Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

A leaked Health NZ strategy paper reveals plans to reduce graduate nurses’ working hours and slash clinical training, prompting warnings from the nurses’ union that the agency is “gaming” the numbers to give the illusion of progress while undermining care standards and pushing new nurses abroad. · Minimum working hours for new nurses are being cut from 0.8 to 0.6 full-time equivalent (FTE), meaning three days a week now qualifies as a…

As night falls in the rainforests, orangutans climb into the canopy to construct intricate tree nests, displaying remarkable ingenuity. · These comfy platforms are carefully engineered beds, providing warmth, comfort, protection from predators, and even reduce mosquito bites. · Scientists have long wondered how young orangutans learn to master such complex architecture. Recent findings reveal that they acquire this skill through close…

The Government plans to expand police powers to collect and retain information about people in public, but is offering few details, raising concerns about privacy, legality and surveillance overreach. · Police Minister Mark Mitchell says new laws are coming to “make the country safer,” but declined to specify what will change or when. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster has been consulted, but he also declined to provide further details. ·…

A new breath-based sensor from researchers at Penn State could soon offer an easy, pain-free, quick way to diagnose diabetes. The sensor was created through a technique that basically toasts a polymer until it turns into porous graphene. · According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), out of the 38 million people who have diabetes, about one in five don't even know they have the condition. When it comes to those who have prediabetes,…

Auckland Council is keeping large parts of the Waitākere Ranges closed on the grounds that trampers spread kauri dieback, despite its own commissioned research failing to prove a link. · Dr Emily Anderson, a scientist and spokesperson for Walk Tramp Run, told RCR the closures are based on outdated panic and politics, not evidence. · “The picture they had back in 2017 was that all the kauri trees were very quickly deteriorating and it looked…

Two brilliant dishes in one, without the hassle of making a separate cheese sauce · I love cauliflower cheese, but I don’t always want to make cheese sauce. This is less demanding – plus you get cauliflower cheese and potatoes in one dish. · Ingredients · - 2 large potatoes - sea salt flakes, for sprinkling - 15g butter - ¼ onion, very finely chopped - 300g cauliflower florets - freshly grated nutmeg - 2 tbsp double cream - 1-2 tbsp…

A new report from the US Department of Energy is challenging climate orthodoxy, drawing condemnation from activist scientists. · However, Professor John Raine argues it brings long-overdue balance to the debate. · According to Raine, the report “offers strong and reasoned counterfactuals to the climate catastrophising”, including IPCC assumptions regarding the extent of warming caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. “It is not possible to…

Another air record has been (unofficially) broken as a prop-driven solar/electric aircraft reached the highest altitude yet for its type. On August 12, 2025, a modified Elektra One reached 31,237 feet (9,521 m) in the skies over Switzerland. · Taking off from Sion Airport with SolarStratos founder Raphaël Domjan at the controls, the aircraft registered as HB-SXA conducted a five-hour, nine-minute flight completely under solar power, with a…

Another air record has been (unofficially) broken as a prop-driven solar/electric aircraft reached the highest altitude yet for its type. On August 12, 2025, a modified Elektra One reached 31,237 feet (9,521 m) in the skies over Switzerland. · Taking off from Sion Airport with SolarStratos founder Raphaël Domjan at the controls, the aircraft registered as HB-SXA conducted a five-hour, nine-minute flight completely under solar power, with a…