Monday, February 9

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Nobel prize for medicine goes to US duo Ambros and Ruvkun who discovered microRNA
World News

Nobel prize for medicine goes to US duo Ambros and Ruvkun who discovered microRNA

By Niklas Pollard, Ludwig Burger, Jonathan Allen, Reuters Nobel prize for medicine winners Victor Ambros (left) and Gary Ruvkun (right). Photo: AFP/JOSEPH PREZIOSO US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in how multicellular organisms grow and live. Their work helped explain how cells specialise and develop into different types, such as muscle and nerve cells, even though all the cells in an individual contain the same set of genes and instructions for growing and staying alive. "The Nobel's, you know, there's a word we use for Major League Baseball, it's called 'The Show'. Which means it's not any show, it's THE show," Ruvkun told Reuters, describing what it was like being thrust into th...
Landlord fails in bid to evict 80-year-old tenant over $5000 unpaid rent
Business

Landlord fails in bid to evict 80-year-old tenant over $5000 unpaid rent

A single person living alone got $519 in the pension per week. Photo: Yuri Arcurs / 123RF An 80-year-old woman who has agreed to pay her landlord an extra $100 a fortnight for the next 45 fortnights to clear her rent debt is one of a growing number of struggling pensioners, budgeting advisers say. The woman was before the Tenancy Tribunal recently, owing $4489 in rent arrears for a Clover Park home. Her landlord wanted to terminate the tenancy, but she argued she should repay the debt instead. She was paying $510 a week in rent and had been renting the property since October 2023. A single person living alone got $519 in the pension per week. She told the tribunal she was prone to being forgetful and had undergone two significant surgeries on her arms since the beginning of the tenancy,...
Powerful Hurricane Milton takes aim at Tampa as Florida braces for fresh blow
World News

Powerful Hurricane Milton takes aim at Tampa as Florida braces for fresh blow

By Brendan O'Brien, Reuters Residents board up a store in St. Petersburg ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall in the middle of this week in Florida. Photo: BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP As Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm, Floridians scrambled to prepare for its arrival this week near Tampa, where it may bring blistering winds, life-threatening storm surge and torrential rains to the Gulf Coast for the second time in two weeks. Milton strengthened to the most powerful category of storms as it churned through the southwest Gulf of Mexico, about 1183km from Tampa. It was packing sustained winds of up to 257kph, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was expected to turn northeast on Wednesday (NZT) and head toward the populous Tampa-St. Petersburg area, making l...
Vitamin C deficiency in elderly can cause abnormal bleeding, fatigue: Study
Health

Vitamin C deficiency in elderly can cause abnormal bleeding, fatigue: Study

Older adults suffering from abnormal bleeding, fatigue, and weakness, must be assessed for scurvy -- a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, suggests a study on Monday. Detailing a case study of a 65-year-old woman with mobility issues and social isolation, the study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) showed that scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, is not just an 18th-century seafarers’ disease. Researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada implored clinicians to consider scurvy in patients with abnormal bleeding and nonspecific symptoms. The elderly patient visited the emergency department at a downtown Toronto hospital for leg pain and weakness, skin lesions, and discoloration. She also had several chronic health conditions. Mobility issues restricted her ...
Mainfreight beats expectations with an 8.6% revenue increase
Business

Mainfreight beats expectations with an 8.6% revenue increase

Mainfreight said profits have improved since last year. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Transport heavyweight Mainfreight says the first half of its financial year has beaten expectations with an 8.5 percent increase in revenue to $2.55 billion. However, underlying profit for the six months ended September was expected to be down 9.3 percent on the year earlier to $158.5 million. The investor update follows a big drop in Mainfreight's full-year profit for the year ended March, as global trade conditions returned to normal from the peak demand period during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said the second half of the calendar year was better than 2023, with volumes and shipments up across all its divisions, and new customers having created opportunities for margin improvement. Geopolitic...
Too good to be true? New study shows why people reject freebies
Business

Too good to be true? New study shows why people reject freebies

By Andrew Vonasch* of The cookies study was just one of ten experiments involving 4205 participants in the United States and Iran. Photo: AFP / Jean-Christophe Riou If you're offered a free cookie, you might say yes. But if you're paid to eat a free cookie, would your response be the same? In our [new research] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672241235687, twice as many people were willing to eat a cookie when they weren't offered payment compared with when they were. From a purely economic perspective, our findings reflect irrational decision making. Objectively, a cookie plus money is better than just a cookie. But people aren't purely economic. They're social animals with a tendency to look for hidden reasons behind other people's behaviours. In th...
What would it take to make ecocide an international crime?
World News

What would it take to make ecocide an international crime?

Earth sits in dried cracked mud before metropolis Photo: Bruce Rolff Three of New Zealand's Pacific neighbours have asked the International Criminal Court to consider "ecocide" an international crime. In September, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa made a formal submission to the world's highest court, asking it to put the worst environmental destruction by humans on a par with genocide and crimes against humanity. It follows a push in recent years to make ecocide a globally punishable offence and moves by some countries - particularly in Europe - to include it in their own statutes. So what kind of destruction would "ecocide" apply to? And what's the process the ICC has to follow? Stop Ecocide International chief executive Jojo Mehta told Nine to Noon host Kathryn Ryan the term was coined in th...
‘Better outcomes for customers’- FMA targets insurers and banks
Business

‘Better outcomes for customers’- FMA targets insurers and banks

The Financial Markets Authority has filed proceedings against eight firms for law breaches since 2018. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson More banks and insurers could face court proceedings and possible penalties for misleading and overcharging customers. The Financial Markets Authority has filed proceedings against eight firms for law breaches since it increased scrutiny of the sector in 2018. On Monday, AA Insurance was hit with a $6.2m penalty - the largest yet - for failing to apply discounts and no claims bonuses. Penalties have also been issued against insurers Cigna, AIA, the Medical Assurance Society and Vero; and banks, ANZ and Kiwibank; and total $17.46m. FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said it was working on possible legal action against in several other cas...
Nearly 1000 tonnes of diesel on sunken Manawanui
World News

Nearly 1000 tonnes of diesel on sunken Manawanui

The Manawanui sank off the south coast of the island of Upolu on Saturday. Photo: Supplied / Profile Boats Nearly 1000 tonnes of diesel fuel were onboard HMNZS Manawanui when it sank, the Chief of Navy says. The Manawanui sank off the south coast of the island of Upolu on Saturday, after running aground, catching fire and capsizing. The immediate focus was on the safety and recovery of its crew, with attention now turning to salvage and environmental mitigation. Rear admiral Garin Golding told Morning Report there were different types of fuel on board the ship, the largest being 950 tonnes of automotive gas oil. "It is a diesel fuel ... a light oil of commercial diesel quantities." A dive team will on Tuesday assess the condition of the stricken ship and if there are any leaks, he said....
Planning to downsize your home? Not so fast
Business

Planning to downsize your home? Not so fast

The number of households containing only one person increased by almost 120,000 in 10 years. Photo: RNZ Many New Zealanders plan to downsize from big family homes when they reach retirement - but it sometimes proves harder than expected. It's an issue that has been highlighted by the Retirement Commission, which said there was evidence people found it difficult to downsize due to a lack of appropriate properties. It said there needed to be new ways to stimulate the supply of "affordable and accessible accommodation options for older people". The commission said three-bedroom family homes or newer multi-level terraced housing would not cater for the changing demands of an older population. Data in the long-term insights briefing from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development shows th...