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Without a more transparent and consistent policy to policing public events, there is a risk of perceived favouritism and political bias in the police’s approach to protecting free speech rights. Is their policy, when they react at all, to “eject” protestors or simply wall them off? · Varying responses · Documents obtained under the Official Information Act (OIA) expose the ongoing uncertainty about whether the police are prepared to defend…

Whatever we learned in school about the earliest human civilizations, the discovery of Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey has made it all null and void. · This sprawling, monolithic complex, of which over 90% remains unexcavated, dates back over 10,000 years—a date which is ascertained by the evidence of the entire complex being deliberately buried by whoever built it. · It’s quite simply the greatest mystery in archaeology since the pyramids, and…

Physicists at Purdue University have levitated nanoscale diamonds, hit them with lasers to make them flash and sent them spinning at an incredible 1.2 billion rpm. The experiments aren’t just about creating the “world’s smallest disco” but could help the study of quantum physics. · The tiny diamonds, with an average width of 750 nanometers, are first produced under high pressure and temperature. Then, they’re irradiated with high-energy…

The good news is that there's a vast ocean of water under the surface of Mars – enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of a mile (1.6 km). The bad news is that this repository is so deep and unreachable that it might as well be in another galaxy. · Mars is one of the most frustrating planets humanity has ever encountered. For the past two centuries it's been a constant pendulum swing back and forth as evidence is found that life could…

Yvette Williams (later Corlett) won the long jump to become New Zealand’s first female Olympic medallist. Thanks to amateur radio operators who were monitoring shortwave broadcasts, New Zealanders who stayed up through the night were able to follow her progress. · After leading the qualifying round with a jump of 6.16 m, Williams began the final round with two no-jumps. Facing elimination, she leaped 5.9 m to make the top six and earn three…

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has experienced its third consecutive year of record coral growth, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). This recovery spans the entire 1,500-mile reef, from the warmer northern regions to the cooler southern waters, making it the highest coral cover observed since detailed monitoring began. · Yet, rather than celebrating these gains, the media remains fixated on climate change narratives,…

Three years after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, some five million people have left the country, including many of the country’s scientists. Nature spoke to a handful of these refugee researchers and discovered that while most consider themselves lucky, they are anything but settled. · They worry about those that they left behind, about their visas expiring and having to choose between returning to a life-threatening situation or…

News of New Zealand’s latest Pandemic Plan has made the rounds on social media. Tauranga based Lawyer and writer Kirsten Murfitt provides a breakdown of the legal framework and clears up some misinformation. · Existing legal framework · According to Murfitt, the plan’s powers are not new. The existing legal framework includes the Health Act 1956, particularly Parts 3 and 3A, which cover infectious and notifiable diseases and the powers of…

Prenatal exposure to higher levels of bisphenol A, a plastic commonly found in water bottles and packaging and known to leach into our foods and drinks, has been linked to autism spectrum disorder in boys, according to a new study that also identified the biological mechanism underlying this link. · The risks of exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used in plastic manufacturing and found in a wide variety of plastic products,…

Aerospace startup Dawn Aerospace has made a major advance in its push to create a highly reusable spaceplane. The latest test flight reached transonic speeds of Mach 0.92 and an altitude of 50,000 ft (15,000 m), or 3 times and 5 times, respectively, better than before. · These days, there are any number of companies working on projects to get into commercial supersonic or hypersonic flight, develop spaceplanes, or generally launch small…