A 24-hour recording of Radio New Zealand National. The following rundown is sourced from the broadcaster’s website. Note some overseas/copyright restricted items may not appear in the supplied rundown:
17 September 2015
===12:04 AM. | All Night Programme===
=DESCRIPTION=
Including: 12:05 Music after Midnight; 12:30 One in Five (RNZ); 1:05 Discovery (BBC); 2:05 The Thursday Feature: Playing Favourites (RNZ); 3:05 The Angels Cut, by Elizabeth Knox (9 of 15, RNZ); 3:30 NZ Books (RNZ): 5:10 Witness (BBC); 5:45 The Day in Parliament
===6:00 AM. | Morning Report===
=DESCRIPTION=
Radio New Zealand's three-hour breakfast news show with news and interviews, bulletins on the hour and half-hour
=AUDIO=
06:00
Top Stories for Thursday 17 September 2015
BODY:
Will the Govt be able to get Australia to change its policy? Would-be climate change refugees on cusp of deportation, Would-be climate change refugees face imminent deportation, Danish man charged with with cyber crime, Tuhoe woman says tensions with police still remain, Hungarian riot police called into manage angry migrants, Top Harvard law professor slams Kim Dotcom's extradition case, Govt. 'not comfortable' with Australia's immigration policy and Scientists actions 'violent, cruel and indefensible'.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 32'55"
06:06
Sports News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'54"
06:10
Will the Govt be able to get Australia to change its policy?
BODY:
The government wants Australia to change its tough new immigration laws which have seen a rising number of New Zealanders being detained and deported.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Australia, immigration, Australian immigration laws
Duration: 3'22"
06:21
Pacific News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
The latest from the Pacific region.
Topics: Pacific
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'28"
06:23
Morning Rural News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
News from the rural and farming sector.
Topics: rural, farming
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'58"
06:27
Te Manu Korihi News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Bay of Plenty hapu Ngati Tamateatutahi says it's over the moon that the mana of land on the shore of Lake Rotoiti will be returned to Maori; Auckland Heritage Festival goers will be able to take a guided tour of ancient pa sites in Mangere in a bid to increase cultural awareness; Māori will make their artistic mark at a world-reknowned arts festival for indigenous peoples.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'34"
06:39
Would-be climate change refugees on cusp of deportation
BODY:
A Pacific family's desperate fight to stay in New Zealand as climate change refugees is about to end with the father now in a police cell waiting to be deported.
Topics: Pacific, climate, refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'29"
06:48
Business lobby says time for a NZ-European Union trade deal
BODY:
New Zealand businesses are telling government it's time to start the serious work of negotiating a free trade deal with the European Union.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: free trade, trade
Duration: 1'54"
06:49
Accountants say withholding tax proposal has major flaws
BODY:
An Auckland accounting firm is pointing out what it calls big issues with a proposed withholding tax for overseas property investors.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: overseas property investors
Duration: 1'33"
06:51
NZIER says NZ needs to invest overseas, now is good
BODY:
The Institute of Economic Research says it's an opportune time to invest overseas, as most New Zealand assets are generally overpriced and too expensive.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: overseas investment
Duration: 2'13"
06:54
EU's highest court deciding if Kitkat can trademark its shape
BODY:
One of the more obscure trade mark battles is taxing the Europe Union's highest court, which is being asked to decide whether global food giant Nestle can trademark the shape of its KitKat bar.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: Nestle
Duration: 1'09"
06:54
Snakk Media to raise $2 million in capital
BODY:
Snakk Media says it intends to raise $2 million in an offer that gives priority to existing shareholders for the allocation of new shares.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 30"
06:55
Capital markets regulator expects fewer court cases
BODY:
The capital markets regulator says investors and other financial market players should expect fewer court cases against errant companies in the future.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: Financial Markets Authority
Duration: 2'39"
06:58
Morning Markets for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Energy stocks have lifted Wall Street following a 5% jump in oil prices, even as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's decision on an interest rate hike.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 1'13"
07:06
Sports News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'53"
07:10
Would-be climate change refugees face imminent deportation
BODY:
A family's desperate fight to stay in New Zealand as climate change refugees is at an end with the father-of-three now in a police cell in Auckland waiting to be deported. Lauren Baker reports.
Topics: Pacific, climate, refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'10"
07:14
Danish man charged with with cyber crime
BODY:
A Danish man has been charged with subjecting an Auckland school girl to what are being labelled serious, constant and distressing online attacks.
Topics: crime, internet, technology
Regions:
Tags: cyber crime
Duration: 3'28"
07:17
Tuhoe woman says tensions with police still remain
BODY:
A Tuhoe woman who's complained to the Independent Police Conduct Authority about police intimidation says nothing's changed since iwi got an apology last year for the Ruatoki raid in 2007.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags: Tuhoe, police
Duration: 4'20"
07:22
Hungarian riot police called into manage angry migrants
BODY:
Hungarian riot police have fired tear gas and water cannon to stop migrants from breaking through a gate at a border crossing with Serbia.
Topics: refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags: Hungary
Duration: 3'28"
07:25
Top Harvard law professor slams Kim Dotcom's extradition case
BODY:
A Harvard law professor has waded into the case for Kim Dotcom's extradition, claiming the United States allegations lack merit. Ira Rothken, Kim Dotcom's American lawyer, joins Morning Report.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Kim Dotcom
Duration: 2'53"
07:25
A fans - and a haters - guide to surviving the RWC
BODY:
Just one day to go until rugby heaven - or perhaps it's your idea of hell. While rugby fans can't wait, those less enthusiastic are wondering how they're going to survive the next six weeks.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Kim Dotcom
Duration: 3'05"
07:32
Govt. 'not comfortable' with Australia's immigration policy
BODY:
Justice Minister Amy Adams says Australia has got its hardline immigration policy wrong and treats New Zealanders far less generously than Australians are treated here.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Australia, Australian immigration policy
Duration: 4'32"
07:35
Solid Energy creditors expected to approve asset sell-off today
BODY:
Creditors of the state coal miner Solid Energy are expected to approve a plan today to sell off the assets of the company parcel by parcel over a period of two and a half years.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: Solid Energy
Duration: 2'50"
07:44
New statistics expected to show economy's slowing
BODY:
The slowing of the economy is expected to be confirmed this morning when the latest report on the country's gross domestic product is released.
Topics: economy, business
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'08"
07:47
Minister says 55 breaches for Serco a reasonable number
BODY:
The Corrections Minister says 55 breach of contract notices for Serco, over four years, is a reasonable number under its contract to run Mt Eden prison.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Serco
Duration: 3'06"
07:50
Campaigners want pesticide banned after US takes it off market
BODY:
New Zealand campaigners against pesticides want a chemical used to coat seeds banned after a court decision that's taken it off the market in America.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: pesticides, bees
Duration: 3'48"
07:56
El Nino likely to bring more misery to North Canterbury farmers
BODY:
North Canterbury farmers still dealing with a drought are bracing themselves for more misery thanks to a forecast El Nino weather pattern between now and April next year.
Topics: weather, climate
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: El Nino
Duration: 3'44"
08:06
Sports News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'09"
08:15
Danish police arrest man on charges of cyber crime
BODY:
Danish police have arrested a man on charges of subjecting an Auckland schoolgirl to what are being described as serious, constant and distressing online attacks. Joining Morning Report is Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker.
Topics: crime, internet, technology
Regions:
Tags: cyber crime
Duration: 4'52"
08:16
Scientists actions 'violent, cruel and indefensible'
BODY:
The animal rights group PETA is outraged New Zealand scientists shot anaethetised pigs at point blank range as part of their research into blood splatter patterns.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: animal rights
Duration: 4'01"
08:16
Questions about police attitudes to Maori in Te Urewera
BODY:
There are continuing concerns about police attitudes towards Maori in the central North Island. Chairman of the Ruatoki Tribal Executive Committee, Patrick McGarvey, joins Morning Report
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags: Tuhoe, police
Duration: 3'48"
08:17
Climate change must be addressed to prevent more refugees
BODY:
The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, is warning that deporting Ioane Teitiota and his family back to Kiribati will not solve the wider problem of climate change refugees.
Topics: climate, refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags: Kiribati
Duration: 3'42"
08:28
Republican candidates close in on Donald Trump ahead of debate
BODY:
Republican candidate Donald Trump's rival Ben Carson is closing in on him. Lenny McAllister is a Republican aligned political commentator and radio host.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: USA, Donald Trump, USA Presidency
Duration: 4'41"
08:32
Markets Update for 17 September 2015
BODY:
A brief update of movements in the financial sector.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 48"
08:37
UN calls for special court to prosecute Sri Lanka war crimes
BODY:
The United Nations has called for a special court to try war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan army's long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: United Nations, UN, Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger
Duration: 5'43"
08:40
"Refugees" include those fleeing climate change
BODY:
New Zealand is getting ready to deport a family who have unsuccessfully claimed to be a climate change refugees. Professor Jane McAdam is the Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at the University of New South Wales.
Topics: refugees and migrants, law
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'04"
08:46
Australia launches air strikes in Syria
BODY:
Australia has launched its first air strikes inside Syria against Islamic State targets.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: Australia, Islamic State
Duration: 2'23"
08:48
Te Manu Korihi News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
The green light has been given for the construction of a geothermal power plant on Maori land, near Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty;The Rotorua Lakes Council wants to make it easier for Ngati Tamateatutahi to claim back land on the shore of Lake Rotoiti, but only if public access continues; New research has found Māori scored the highest for work-life balance and life satisfaction when compared to other cultures.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'20"
08:53
Gloves off as Parliament debates superannuation bill
BODY:
Parliament descended into a mud-slinging match last night as MPs traded personal insults while debating a members bill.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'27"
08:55
Calls to defend Fiji's fragile democracy a year after elections
BODY:
A year on from Fiji's landmark elections, the coup-plagued island's head of state Ratu Epeli Nailatikau is calling for the fledgling democracy to be defended.
Topics: Pacific
Regions:
Tags: Fiji
Duration: 3'31"
=SHOW NOTES=
===9:06 AM. | Nine To Noon===
=DESCRIPTION=
Current affairs and topics of interest, including:
10:45 The Reading: The Phoenix Song, by John Sinclair, told by Katlyn Wong (7 of 12, RNZ)
=AUDIO=
09:10
Teargas fired on asylum seekers at Hungary-Serbia border
BODY:
Hungarian riot police have fired teargas and water cannon at desperate migrants near the Serbian town of Horgos. Hungary this week closed its entire border with Serbia, and made it illegal to enter the country or damage a new razor-wire border fence. Fairfax Australia's Nick Miller has been at the scene.
Topics: refugees and migrants
Regions:
Tags: asylum seekers, Hungary, Serbia
Duration: 13'16"
09:19
Funding for public parks, is it sustainable?
BODY:
Andrew Leslie is the Chief Executive of New Zealand Recreation Association. He's concerned that funding from local Government for public parks is not sustainable and if alternative investment isn't found, we could be in danger of losing some local green spaces. The Association has been measuring the declining investment in parks nationally over the past five years.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: public parks, recreation, councils, local government
Duration: 14'56"
09:36
NASA's new flagship mission to Europa
BODY:
Dr. Louise Prockter is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, in the US. She has been involved in several robotic space missions, from the planning and implementation stages through to analysis of data. Her primary research uses spacecraft images to investigate the surface geology and history of icy moons, particularly Europa, one of Jupiter's largest satellites. Europa is thought to contain a vast salty liquid water ocean beneath an icy crust, making it a target of interest as a potentially habitable world. Louise is the Deputy Project Scientist on NASA's new flagship mission to Europa, which is in the formulation stage, and is planned to launch in the early part of the next decade.
Topics: science, technology
Regions:
Tags: NASA
Duration: 10'59"
09:50
UK correspondent Catherine Drew
BODY:
Catherine Drew reports on Jeremy Corbyn's first few days at the helm of Labour.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: UK
Duration: 8'55"
10:05
Why do governments blunder? Sir Ivor Crewe
BODY:
Respected British political scientist Sir Ivor Crewe argues that Britain has been badly governed for decades because politicians hoard power and ignore well-informed critics. Sir Ivor Crewe is the president of Britain's Academy of Social sciences and the master of Oxford's University College. His 2013 book The Blunders of Our Governments - written with Anthony King, laid bare the mistakes of successive British governments, which have wasted billions of dollars and created illogical policy. He is in New Zealand as a guest of the NZ Rhodes Scholars Association, and is delivering two lectures at Victoria University this evening.
Topics: author interview, books
Regions:
Tags: UK, UK politics
Duration: 31'30"
10:38
New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa
BODY:
I, Clodia and Other Portraits by Anna Jackson, published by Auckland University Press, Poetry and reviewed by Harry Ricketts; co-editor of the quarterly review, New Zealand Books.
Topics: books
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 6'19"
11:06
New Technology with Robbie Allan
BODY:
New Apple products. The Facebook dislike button.
Topics: technology, internet
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 20'49"
11:27
When to let kids make mistakes and when to step in
BODY:
Nathan Mikaere Wallis is founder of X Factor Education in Christchurch. He was formerly with the Brain Wave Trust and has been a lecturer at the Christchurch College of Education, lecturing in human development, brain development, language and communication and risk and resilience. Today Nathan discusses when to let kids make mistakes, and when to step in.
EXTENDED BODY:
Nathan Mikaere Wallis is founder of X Factor Education in Christchurch. He was formerly with the Brain Wave Trust and has been a lecturer at the Christchurch College of Education, lecturing in human development, brain development, language and communication and risk and resilience.
Nathan discusses the fine balance between too much and too little intervention.
Topics: health
Regions:
Tags: parenting, teenagers, child safety
Duration: 19'35"
11:48
TV review with Paul Casserly
BODY:
The remastered version of what Paul believes is the greatest documentary of all time: The Civil War by Ken Burns. Paul also talks about his evening watching TV in Los Angeles and the strange outbursts of prudishness on TV3's Story.
Topics: arts
Regions:
Tags: television
Duration: 11'00"
=SHOW NOTES=
09:05 Teargas fired on asylum seekers at Hungary-Serbia border
Hungarian riot police have fired teargas and water cannon at desperate migrants near the Serbian town of Horgos.
Hungary this week closed its entire border with Serbia, and made it illegal to enter the country or damage a new razor-wire border fence.
Fairfax Australia's Nick Miller has been at the scene.
Tirana Hassan, the Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International who is also at the scene posted these images on twitter.
[gallery:1422]
09:15 Funding for public parks, is it sustainable?
[image:47846:quarter]
Andrew Leslie is the Chief Executive of New Zealand Recreation Association. He's concerned that funding from local Government for public parks is not sustainable and if alternative investment isn't found, we could be in danger of losing some local green spaces. The Association has been measuring the declining investment in parks nationally over the past five years.
09:30 NASA's new flagship mission to Europa
Dr. Louise Prockter is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, in the US. She has been involved in several robotic space missions, from the planning and implementation stages through to analysis of data. Her primary research uses spacecraft images to investigate the surface geology and history of icy moons, particularly Europa, one of Jupiter’s largest satellites. Europa is thought to contain a vast salty liquid water ocean beneath an icy crust, making it a target of interest as a potentially habitable world. Louise is the Deputy Project Scientist on NASA’s new flagship mission to Europa, which is in the formulation stage, and is planned to launch in the early part of the next decade.
[gallery:1418]
09:45 UK correspondent Catherine Drew
Catherine Drew reports on Jeremy Corbyn's first few days at the helm of Labour.
10:05 Why do governments blunder? Sir Ivor Crewe
Respected British political scientist Sir Ivor Crewe argues that Britain has been badly governed for decades because politicians hoard power and ignore well-informed critics. Sir Ivor Crewe is the president of Britain's Academy of Social sciences and the master of Oxford's University College.
His 2013 book The Blunders of Our Governments - written with Anthony King, laid bare the mistakes of successive British governments, which have wasted billions of dollars and created illogical policy.
He is in New Zealand as a guest of the NZ Rhodes Scholars Association, and is delivering two lectures at Victoria University this evening.
10:30 New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa
I, Clodia and Other Portraits by Anna Jackson
Published by Auckland University Press, Poetry
Reviewed by Harry Ricketts, co-editor of the quarterly review, New Zealand Books
10:45 The Reading: The Phoenix Song by John Sinclair, told by Kat Wong (Part 7 of 12)
11:05 New Technology with Robbie Allan
11:30 When to let kids make mistakes and when to intervene
Nathan Mikaere Wallis is founder of X Factor Education in Christchurch. He was formerly with the Brain Wave Trust and has been a lecturer at the Christchurch College of Education, lecturing in human development, brain development, language and communication and risk and resilience. Today Nathan discusses when to let kids make mistakes, and when to step in.
11:45 TV review with Paul Casserly
The remastered version of what Paul believes is the greatest documentary of all time: The Civil War by Ken Burns. Paul also talks about his evening watching TV in Los Angeles and the strange outbursts of prudishness on TV3's Story.
===Noon | Midday Report===
=DESCRIPTION=
Radio New Zealand news, followed by updates and reports until 1.00pm, including: 12:16 Business News 12:26 Sport 12:34 Rural News 12:43 Worldwatch
=AUDIO=
12:00
Midday News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Ministers stop the sale of Lochinvar Station and a doctor could lose his job for protesting against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 15'09"
12:17
Economy grew at a modest 0.4 percent rate
BODY:
As you heard in the news, the economy grew at a modest 0.4 percent rate in the three months to the end of June, a bounce back from the soft first quarter, but short of expectations.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 1'44"
12:19
Process for a free trade deal with the European Union
BODY:
New Zealand should be looking to start the process for a free trade deal with the European Union by the end of the year according to a business lobby group that sees untapped opportunities to be pursued.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: European Union
Duration: 1'25"
12:23
Midday Markets for 17 September 2015
BODY:
For the latest from the markets we're joined by James Grigor at Macquarie Private Wealth
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 3'05"
12:25
Business briefs
BODY:
Slightly more shareholders in the outdoor retailer Kathmandu have leaned in favour of a Briscoe Group takeover.
Topics: business
Regions:
Tags: Kathmandu
Duration: 12"
12:26
Midday Sports News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
The All Blacks prop Charlie Faumuina concedes his fitness remains a work in progress just four days out from their first match of the Rugby World Cup.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'30"
12:35
Midday Rural News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
News from the rural and farming sectors.
Topics: rural, farming
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 7'56"
=SHOW NOTES=
===1:06 PM. | Jesse Mulligan, 1–4pm===
=DESCRIPTION=
An upbeat mix of the curious and the compelling, ranging from the stories of the day to the great questions of our time (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
13:07
Opening Song - Pieces.
BODY:
New Zealander country singer Kaylee Bell and Australian (California-born) Jared Porter sing their acclaimed duet and co-written song, "Pieces."
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 5'11"
13:13
Civil Defence has issued a tsunami warning
BODY:
Civil Defence has issued a tsunami warning for coastal and beach areas on the east coast of the country and the Chatham Islands after a strong earthquake hit Chile this morning.
Topics: security, environment
Regions:
Tags: tsunami warning
Duration: 3'29"
13:16
Happy Families - Bronwyn Harman
BODY:
There's new proof to the old maxin "the more the merrier". It turns out the key to a happy family could be having four or more children. Dr Bronwyn Harman from Edith Cowan University in Australia has done the research. And she has found parents with four or more children are more satisfied than those with fewer kids.
Topics: life and society
Regions:
Tags: children, family, happiness
Duration: 7'29"
13:26
Bird Funding Crisis - Nicola Toki
BODY:
New Zealand's native birds have encountered all sorts of challenges to stay alive over the past century or two - introduced pests, predators and loss of habitat. But now their struggle for survival is being hindered by a lack of funding. In July BNZ pulled the plug on its Save the Kiwi sponsorship. And the future for the Kakapo recovery programme is uncertain, with the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter yet to confirm whether it'll continue supporting the cause after its contract ends in December.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: native birds, Kakapo recovery programme
Duration: 9'13"
13:43
Favourite album
BODY:
Jock Cocker - Stingray. Chosen by Greg Payne of Mahurangi West.
Topics: music
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 14'51"
14:10
Truck Theft - Liz Carmichael
BODY:
A man who stole a septic tank truck in Dunedin is still on the loose, though the truck itself has now been found. The man has managed to evade police for the past two days despite leaving a trail of evidence in his wake. The very distinctive blue and yellow truck was taken from Dunedin on Tuesday, and was found today in Christchurch. The truck belongs to Barry Dell Plumbing.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: septic tank truck
Duration: 5'22"
14:15
Roadmap: Akaroa
BODY:
Akaroa is a small seaside village on Banks Peninsula. It has a population of about 700 permanent residents. The village is celebrating 175 years of European Settlement this year.
Topics: history, life and society
Regions:
Tags: Akaroa
Duration: 44'49"
15:08
The Expats - Ryan O'Kane
BODY:
Ryan O'Kane will be a familiar face to TV watchers here in New Zealand - he's appeared in The Insiders Guide to Life, played cricketer Bob Blair in the Tangiwhai telefeature and was one of the lead roles in Tom Scott's 1981 Springbok tour film, Rage. And he joins us from sunny Bondi Beach.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags: expats
Duration: 11'48"
15:20
Masterpieces - Emily Perkins
BODY:
Author and playwright Emily Perkins tells us about her favourite New Zealand book.
EXTENDED BODY:
Jesse Mulligan catches up with author and playwright Emily Perkins, who talks about her favourite New Zealand book, Janet Frame's To the Island.
Topics: books
Regions:
Tags: Janet Frame, New Zealand literature, NZ literature, Emily Perkins
Duration: 14'03"
15:44
The Panel pre-show for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 15'21"
21:06
'Orchard in a box' - using GM to breed better apples
BODY:
A greenhouse that is also a strict containment facility allows scientists to experimentally add apple genes to apple trees to speed up the breeding of new varieties
EXTENDED BODY:
On a cold winter’s day the McLean Glasshouse on the Plant and Food Research campus in Auckland is warm and bright. So warm, in fact, that the four hundred or so experimental apple trees have been banished to the cool darkness of a basement chiller for a few weeks. Apple trees need a winter cold snap to initiate good flower growth, and when the suitably chilled trees are returned to the top floor of the greenhouse research scientists Associate Professor Andrew Allan and Dr Richard Espley hope to be busy pollinating a good crop of flowers.
They’ll be doing the pollinating themselves, because one of the features of the greenhouse – or the ‘orchard in a box’ as they like to call it – is the complete absence of pollinating insects such as honey bees. That’s because the apple trees are all genetically modified, and the greenhouse is a secure containment area with a high level of biosecurity to ensure that nothing enters or leaves the premises. All the plants grown here will be incinerated at the end of their useful research life, and it’s only the important information gained from them that will make the transition into the orchard to help in the development of new apple varieties.
The ‘genetic modification’ that takes place is helping to speed up the traditional apple breeding programme that has led to the development of many apple varieties, including the well-known Jazz. Andrew explains that Jazz is a natural ethylene mutant, and was created through the usual time-consuming method of crossing two varieties of apple (in this case, Royal Gala and Braeburn) and growing the resulting seedlings until they are old enough to produce fruit that can be tested to see if any of them possess new, desirable traits.
To speed up this traditional method of plant breeding, the team at Plant and Food Research choose one of apple’s 57,000 different genes and insert it into trial trees to see what effect it has.
“We take an apple gene and put it into apple at a very high level, and then sit back and watch what it does” says Andrew. The Plant and Food Research apple breeding programme is currently looking at about 40-50 genes which they believe are the key ones for the traits they’re interested in, such as flavour, texture, tree architecture and flowering.
To insert a gene into an apple the team takes little pieces of apple and expose them to a bacterium, called agrobacterium, says Richard.
“This is a soil-dwelling bacteria that affects plants naturally, and it does do by injecting little bits of its own DNA into the plant to get the plant to create the right growth conditions for the bacteria – very clever. Once the apple tissue has been transformed you get little apple plantlets regenerating and these are grafted onto the usual rootstock.”
Richard and Andrew describe the apple colour gene as one of their favourite genes. “It’s quite a special gene, a transcription factor that will turn on a lot of other genes, in this case involved in the anthocyanin pathway, which produces the red pigment,” says Richard. By over-expressing this gene the result is apple trees with red leaves and fruit with red flesh as well as red skin. High levels of anthocyanin are of interest as they have health benefits.
Another gene of interest is a rapidly-flowering gene, and every time the plant – which looks more like a climbing rose than an apple tree – tries to make a leaf it also tries to make a flower. This means the plant flowers for most of the year, rather than just once in spring, and the team can pollinate these flowers and produce apples for growing on whenever they want to.
“We’re talking about changing the breeding cycle of an apple from every seven years to just one year,” says Andrew. “So we’ve sped up the breeding programme seven-fold, by using this little plant.”
The team have also produced apples in which the ethylene gene has been knocked out, so that the plant no longer produces ethylene. Ethylene is responsible for ripening fruit, and a low-ethylene apple has a much longer shelf life, but will still respond and ripen when exposed to ethylene.
“What’s really exciting about these [low ethylene] trees is that we’ve been growing them for over ten years and we can do experiments with really fine control on understanding ethylene response,” says Andrew. “What happens in the first five minutes after you add ethylene, for example. We can understand all those changes and use that knowledge out in our existing apple cultivars that we have in Hawke’s Bay and all around the country.”
Plant and Food Research breed a wide range of fruit and berry crops, and Our Changing World has previously featured a story about their apricot breeding programme in Central Otago.
Topics: science, food
Regions:
Tags: genetic modification, GM, genes, plant breeding, apples
Duration: 15'38"
=SHOW NOTES=
1:10 First Song
New Zealander Kaylee Bell and Californian-born Australian Jared Porter with 'Pieces'.
1:15 Tsunami Warning - Civil Defence
Civil Defence has issued a tsunami warning for coastal and beach areas on the east coast of the country and the Chatham Islands after a strong earthquake hit Chile this morning.
1:20 Happy Families - Bronwyn Harman
There's new proof to the old maxin "the more the merrier". It turns out the key to a happy family could be having four or more children. Dr Bronwyn Harman from Edith Cowan University in Australia has done the research. And she has found parents with four or more children are more satisfied than those with fewer kids.
1:30 Bird Funding Crisis - Nicola Toki
New Zealand's native birds have encountered all sorts of challenges to stay alive over the past century or two - introduced pests, predators and loss of habitat. But now their struggle for survival is being hindered by a lack of funding. In July BNZ pulled the plug on its Save the Kiwi sponsorship. And the future for the Kakapo recovery programme is uncertain, with the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter yet to confirm whether it'll continue supporting the cause after its contract ends in December.
1:40 Favourite album
Jock Cocker - Stingray. Chosen by Greg Payne of Mahurangi West.
2:10 Truck Theft - Liz Carmichael
A man who stole a septic tank truck in Dunedin is still on the loose, though the truck itself has now been found. The man has managed to evade police for the past two days despite leaving a trail of evidence in his wake. The very distinctive blue and yellow truck was taken from Dunedin on Tuesday, and was found today in Christchurch. The truck belongs to Barry Dell Plumbing.
2:20 Roadmap: Akaroa
Akaroa is a small seaside village on Banks Peninsula. It has a population of about 700 permanent residents. The village is celebrating 175 years of European Settlement this year.
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[gallery:1421]
3:10 The Expats - Ryan O'Kane
Ryan O'Kane will be a familiar face to TV watchers here in New Zealand - he's appeared in The Insiders Guide to Life, played cricketer Bob Blair in the Tangiwhai telefeature and was one of the lead roles in Tom Scott's 1981 Springbok tour film, Rage. And he joins us from sunny Bondi Beach.
3:25 Masterpieces - Emily Perkins
Author and playwright Emily Perkins tells us about her favourite New Zealand book.
3:35 Our Changing World: 'Orchard in a box' - using GM to breed better apples
Andrew Allan and Richard Espley from Plant and Food Research take Alison Ballance on a tour through a high security glasshouse, which they call an 'orchard in a box'. Here, they speed up evolution by inserting individual apple genes into apple trees to produce, for example, red-fleshed apples or apples with a very long shelf life.
3:45 The Panel Pre-Show
What the world is talking about. With Jesse Mulligan, Jim Mora and Zara Potts.
=PLAYLIST=
Jesse Mulligan 1-4pm
Wednesday 16 September
OPENING SONG:
ARTIST: Jared Porter w Kaylee Bell
TITLE: Pieces
FAVOURITE ALBUM:
ARTIST: Joe Cocker
TITLE: Catfish
COMP: Dylan, Levy
ALBUM: Stingray
LABEL: FRUITGUM 181050
ARTIST: Joe Cocker
TITLE: The Man In Me
COMP: Dylan
ALBUM: Stingray
LABEL: FRUITGUM 181050
ARTIST: Joe Cocker
TITLE: Worrier
COMP: Moore
ALBUM: Stingray
LABEL: FRUITGUM 181050
ROADMAP:
ARTIST: Edith Piaf
TITLE: La Vie En Rose
COMP: Piaf/Louiguy
ALBUM: Edith Piaf: La Vie En Rose
LABEL: PLANET 991034
ARTIST: Elton John
TITLE: Teacher I Need You
COMP: John, Taupin
ALBUM: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player
LABEL: ROCKET 528154
ARTIST: Les Wriggles
TITLE: La Petite Olive
COMP: Les Wriggles
ALBUM: Ah Bah Ouais Mais Bon
LABEL: Atmospheriques
ARTIST: The Eagles
TITLE: Take It Easy
COMP: Browne, Frey
ALBUM: Eagles
LABEL: ASYLUM 253009
PANEL:
ARTIST: The Beatles
TITLE: Paperback Writer
COMP: Lennon, McCartney
ALBUM: The Beatles: 1
LABEL: APPLE 529325
===4:06 PM. | The Panel===
=DESCRIPTION=
An hour of discussion featuring a range of panellists from right along the opinion spectrum (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
15:44
The Panel pre-show for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Your feedback, and a preview of the guests and topics on The Panel.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 15'21"
16:03
The Panel with Michael Moynahan and Phoebe Fletcher (Part 1)
BODY:
What the Panelists Michael Moynahan and Phoebe Fletcher have been up to. The new Paid Parental leave legislation. Should the Police really need to ascertain that someone has a weapon before they shoot that person?
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 23'26"
16:05
The Panel with Michael Moynahan and Phoebe Fletcher (Part 2)
BODY:
A survey by Digital Book World has found that only 60 per cent of books purchased are ever opened. 'We've got bigger things to worry about' says the All Blacks What the Panelists Michael Moynahan (WN) and Phoebe Fletcher (AK) have been thinking about. A Wanganui doctor was arrested at the protest over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. R&B singer Chris Brown may not be able to get into NZ. He's due here on his One Hell of a Night world tour in December, but his violent past may mean he cannot get into the country.
Topics:
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Tags:
Duration: 27'02"
16:07
Panel Intro
BODY:
What the Panelists Michael Moynahan and Phoebe Fletcher have been up to.
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 4'39"
16:12
Paid Parental leave
BODY:
The new Paid Parental leave legislation. Well it's the same legislation, revisited.
Topics: law, politics
Regions:
Tags: paid parental leave
Duration: 9'57"
16:22
Police shooting policy
BODY:
An email.... "Police really need to ascertain that someone has a weapon before they shoot that person, and when they do shoot they need to shoot to maim not to kill.
Topics: law, politics
Regions:
Tags: police shootings
Duration: 8'26"
16:32
Paperback books
BODY:
A survey by Digital Book World has found that only 60 per cent of books purchased are ever opened.
Topics: books
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 23'26"
16:44
The 'Hakarena' controversy
BODY:
'We've got bigger things to worry about' says the All Blacks
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 8'37"
16:50
Panel Says
BODY:
What the Panelists Michael Moynahan (WN) and Phoebe Fletcher (AK) have been thinking about.
Topics:
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Tags:
Duration: 3'52"
16:53
Wanganui doctor arrested
BODY:
A Wanganui doctor was arrested at the protest over the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Topics: law, politics, crime
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'08"
16:56
R&B singer Chris Brown
BODY:
R&B singer Chris Brown may not be able to get into NZ. He's due here on his One Hell of a Night world tour in December, but his violent past may mean he cannot get into the country.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: Chris Brown, Hell of a Night world tour
Duration: 3'08"
=SHOW NOTES=
===5:00 PM. | Checkpoint===
=DESCRIPTION=
Radio New Zealand's two-hour news and current affairs programme
=AUDIO=
17:00
Checkpoint Top Stories for Thursday 17 September 2015
BODY:
A massive earthqauke in Chile sparks tsunami warnings across the pacific including NZ. The government turns down a Chinese bid to buy the Lochinver station near Taupo and compensation for a Kiwirail contractor left severely impaired after being hit by a train.
Topics:
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Tags:
Duration: 22'56"
17:08
8.3 earthquake rocks Chile
BODY:
A monster 8 point 3 magnitude earthquake has struck the heart of Chile today, forcing the evacuation of a million people throughout the country and prompting tsunami warnings in Peru, California, Hawaii and New Zealand.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: earthquake
Duration: 5'25"
17:13
New Zealand responds to potential tsunami
BODY:
Here in New Zealand, the Minister of Civil Defence Nikki Kaye says the National Crisis Management Centre has been activated.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: earthquake
Duration: 2'38"
17:16
Govt rejects Chinese bid to buy Lochiver station
BODY:
The government has turned down a Chinese bid to buy the nearly 14-thousand hectare Lochinver station.
Topics: law, politics
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Tags: Lochinver Station
Duration: 4'41"
17:22
Solid Energy creditors accept selldown
BODY:
Creditors of Solid Energy have voted to accept a gradual selldown of the company's assets over two and a half years.
Topics: business
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Tags: Solid Energy
Duration: 2'41"
17:24
Maori Education Trust in trouble
BODY:
The Maori Education Trust has had to sell its only assets, its farms, putting at risk the grants it is required to make to Maori students. It has allocated education grants since 1961because of the generosity of a number of private bequests, but after a series of poor management decisions its financial position is weak. Our Maori Issues Correspondent Mihingarangi Forbes has more.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags: Maori Education Trust
Duration: 4'08"
17:29
Doctor in hot water over TPP protest
BODY:
A senior doctor who jumped on a car carrying the deputy Prime Minister at a Trans Pacific Parternship protest could lose his job.
Topics: politics
Regions: Manawatu
Tags: TPP
Duration: 3'02"
17:35
Today's market update
BODY:
The economy has rebounded, but by less than analysts had expected.
Topics: business, economy
Regions:
Tags: markets
Duration: 2'12"
17:36
Kiwirail to pay reparations after worker hit by train
BODY:
Kiwirail has been ordered to pay 110 thousand dollars to the family of a contractor left severely impaired after being hit by train.
Topics: law, business
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Tags: payout, Kiwirail
Duration: 5'05"
17:42
A modest pick up for the economy
BODY:
More now on the economy which has had a modest pick up in the three months to June with gross domestic product rising zero point 4 percent - that's double the rate in the drought hit first quarter.
Topics: business, economy
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Tags:
Duration: 3'13"
17:45
Former All Black convicted on firearms charges
BODY:
Former All Black Andrew Hore was convicted today of supplying a gun to a non-licensed person, a conviction that could prevent him from travelling overseas for events like going to see the Rugby World Cup .
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: Andrew Hore
Duration: 3'24"
17:49
Fiorina on top in Republican debate
BODY:
It was thought Donald Trump would again rule this afternoon's Republican presidential debate, but instead, it set the stage for a fair fight.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: Andrew Hore
Duration: 2'06"
17:51
Te Manu Korihi News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Water experts have been told that a critical challenge facing this country is that the governance and management of freshwater must recognise Maori interests. The comment has come from a member of the iwi leaders forum, the Chair of Te Arataura, the Waikato-Tainui executive, Rahui Papa to the Water New Zealand conference being held in Hamilton. The iwi leaders forum is in discussions with the government to make sure that iwi, hapu and whanau rights and interests in freshwater are not ignored. Here's our Waikato reporter, Andrew McRae.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'29"
17:54
Immigration Minister won't assist climate change refugees
BODY:
The Immigration Minister has dismissed calls for the Government to do more to assist climate change refugees from the Pacific as colonialistic, white person's guilt.
Topics: climate, environment
Regions:
Tags: climate change refugees
Duration: 2'58"
17:57
Raising environmental protection in aquaculture
BODY:
A new world standard for sustainable aquaculture was launched at an industry conference in Nelson today.
Topics: farming
Regions: Nelson Region
Tags: sustainable aquaculture
Duration: 1'50"
18:07
Sports News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
An update from the team at RNZ Sport.
Topics: sport
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 2'55"
18:11
Strong Quake hits Chile
BODY:
And now more on our top story, the eight point three magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile earlier today.
Topics: environment
Regions:
Tags: earthquake
Duration: 5'30"
18:16
Tsunami warnings failed to include Northland
BODY:
Earlier Civil Defence tsunami warnings failed to include Northland, but it's now been added to the list of areas that could be at risk.
Topics:
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Tags: Civil Defence, tsunami warnings
Duration: 2'42"
18:20
Govt says public opposition is not behind Lochinver decision
BODY:
The Government says public opposition to the sale of a large central North Island farm to a foreign invester was not behind its decision to block the sale.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags: Lochinver Station
Duration: 3'54"
18:24
Kiwirail kept train with faulty brakes on tracks for 10 weeks
BODY:
Thousands of rail passengers rode a train with faulty brakes for more than ten weeks because Kiwirail maintenance workers forgot to install a pin.
Topics: transport
Regions:
Tags: Kiwirail
Duration: 3'54"
18:28
Kiwirail to pay family of man hit by train
BODY:
Kiwirail's General Manager Metro, David Shepherd, says they have made changes to ensure it won't happen again.
Topics: transport
Regions:
Tags: Kiwirail
Duration: 2'40"
18:38
Crown rejects inmate's claim he was forced to riot
BODY:
The Crown is rejecting a prison inmate's defence that he was badly beaten up and then forced to take part in the Springhill riots two years ago.
Topics: crime
Regions:
Tags: Springhill riots
Duration: 2'28"
18:40
Teenager arrested when homeade clock taken for a bomb
BODY:
A Dallas teenager, arrested by police when the home-made clock that he'd brought to school, was mistaken for a bomb - is now going to the White House.
Topics:
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Tags: USA, Dallas, hoax bomb
Duration: 7'25"
18:48
Te Manu Korihi News for 17 September 2015
BODY:
Water experts have been told that a critical challenge facing this country is that the governance and management of freshwater must recognise Maori interests; A group of whanau who live at Takapuwahia Pa in Porirua have met with the local council to find ways to stop regular flooding in their community; The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples is concerned the new Prime Minister will change the direction of how their affairs are handled.
Topics: te ao Maori
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 3'24"
18:52
Today In Parliament for 17 September 2015 - evening edition
BODY:
Government questioned about its position on climate refugees; Questions also about the Government's blocking of the sale of Lochinver Station to Chinese interests; Health Minister Jonathan Coleman ejected from Chamber; Peter Boshier appointed as next Chief Ombudsman.
Topics: politics
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 5'18"
=SHOW NOTES=
===7:06 PM. | Nights===
=DESCRIPTION=
Entertainment and information, including: 7:30 At the Movies with Simon Morris: Current film releases and film related topics (RNZ) 8:13 Windows on the World: International public radio features and documentaries 9:06 Our Changing World: Science and environment news from NZ and the world (RNZ)
=AUDIO=
19:12
Ten Year Anniversary
BODY:
On Monday 19 September 2005, the current team of Bryan Crump and Robyn Rockgirl Walker started a weekday evening public service radio show called Nights on Radio New Zealand National. You may have heard of it. Robyn joins Bryan from Malaysia (the perfect place to celebrate a 10th birthday) to look back on ten years of broadcasting
EXTENDED BODY:
On Monday 19 September 2005, the current team of Bryan Crump and Robyn Rockgirl Walker started a weekday evening public service radio show called Nights on Radio New Zealand National. You may have heard of it.
Robyn joins Bryan from Malaysia (the perfect place to celebrate a 10th birthday) to look back on ten years of broadcasting.
Topics: media, life and society
Regions:
Tags: radio, radio host, radio producer, decade, anniversary, Nights, Malaysia
Duration: 25'40"
20:42
Hip Hop - Sampling
BODY:
University of Auckland ethnomusicologist Dr Kirsten Zemke raps about hip hop music and culture. This month Kirsten discusses the role of sampling (with some choice samples) because where would hip hop be without it?
Topics: music, technology
Regions:
Tags: hip hop, rap music, soul, sampling, A Tribe Called Quest, Lou Reed, Kid Creole, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, Warren G & Nate Dogg, Michael McDonald, T.W.D.Y. - Player's Holiday, Bill Withers
Duration: 19'05"
20:59
Conundrum Clue 7
BODY:
Clue 7
Topics:
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Tags:
Duration: 07"
21:59
Conundrum Clue 8
BODY:
Clue 8
Topics:
Regions:
Tags:
Duration: 23"
=SHOW NOTES=
7:10 Ten years on the Nights shift
On Monday 19 September 2005, the current team of Bryan Crump and Robyn Rockgirl Walker started a weekday evening public service radio show called Nights on Radio New Zealand National. You may have heard of it. Robyn joins Bryan from Malaysia (the perfect place to celebrate a 10th birthday) to look back on ten years of broadcasting.
7:30 At the Movies
=SHOW NOTES=
[embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEl1nzJhT4
[embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxZQeR3c_Wg
[embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SsIsCWXtV4
=AUDIO=
19:30
At The Movies for 17 September 2015
BODY:
On At The Movies, Simon Morris goes to the new Maze Runner film - The Scorch Trials - and sees how Kiwi Jemaine Clement does in the American family comedy, People Places Things. He also learns something from the real-life story of a man who missed killing Hitler by just 13 Minutes.
Topics: arts
Regions:
Tags: films
Duration: 23'17"
7:30 At the Movies
Films and movie business with Simon Morris.
8:10 Windows on the World
International public radio documentaries - visit the Windows on the World web page to find links to these documentaries.
8:40 Cultural Ambassador: Hip Hop - Sampling
University of Auckland ethnomusicologist Dr Kirsten Zemke raps about hip hop music and culture. This month Kirsten discusses the role of sampling (with some choice samples) because where would hip hop be without it?
9:06 Our Changing World
=SHOW NOTES=
=AUDIO=
21:06
'Orchard in a box' - using GM to breed better apples
BODY:
A greenhouse that is also a strict containment facility allows scientists to experimentally add apple genes to apple trees to speed up the breeding of new varieties
EXTENDED BODY:
On a cold winter’s day the McLean Glasshouse on the Plant and Food Research campus in Auckland is warm and bright. So warm, in fact, that the four hundred or so experimental apple trees have been banished to the cool darkness of a basement chiller for a few weeks. Apple trees need a winter cold snap to initiate good flower growth, and when the suitably chilled trees are returned to the top floor of the greenhouse research scientists Associate Professor Andrew Allan and Dr Richard Espley hope to be busy pollinating a good crop of flowers.
They’ll be doing the pollinating themselves, because one of the features of the greenhouse – or the ‘orchard in a box’ as they like to call it – is the complete absence of pollinating insects such as honey bees. That’s because the apple trees are all genetically modified, and the greenhouse is a secure containment area with a high level of biosecurity to ensure that nothing enters or leaves the premises. All the plants grown here will be incinerated at the end of their useful research life, and it’s only the important information gained from them that will make the transition into the orchard to help in the development of new apple varieties.
The ‘genetic modification’ that takes place is helping to speed up the traditional apple breeding programme that has led to the development of many apple varieties, including the well-known Jazz. Andrew explains that Jazz is a natural ethylene mutant, and was created through the usual time-consuming method of crossing two varieties of apple (in this case, Royal Gala and Braeburn) and growing the resulting seedlings until they are old enough to produce fruit that can be tested to see if any of them possess new, desirable traits.
To speed up this traditional method of plant breeding, the team at Plant and Food Research choose one of apple’s 57,000 different genes and insert it into trial trees to see what effect it has.
“We take an apple gene and put it into apple at a very high level, and then sit back and watch what it does” says Andrew. The Plant and Food Research apple breeding programme is currently looking at about 40-50 genes which they believe are the key ones for the traits they’re interested in, such as flavour, texture, tree architecture and flowering.
To insert a gene into an apple the team takes little pieces of apple and expose them to a bacterium, called agrobacterium, says Richard.
“This is a soil-dwelling bacteria that affects plants naturally, and it does do by injecting little bits of its own DNA into the plant to get the plant to create the right growth conditions for the bacteria – very clever. Once the apple tissue has been transformed you get little apple plantlets regenerating and these are grafted onto the usual rootstock.”
Richard and Andrew describe the apple colour gene as one of their favourite genes. “It’s quite a special gene, a transcription factor that will turn on a lot of other genes, in this case involved in the anthocyanin pathway, which produces the red pigment,” says Richard. By over-expressing this gene the result is apple trees with red leaves and fruit with red flesh as well as red skin. High levels of anthocyanin are of interest as they have health benefits.
Another gene of interest is a rapidly-flowering gene, and every time the plant – which looks more like a climbing rose than an apple tree – tries to make a leaf it also tries to make a flower. This means the plant flowers for most of the year, rather than just once in spring, and the team can pollinate these flowers and produce apples for growing on whenever they want to.
“We’re talking about changing the breeding cycle of an apple from every seven years to just one year,” says Andrew. “So we’ve sped up the breeding programme seven-fold, by using this little plant.”
The team have also produced apples in which the ethylene gene has been knocked out, so that the plant no longer produces ethylene. Ethylene is responsible for ripening fruit, and a low-ethylene apple has a much longer shelf life, but will still respond and ripen when exposed to ethylene.
“What’s really exciting about these [low ethylene] trees is that we’ve been growing them for over ten years and we can do experiments with really fine control on understanding ethylene response,” says Andrew. “What happens in the first five minutes after you add ethylene, for example. We can understand all those changes and use that knowledge out in our existing apple cultivars that we have in Hawke’s Bay and all around the country.”
Plant and Food Research breed a wide range of fruit and berry crops, and Our Changing World has previously featured a story about their apricot breeding programme in Central Otago.
Topics: science, food
Regions:
Tags: genetic modification, GM, genes, plant breeding, apples
Duration: 15'38"
21:20
Shining a light on our biological clock
BODY:
Guy Warman, at the University of Auckland, explores how anaesthesia affects the body's biological clock and whether light therapy could help reduce sleep disruption post surgery.
EXTENDED BODY:
“All organisms that you choose to look at have got innate, endogenous biological clocks and those clocks are adjusted on a daily basis by light.
Guy Warman, University of Auckland
Sunlight is a powerful signal for our body. It drives our daily rhythms and sleep cycles, but this biological clock can get out of sync during general anaesthesia. The consequences for patients waking up after surgery include a sense of jet lag and disrupted sleep patterns, which in turn slow down the wound healing process and affect the immune system.
Guy Warman, at the University of Auckland's medical school, has been investigating why this is the case, and his team is now running a patient trial to see if light therapy could be used to prevent the circadian clock's disruption.
In earlier experiments, his team used honey bees and other animal models, and found that when bees are given a general anaesthetic, their clocks shifts and they, too, experience jet lag.
“We are clear that a period of anaesthesia during the day time in bees shifts them to a later time zone. They are effectively shifted from New Zealand to Sydney time.”
Even though the bees can see the position of the sub, they behave as if they were in a different time zone, flying in a direction that is offset by the time shift.
In the bees, the team has been able to monitor the switching on and off of several genes that control the circadian clock. “From looking at the expression patterns of those genes, we can show that that anaesthesia is acting directly on a molecular level to cause the jet lag."
The bee experiments also showed that light treatment during the anaesthesia prevented the time shift – and that has prompted Guy Warman to investigate whether light therapy during surgery could help patient recovery.
The team has launched a clinical trial with kidney donor patients, essentially healthy people who are undergoing major surgery, to see whether light-producing masks can help reduce the biological clock’s disruption.
The patients’ sleep patterns are monitored closely before and after surgery, and their body temperature is tracked to provide an even more accurate measure of circadian rhythms. One group receives light therapy during surgery, in the form of intermittent light signals during the operation, while another is given a placebo treatment.
We know that having disrupted sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms does compromise a whole range of different of things. Mood is the obvious one, but also more subtle things like immune function and wound healing. So if we can reduce the amount of disruption by something relatively trivial like light, then we might actually stand a chance of speeding up post-operative recovery.
Guy Warman is giving the first in the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Luminaries series of lectures around New Zealand in recognition of the International Year of Light.
Topics: science, health
Regions:
Tags: light, circadian rhythm, anaesthesia, biological clock, sleep cycles, jet lag, light therapy, International Year of Light, Royal Society of New Zealand
Duration: 11'58"
21:30
New Zealand's first national bee health survey
BODY:
Bees are in trouble and to get a better idea of might be contributing to colony loses, Landcare Research is calling on beekeepers to help with a national survey.
EXTENDED BODY:
Bees are in trouble around the world. In New Zealand, hive numbers are increasing because of growing interest in manuka honey, but even here, there has been a surge in unexplained colony losses.
Last spring, Coromandel beekeepers reported the disappearance of thousands of colonies of bees, reducing their honey harvest by half. Similar losses were reported in the Wairarapa, and the symptoms were consistent with colony collapse disorder, which has been blamed for decimating bee populations in the United States and Europe.
In New Zealand, several factors are blamed for the continued decline in bees, including diseases, pests, pesticides, starvation and overstocking, but to get a clearer idea of the causes, Landcare Research has launched New Zealand’s first national survey of bee health and is asking beekeepers to help protect the $5.1 billion industry.
Pike Brown, the director of the Bee Colony Loss and Survival Survey, says the online survey will gather baseline information about colony loss and survival to track changes in the future. "This is an opportunity for us to use an international standard to start tracking New Zealand's bees so we understand emerging problems for the New Zealand industry."
The survey adheres to international standards to allow for worldwide comparison. However, he says, it has been tailored to the needs of New Zealand beekeepers by including references to food sources such as manuka, and certain New Zealand-specific techniques to treat and monitor the Varroa mite.
This is a New Zealand specific survey, even though we allow for international comparisons. We have problems with habitat loss, we have increasing honey bee pests and diseases, there have been pollen shortages and bee malnutrition that stem from the shortage of declining floral resources, and I think that many would argue that pollination services that are provided by bees are not recognised. By starting to enter data into a survey like this and follow trends over time we'll be better able to understand the importance of bees and also how better to protect them.
All survey participants are assured of the confidentiality of their involvement. You can find some background about the survey, and a link to it, here.
Meanwhile, Australian researchers and the US computer company Intel have launched a high-tech collaboration to investigate bee health.
Intel is contributing the Intel® Edison Breakout Board kit, a customisable platform that is only slightly larger than a postage stamp, which will be distributed worldwide in the form of a bee micro-sensor kit as part of the Global Initiative for Honey bee Health.
The sensor will be placed inside beehives to monitor bee activity via tiny radio frequency identification tags that are placed on the bees’ backs. The sensors work in a similar way to a vehicle’s e-tag, recording when the insect passes the checkpoint.
Paulo de Souza, a science leader at CSIRO, says honey bees are essential for the pollination of about one third of the food we eat, including fruit, vegetables, oils, seeds and nuts, yet their health is under serious threat.
He says the data captured by the new sensor kits will provide valuable information to beekeepers, primary producers, industry groups and governments.
“Bee colonies are collapsing around the world and we don’t know why,” he says. “Due to the urgent and global nature of this issue, we saw the need to develop a methodology that any scientist could easily deploy. This way we can share and compare data from around the world to collaboratively investigate bee health.”
Topics: science, environment, economy
Regions:
Tags: bees, beekeeping, colony loss, bee decline, varroa mite, manuka honey, bee health
Duration: 10'57"
21:40
Viruses in invasive Argentine ants
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Ecologists at Victoria University have discovered that the invasive Argentine ants host a virus associated with bee deaths.
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Argentine ants (Linepthema humile) are an invasive pest that has spread throughout most of New Zealand. Now a team of biologists found that the ants are also a reservoir for a virus that is deadly to honeybees.
Argentine ants are listed among the 100 of the world’s worst invasive species, and they have established populations on every continent except Antarctica.
Some people refer to them as the Genghis Khan of the ant world. They come along and kill off all their competitors and other species within the area and take over the landscape.
Phil Lester, Victoria University
Phil Lester and his team joined forces with a group known as virus hunters at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research to analyse genomic data of Argentine ant populations in New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. They found that the ants host the deformed wing virus, which affects honeybees, but they also discovered a new virus, which holds potential as a biological control agent.
The team was motivated to look at the ants’ microbiome because they have monitored populations for many years and found that some may reach several hectares in size, but then shrink and sometimes completely die off. The question was whether there might be a pathogen, such as a virus, that causes the population decline.
Doctoral student Alexandra Sébastien says viruses have been involved in population crashes in other insect species, and the ultimate goal of her project is to find a virus that is specific to Argentine ants and could be used as a biological control agent.
The team may have a promising candidate in a virus they christened LHUV-1 (pronounced love-one).
“It is the first time it has been described in Argentine ants,” says Alexandra Sébastien. “We’re kind of hoping that we will not find it in other species. Our hope is that we will find it only in Argentine ants.”
Phil Lester says the discovery of the deformed wing virus highlights a bigger problem with invasive pests. The virus is deadly to honeybees, and is mostly transferred to the bees by the Varroa mite. However, he says it is now clear that the ants are another reservoir of the virus.
When a species comes into the country we tend to look at that as just an individual species. But it’s not. It’s got a whole microbiome associated with it … and some of that may well be deleterious to other organisms in the environment.
Topics: science, environment
Regions:
Tags: Argentine ants, invasive insect pests, honey bees, deformed wind virus, viral reservoir, biological pest control
Duration: 9'32"
21:45
East Antarctica not a 'sleeping giant'
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An expedition to east Antarctica's Totten glacier returns with evidence suggesting that east Antarctica may not be as resistant to melting as once thought.
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The West Antarctic ice sheet, the smaller of Antarctica’s two ice sheets, has long been thought of as fragile and at risk of melting as the oceans warm.
But Steve Rintoul, an Australian oceanographer who recently led an expedition to one of the continent’s largest glaciers, says the larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet is not the sleeping giant scientists had hoped. Instead it is just as sensitive to warming waters and could contribute significantly to future sea level rise.
“Antarctica holds so much ice that if all of it melted it would raise sea levels by 58 metres. We need to know what’s happening in Antarctica, because even the loss of a small amount of Antarctic ice could change sea levels by a significant amount.”
Dr Rintoul, from the Australian Climate and Environment Cooperative Research Centre in Hobart, led a voyage that became the first to sample the ocean alongside the Totten Glacier, which drains a large part of east Antarctica.
Until this voyage, no oceanographic measurements had been made within 50 kilometres of this glacier, one of the world’s largest and least understood glacial systems that holds enough water to raise sea levels by more than three metres.
Satellite measurements show that the Totten has been thinning faster than other glaciers in east Antarctica and Dr Rintoul says the ocean samples indicate that it is being melted by the oceans from below.
“What we found is that warm water does indeed reach the glacier. The ocean is quite deep in front of the glacier and that’s important because those deep channels allow warm water to reach the cavity.”
The expedition found a deep trough, about 1100 metres deep, “right in front of the nose of the Totten”, he says.
“We measured ocean temperatures and found that there is, at the bottom in this trough, a lens of relatively warm water. That water is several degrees warmer than would be required to melt ice, so there’s plenty of heat there to melt ice.”
An even bigger surprise was the discovery that warm water was covering the entire continental shelf around this part of East Antarctica.
“I think what’s important about these results is that there is a strong case now that east Antarctica is not immune to changes in the ocean and that east Antarctica is likely to make more of a contribution to future sea level rise than we thought,” says Dr Rintoul.
So far, the oceans have taken up 93 per cent of the warming caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The warming alone has already led to rising sea levels, because warmer water expands. But another consequence is that the warming seas have begun to melt Antarctic ice from below.
This has so far been most significant in West Antarctica, where the melting of some glaciers is now unstoppable, according to reports from NASA last year.
East Antarctica was considered more stable, but Dr Rintoul says three threads of evidence have challenged this view.
Satellite data clearly shows that East Antarctica is thinning in some parts. Measurements from aircraft that carried ice-penetrating radar instruments also show that the ice in east Antarctica is partly grounded below sea level, which makes it more vulnerable to ocean-driven melting. Lastly, Dr Rintoul says, there is evidence that past sea levels were about 20 metres higher than today during a period some three million years ago, known as the Piocene.
This was the last time in Earth’s history when carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were similar to today, and temperatures were two to three degrees higher. Dr Rintoul says even if both the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets had melted then, that would still not account for the 20 metres in sea level rise, suggesting that parts of east Antarctica had also disappeared.
“The single greatest uncertainty is projections of future sea level rise has been the behaviour of the ice sheets on Greenland and in Antarctica. All of this suggests that Antarctica will make a larger contribution to future sea level rise than we thought."
Steve Rintoul is in New Zealand this week to deliver the annual ST Lee lecture in Antarctic science.
Topics: science, environment, climate
Regions:
Tags: East Antarctic Ice Sheet, West Antarctic ice sheet, Totten Glacier, ocean warming, ice sheet melting, sea level rise
Duration: 13'30"
9:06 Our Changing World
Science and environment news from New Zealand and the world.
10:17 Late Edition
A review of the leading news from Morning Report, Nine to Noon, Afternoons and Checkpoint. Also hear the latest news from around the Pacific on Radio New Zealand International's Dateline Pacific.
11:06 Music 101 pocket edition
A contemporary music magazine with interviews and music from New Zealand and overseas artists, coverage of new releases, tours, live sessions, music festivals and events.
=PLAYLIST=
Artist: Age Pryor
Original Nights Theme: Curious Boy
Composer: Age Pryor
Album: City Chorus
Label: Loop Played At: 7:12pm
Hip-Hop - Sampling
Artist: Lou Reed
Song: Walk On The Wild Side
Composer: L. Reed
Album: The Very Best of Lou Reed
Label: BMG
Artist: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Song: Sunshower
Album: Kid Creole: Going Places – The August Darnell Years 1974-1983
Label: Strut
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Song: Can I Kick It?
Composer: K. Fareed, A Muhammad, L. Reed
Album: The Anthology
Label: Zomb
Artist: Michael McDonald
Song: I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)
Composer: Michael McDonald, Ed Sanford, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Album: Michael McDonald
Label: Warner
Artist: Warren G. Ft. Nate Dogg
Song: Regulate
Album: Regulate
Label: Interscope
Artist: Bill Withers
Song: Lovely Day
Composer: B. Withers, S. Scarborough
Album: Lean On Me The Best of Bill Withers
Label: Columbia
Artist: T.W.D.Y
Song: Player’s Holiday
Silver Scroll winners
Artist: The Swingers
Song: Counting The Beat
Composer: The Swingers
Album: Multi-Love
Label: Mushroom Played At: 10:55pm
Artist: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Song: Multi-Love
Composer: Neilson, Neilson
Album: Multi-Love
Label: Jagjaguwar Played At: 8:08pm and 11:57pm
===10:00 PM. | Late Edition===
=DESCRIPTION=
Radio New Zealand news, including Dateline Pacific and the day's best interviews from Radio New Zealand National
===11:06 PM. | Music 101===
=DESCRIPTION=
Music, interviews, live performances, behind the scenes, industry issues, career profiles, new, back catalogue, undiscovered, greatest hits, tall tales - with a focus on NZ (RNZ)