Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Floods linked to climate change disproportionately devastate poor areas. Efforts are underway to use technology to address such disparities. In the days leading up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow starting later this month, Shanxi province in China was hit with the worst flooding it’s ever recorded. More
Author: Kip Brook
Investors zoom in on tech platforms for better healthcare
Tāmaki Makaurau - Since the onset of covid, the healthcare industry has had to evolve at breakneck speed. Multiple vaccines, some created based on novel approaches and others with more traditional methods; while many providers moved services online, popularising telemedicine. As worldwide vaccination rates climb and people continue to straddle in-person transactions with doing
NZ secures historic free trade deal with UK
London - New Zealand and the United Kingdom have agreed in principle to a historic free trade agreement, which should accelerate the covid economic recovery. It should result in a boost of almost $1 billion to New Zealand GDP, unprecedented access for New Zealand exporters to the UK market. UK will eliminate
Surgeons transplant pig kidney human, but is it ethical?
London - Surgeons in the US have managed to successfully transplant a pig kidney into a human. It is the first time the procedure has been completed without the human immune system rejecting it. Medical professionals say this could pave the way for future transplant procedures. But animal welfare organisations argue
Shoes and watch straps from plants, not leather
Otautahi - Manufacturers around the world are looking to use plant resources to replace leather in items such as watch straps and shoes, using root structures of a mushroom. Mycelium ‘leather’, as the material is known, is fibrous and tough yet pliable and waterproof, and has been touted as an environmentally-friendly
Clean electricity can play big part heading to net zero
Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Clean electricity can get the world three quarters of the way to the net zero climate change goals. Digitalisation offers the chance to crowdsource for net zero, utilising smart grid tech and shifting shift away from pure demand and consumption. Then move to prosumerism, which is a form of producing
Aotearoa likely to see significant changes to climate approach
Ōtepoti - Aotearoa is likely to see significant changes, for the global better, under a new nationwide climate change commitment according to the Paris agreement. Once Kiwis know the cost of meeting new nationally determined contributions, with off-shore mitigation which will involve the payment of billions of dollars to other countries, will that
Urgent govt action needed for Aotearoa’s dementia plan
Tāmaki Makaurau, - New Zealand can expect a major spike in dementia cases particularly among Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities, according to a new study. Existing dementia support services are already struggling to cope with the increasing demand and are genuinely concerned about the sizeable dementia challenge facing New Zealand, Dementia NZ