Our Changing World for Thursday 29 November 2007

On This Programme:

Environment

"The Department of Conservation is asking the public to help threatened Caspian terns at Wairarapa's Onoke Spit…" …Because the terns haven't figured out that tire ruts are not an ideal place for a nest. Amelia Nurse spends an afternoon with DOC's Jenny White and Tony Silbery & local ornithologist Colin Scadden in search of some fickle and foolhardy Caspian terns.

Caspian Terns (photo by Jenny Whyte)

Tern Egg Onoke Spit

Science

A conversation with neuroscientist Richard Faull, winner of this year's Rutherford Medal, the country's most prestigious science award. Earlier this year, Richard Faull's research group attracted considerable international attention with their discovery of the mechanism that the adult brain uses to repair itself -- a pathway transporting stem cells from deep inside the brain to areas that have sustained damage. Dacia Herbulock talks to him about his ongoing research into degenerative brain diseases and the potential for enhancing self-repair.

Environment

Ever wonder what happens to your glass bottles after you take the recycling out? Well in many small communities in the South Island, the answer is nothing. But now the accumulated bottles may finally find a use. The Glass Packaging Forum has just purchased a mobile glass crusher which is about to tour the South Island. Amelia Nurse meets general manager John Webber and operator Barry Lucinsky who bring new meaning to the word breakthrough.

Mobile Glass Crusher

Health

Most of us are familiar with the medical term, IVF - which stands for In Vitro Fertilisation. It's a common practice in fertility clinics worldwide, used to aid conception. But, the term IVM - or In Vitro Maturation - is not so well known. IVM is a new assisted fertility procedure, not yet approved in New Zealand. To explain the relative merits of both techniques, Louise Wallace spoke with consulting gynaecologist and obstetrician Simon Kelly of Fertility Associates in Auckland.