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For the past several years, through the NUTRIMUM study, Te Puna Toiora | UC’s Mental Health and Nutrition Research group has been investigating the effect that micronutrient supplementation, and maternal depression and anxiety can have on infant development. One of the aspects of interest in this research has been the collection of microbiome samples from mothers and infants, in...

At the University of Canterbury​’s GeoHealth Lab, Geography Professor Simon Kingham and his team study interesting connections between geography and health: how where you live and the characteristics of the nearby environment can influence health outcomes.

The discipline of town planning spans back to when humans first started to live in permanent settlements. As anyone who has been flatting will know, once more than about two people start living together some decisions need to be made. Who gets what bedroom? How should we allocate chores? In ancient Greece a guy called Hippodamus came through to...

This Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori | Māori Language Week 2019, Taryn Hale showcases the importance of traditional kai in Te Whare Tapa Whā, the Māori wellbeing model.

We can now create a close up image of light bending around a 6.5 billion solar mass black hole 55 million light years away. Wow! This discovery, like that of gravitational waves a few years ago, marks another important milestone in understanding the strong gravity of black holes. It is also a red letter day for Canterbury Distinguished Professor Roy Kerr,...

Volcanoes are one of the most fascinating features on the surface of the Earth. We have come a long way from the time when Jules Verne fantasized about travelling through volcano tubes in his book “Journey to the Centre of The Earth”. However, the plumbing system of volcanoes still remain a mystery. Human civilization has neither the knowledge nor...

Estuarine mudflats are usually seen as bare and fruitless wastelands, but in fact, they rank as one of the most productive habitats on Earth. They provide food for vast numbers of shorebirds and supply us with tasty shellfish. Mudflats also play a pivotal role in filtering coastal waters from various pollutants that we put there. These ecosystem services would...

Disasters, both natural (e.g., earthquakes, floods) and human-made (e.g., terrorism, civil strife), affect communities worldwide, often causing immense disruption and suffering, and lasting psychological injuries. Living and working in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand has meant we have had our fair share of traumas, but then also the opportunity to study the effect of nutrients on our resilience. For example, on February...

Kia ora! My name is Ella and I am a third year Chemistry and Environmental Science student at the University of Canterbury. I am super passionate about science, sustainability and understanding our changing climate. This summer I was lucky enough to spend three weeks interning with scientists at NIWA through the BLAKE Ambassadorship programme. In the little rural town of...

Welcome to the UC Science Blog! This is a new platform for academics, staff and students from the University of Canterbury’s College of Science to communicate their science. We aim to curate news and insights from our labs, field stations and beyond, including the latest research, expert commentary on current issues, outreach updates and more. We are looking for contributors so if you...