dr Andrew Digby, Kākāpō and Takahē recovery programme science and technical advisor, Department of Conservation Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#414
May 4 · 27 min
A time of change for kākāpō
So far, 2026 has been the biggest kākāpō breeding season of all time, with more chicks hatched than ever before. The current challenge is to keep them all healthy as they grow into juveniles, and get added to the adult population. But what comes after that? Claire Concannon reports on the future of kākāpō from one of the breeding islands. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#413
April 27 · 28 min
A taste for science
The food you see on the supermarket shelves doesn't end up there by accident. It's often been rigorously tested for likeability. This week on Our Changing World, Liz Garton finds out about the science behind those decisions, given that individual taste can be very varied. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: Export markets are a key consumer group. Look at who’s eating our food with this story from RNZ’s Farah Hancock. Our Changing World looked at how science can help pair foods with the School of Chemical Science at the University of Auckland Finding a Psa-V-tolerant golden kiwifruit was one of the success stories from the Consumer and Health sciences team. Claire Concannon looked at the ongoing efforts to prevent the disease from getting to the South Island. Guests: Christina Roigard, Science Team Leader – Sensory & Consumer Health, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited David Jin, Scientist, Health and Consumer Science Team - New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited Dr Roger Harker, Principal scientist - Health and Consumer Science Team - New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#412
April 20 · 26 min
Keeping the South Island Psa-V free
In 2010 the Psa-V bacterial disease was found in a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchard. This was the beginning of a terrible ordeal for many kiwifruit growers. It devastated crops, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars. But though it spread to some other areas in the North Island, it never made it across the Cook Strait. Claire Concannon learns about the science behind keeping this microbe out of Te Waipounamu. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: The Plant and Food Research (today the Bioeconomy Science Institute) team who worked on science to help with the kiwifruit Psa crisis won the Prime Minister’s Science Prize in 2017. In 2012 Alison Ballance reported on the hunt for resistance genes so kiwifruit plants could be more resilient in the face of this bacteria. As In-Depth reporter Farah Hancock detailed earlier this year, 95% of the kiwifruit grown here are actually exported - an earner of $4.5 billion in 2025. Guests: Falk Kalamorz Rebecca Manners, Bioeconomy Science Institute Dr Ed Morgan, Bioeconomy Science Institute Leanne Stewart, Kiwifruit Vine Health Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#411
April 13 · 26 min
The unexpected potential of ketamine
Ketamine was first developed as an anaesthetic, and today is taken by some as a party drug. But since 2000, research has emerged showing it is also helpful as a medication for some people with treatment-resistant depression. While initial studies used ketamine injections, recent research has shown the advantages of taking it in oral form. Now clinical trials are underway to determine if a New Zealand-developed ketamine pill is safe and effective enough to get the regulatory tick. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
#408
April 6 · 26 min
Building an army to stop a stink bug invasion
In the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert there's a particular brand of doomsday prepping going on. Our Changing World visits the Bioeconomy Science Institute to meet some scientists figuring out how to build an army of Samurai Wasps just in case Aotearoa is invaded by Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. Learn more: MPI's website has more detail on the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and what to do if you find one. From December 2025 a new biosecurity inflight video about being vigilant is being played to incoming visitors. Our Changing World did a deep dive into the impact BMSB would have on New Zealand, back in 2019. Guests: Dr Gonzalo Avila, Senior Scientist - Biological Control, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited Karina Santos, Senior Research Associate, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited Dr Scott Sinclair, Manager, Operational Readiness - Plant & Environment, Biosecurity New Zealand Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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