Inbreeding usually leads to an accumulation of genetic defects, but evolution on a small archipelago may have helped the severely inbred Chatham Island black robin to avoid this fate.
The government has backed away from broad hate speech legislation. But the law can be a blunt instrument, and comedians are still better off regulating themselves.
The Supreme Court has found the current voting age limit discriminates against young people. But there are other good arguments for lowering the age, including strengthening our democracy.
Mike Webster, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A new report on workplace culture in parliament is due before the end of the year. Will it address the systemic and structural factors that make parliament so prone to bullying?
Despite claims that lowering speed limits will harm the economy, evidence suggests journey times are hardly affected. And beyond reducing the road toll, there are health and climate benefits, too.
On the centenary of insulin’s first use, doctors, researchers and people with diabetes are asking why New Zealand lags other countries in funding the latest devices to monitor blood sugar.
Melody Smith, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Children and teens around the world are not moving enough for healthy growth and development. Aotearoa scores only slightly better than the global average, despite a high uptake of school sports.
The dynamism, diversity and leadership the Black Ferns display on the rugby field now needs to be matched in the boardrooms and strategies of sports organisations.
New Zealand law allows people to be detained under a compulsory community treatment order – which they can’t refuse. But research shows compulsory treatment can make some mental health issues worse.
What happens when you owe more on your mortgage than your house is worth? Negative equity is a growing concern for some homeowners, but how real are the risks?
Whether or not they smoke, most young people don’t share the tobacco companies’ view that New Zealand’s new smokefree measures will reduce their autonomy or limit their freedoms.
Some commentary suggests a causal relationship between hiking interest rates and unemployment increasing. It’s not quite that simple, but the days of record high employment are probably numbered.
Despite causing hurt and offence, the legality of removing a whale fossil from the West Coast remains unclear. So what rules and laws govern amateur fossil hunting, and should they be strengthened?
Twenty years ago this month the UN affirmed that water is a human right – can this help resolve the political stand-off over New Zealand’s Three Waters reforms?
Sports sponsorship is the main way children are exposed to alcohol marketing. It increases their risk of drinking at earlier ages, drinking more once they start and drinking more hazardously.
In Frozen, Disney created princesses who were more than simply destined for marriage to a handsome prince, but the movie maker still needs to show princesses can truly rule as queens.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University