Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

On This Programme

Project Jonah

A well-stranded inflatable dolphin, ready for training, and PJ, the inflatable pilot whale, being 'rescued' by volunteers (images: Radio NZ)

Since its beginnings nearly 40 years ago as an anti-whaling movement, Project Jonah has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of marine mammals and the oceans they call home. When New Zealand rejoined the International Whaling Commission in 1976, the charity’s focus shifted to public awareness programmes and to acting as a watchdog on decision makers, but it is in its most public role, rescuing stranded whales and dolphins, that Project Jonah is best known. Teams of  volunteers can often be seen hard at work on our summer beaches. but saving whales is a complex business, and a little training goes a long way.

Giraffe Weevils

A male giraffe weevil has its antennae at the end of the long rostrum (which is an extension of its head), and Greg Holwell and Chrissie Painting (images: A. Ballance)

Giraffe weevils are a very distinctive kind of beetle, with a long elongated rostrum on the top of their head which gives them the appearance of a six-legged horizontal giraffe. Despite the fact they can grow very large – up to 9 centimetres – and they can occur in large mating aggregations numbering several hundred individuals on a single tree, very little is known about giraffe weevils and they have a low public profile. PhD student Chrissie Painting, at the University of Auckland’s School of Biological Science, is determined to change both of those things. Alison Ballance joins Chrissie and her supervisor Greg Holwell in Forest and Bird’s Makutu reserve in the Waitakere ranges for her first-ever encounter with these extraordinary insects. She learns, among many things, that males can be anywhere in size from 1.5 to 9 centimetres long, and that little males can be just as successful as larger males at mating with females.

Treating the Brain with Pine Bark

Every day, 90 New Zealanders sustain a brain injury, ranging from mild to severe. Even in mild cases, cognitive difficulties such as memory loss and lack of concentration are common and can last for months, profoundly affecting a person's day-to-day life. Researchers at the Auckland University of Technology are investigating the use of supplements made from pine bark to treat these symptoms and to aid recovery. Valery Feigin, the director of AUT's National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neuroscience, led a team looking at the effect of the pine-bark extract on a group of 60 patients with persistent cognitive difficulties. The aim of the pilot trial was to test the effectiveness of the supplement in improving verbal memory, information processing speed and attention span. Preliminary results suggest an improvement in overall cognitive function.

Lake Vostok

This week, news arrived from the coldest place on Earth that a Russian team had successfully drilled into Lake Vostok, the largest and deepest of Antarctica’s subglacial lakes. Researchers have spent two decades drilling through more than 3700 metres of ice to reach the lake, which is believed to have been sealed off from the world for 15 million years. Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute issued this statement.

Our Far South Voyage

The Our Far South expedition set sail this week with the aim to raise awareness of the Southern Ocean and the Ross Sea. The crew includes several scientists, environmental organisations and people from the education sector and industry. Several of them will be blogging during the voyage and you can follow independent marine science specialist Jack Fenaughty, NIWA general manager of research Rob Murdoch, science communicator Sarah Wilcox and WWF’s Bob Zuur.

Next Week

More on whale strandings, why horopito leaves have red blotches, and the surprise discovery of giant amphipods.