New tech could offer air-powered energy source

Scientists have discovered a tool bacteria use to extract energy from hydrogen in the air, and say it could pave the way for clean electricity generation. New Zealand and Australian scientists working on the project supported by the Marsden Fundhavehad their work published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature.University of Otago Distinguished Professor Greg Cook FRSNZ was part of the study, and told Morning Report that it had been known for some time bacteria in the soil were able to get energy from hydrogen in the air, but not how they did it.
Morning Report @RNZ

New Zealand’s childcare is among the most expensive in the world. But tax rebates are not the answer

The National Party is promising rebates for childcare. But similar policies have been discarded overseas for failing to effectively reduce the cost of childcare. Is it time for a rethink?
Aisling Gallagher @The Conversation

ESR’s Lumi™ Drug Scan wins major international award
Lumi™ Drug Scan, the pioneering New Zealand science that lets police immediately identify methamphetamine-like substances using their mobile phone, has won the prestigious Excellence in Forensic Science Award at the World Police Summit.
@ESR

Food waste: how messaging can help us clean up our act

A recent study explores effective ways to influence people's intentions and behaviours to reduce household food waste.  researcher Mary Khalil and her co-authors found that messages that detail what a person or society can gain, as opposed to lose from reducing food waste generate greater hope and therefore increase people's intentions and behaviours to reduce food waste.
@University of Auckland

Thousands of striking teachers 'desperate for change', want better pay and more resources

Classrooms and schools across Aotearoa were largely empty on Thursday as 50,000 secondary, primary and kindergarten teachers took to the streets to demand better pay and conditions.
@Stuff

Vulnerabilities in rural healthcare services were exposed when Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the North Island last month. In the aftermath of the storm, reports have come through of a pregnant woman facing a three-hour drive to a birthing unit due to highway closures, Rotorua mental health professionals fundraising to revisit flood victims, and pharmacists calling for a prescription fee waiver to be extended to help ease the financial burden on affected communities. The SMC asked experts to comment on how rural health services will fare in a warming world.
@SMC