Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Researchers have transplanted cells capable of forming specialized brain support cells into mice brains and found that they not only competed with and replaced unhealthy cells but aged ones, too. The findings open the door to developing an effective treatment for a range of conditions like multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and schizophrenia. ‘Glial cells’ is an umbrella term for the cells that are a support system to nerve…

Earlier today, I was sent a statement which read: “On 9 July, an FTA [Free Trade Agreement] between Aotearoa and the European Union was signed. As part of our mandate, we prepared a Te Tiriti o Waitangi assessment of the FTA. We found that: ‘The Crown continues to exceed its authority as kawanatanga in the negotiation of trade agreements and deny Maori the right to exercise our rangatiratanga in the process, the content and the…

A significant event on the Māori calendar, Matariki takes its name from a cluster of stars that reappears in the night sky over New Zealand during mid-winter. Made up of hundreds of member stars, it’s one of the brightest clusters found in the sky and signals the Māori New Year. Known as Pleiades in other parts of the world, the reappearance of the Matariki constellation represents the end of the Māori lunar year and marks the beginning of a…

Hominins — humans and their ancient relatives — emerged in Africa some seven million years ago. Now researchers have gleaned genetic information from an African hominin that lived two million years ago, the oldest such data yet recovered. The protein sequences, described in a preprint posted on the bioRxiv server on July1, come from several Paranthropus robustus tooth fossils found in a South African cave. These genetic data are the oldest…

Resumes containing they/them pronouns are more likely to be neglected by many hiring managers, according to a report from Business.com. Business.com's experiment involved sending two mostly identical resumes of phantom jobseekers to various employers. Both featured the gender-ambiguous name "Taylor Williams," but only one contained gender-neutral pronouns. The resumes were sent to 180 unique job postings that were open to entry-level…

Dementia is frequently associated with negative assumptions concerning loss of memory and independence, rarely with personal agency and learning new things. A new study has found that contrary to commonly held beliefs, it is possible for people with dementia to continue to learn despite the condition. Dementia is an umbrella term for multiple diagnoses with a collection of symptoms affecting cognition and behaviour that progressively worsens…

In *Newsroom*, 8 June 2023, Dr Iresh Jayawardena, a lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, has a <u>column</u> criticizing the National Party’s recently-announced housing policy. He notes that the National Party’s proposed policy “would require councils in major towns and cities to zone for 30 years’ worth of growth immediately, with the option to opt out of the medium density standards law [which…

Antidepressants can cause severe, sometimes irreversible, sexual dysfunction that persists even after discontinuing the medication. Sufferers have described it as ‘chemical castration’ – a type of genital mutilation caused by antidepressants, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The condition is known as post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), a condition largely unrecognised, and the true incidence of which is unknown. David…

Vaping may increase the risk of heart disease and therefore a heart attack. However, some research suggests the risk of vaping may be lower than the risk of smoking tobacco products. However, we need further research to understand the full risks of vaping. Vaping is relatively new, so researchers have not thoroughly studied its long-term effects and cannot make conclusive statements about the potential risks. In a 2020 umbrella review,…

A few days ago, I spoke in the Public Forum part of a Western Bay of Plenty District Council meeting. For me, this was a first – I had never spoken at a local body council meeting before. What prompted my short speech was seeing some absolutely outrageous data on house prices in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty. In Tauranga, according to Smart Growth – the body charged by the Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District…

Sir Jeffery Archer is a bestselling English author who it can be claimed has enjoyed a somewhat colourful life, including an Oxford Education, training to join the police and army, becoming a  physical education teacher before serving as a member of the British Parliament in the 1960’s and a stint as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in the 1980’s.  Now published in 97 countries and more than 33 languages, Jeffrey Archer is a well-known…

When Meatloaf sang “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” in 1977, we’re all but certain he was not doing the math on the potential of planets in the galaxy having the right conditions to harbour life. Because new findings suggest that two out of three are actually bad, unless you’re in search of uninhabitable baked planets with boiling oceans. However, it’s in the remaining one third that now has scientists excited, as this fraction still accounts for…

*Researchers have used a nonviral method to increase the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tech and provide a new way to repair DNA* Modified viruses have proven a handy way to get CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing materials into the nucleus of cells – but they're expensive, difficult to scale and potentially toxic. Now, researchers have found a non-viral approach that does the job better. Most have heard of CRISPR/Cas9, the gene-editing…

George IV’s 1821 coronation was a lavish affair, costing upwards of $26 million in today’s dollars. An estimated 4,656 guests flocked to Westminster Abbey in London, many of them dressed in costumes inspired by fashions of centuries past. After the British king was crowned, a select group of attendees moved to Westminster Hall for a banquet featuring 160 dishes of fish, 480 sauce boats, 80 savory pies and 100 gallons of iced punch. The…

A few weeks ago, the New Zealand media gave some coverage to the spectacle of the US President and the Prime Ministers of Australia and the UK signing an agreement whereby Australia will buy eight nuclear-powered submarines over the next two decades at a cost of some $400 billion, confirmation of the so-called AUKUS treaty between the three countries. Reactions in Australia were varied, though there was no push-back from the Opposition Liberal…

We all know that trees help clean the air in cities, but which trees do so best? According to new research conducted in Sweden, a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees will give you the most bang for your buck. For the study, a University of Gothenburg team led by Prof. Håkan Pleijel analyzed the leaves and needles of 11 types of trees growing in the same area of the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. The deciduous (leafy) trees consisted of…