Jamie Morton

4 weeks ago | newstalkzb.co.nz | Jamie Morton

Council rangers are reporting unusually high numbers of wasps around some Auckland parks. An ecologist said New Zealand’s wasp population has surged following a warm, dry summer and a “high year” in its normal cycle. People are being urged not to attack wasp nests during day time. A long, dry summer has led to “extremely high” numbers of wasps around the country – and Kiwis are being warned not to attack nests during daytime.

4 weeks ago | nzherald.co.nz | Jamie Morton

New Zealand has one of the world’s highest recorded densities of paper wasps, which typically surge in numbers following a lengthy spell of warm and dry weather. Council rangers are reporting unusually high numbers of wasps around some Auckland parks. An ecologist said New Zealand’s wasp population has surged following a warm, dry summer and a “high year” in its normal cycle. People are being urged not to attack wasp nests during day time.

4 weeks ago | nzherald.co.nz | Jamie Morton

This image shows a brain scan used in an AUT-led study that revealed a telltale marker of mild traumatic brain injury. Photo / Auckland University of TechnologyMore than 33,000 cases of mild traumatic brain injury are reported in New Zealand each year – a third of them from sport like rugby. Scientists suspect they’ve found a way to pick up these injuries sooner, after identifying telltale build-ups of iron in brains affected by recent head knocks.

1 month ago | nzherald.co.nz | Jamie Morton

The 2.43pm quake hit about 160km northwest of Snares Islands, at a depth of 33km. Image / GNS ScienceA magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck in a complex seismic environment that has generated major events in the past. It hit near a tectonic plate boundary where the Australian plate dives below the Pacific plate. Scientists recently warned of the potential for this region to produce tsunami waves several storeys high.

1 month ago | nzherald.co.nz | Jamie Morton

The West Coast's famous Fox Glacier. A new analysis has put the worsening decline of New Zealand’s postcard glaciers into bleak historical context. Photo / Miles HoldenAn analysis highlights the tragic loss of New Zealand’s postcard glaciers back to the late 19th century. It suggests that ice volume has shrunk by 80% in 130 years: with climate change ramping up the rate of loss.