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The strange parasitic plant genus Rafflesia faces a number of conservation challenges, including habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. Learning more about these rare species is a crucial step in informing the conservation management of Rafflesia.

Each year during the wet season, the Amazon river rises to create an internationally significant wetland, that's nearly three times the size of New Zealand. Professor Matthew Wilson shares a view from the field while studying the flow dynamics of the largest river in the world..

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...

Art and science are more intricately linked than we usually imagine. Both are driven by the innate human need to make sense of things. As artists and scientists, we want to understand the vast, complex world around us better. We're also curious about the mysteries of our internal world. Art and science both involve stepping boldly into the unknown. The...

The Elaine P. Snowden Astronomy School is an annual  five-day camp for Year 12 and 13 students interested in studying Astronomy or Physics at university. This year, the programme ran from 13-17 April, with 20 students selected from all over New Zealand. With a mix of seminars and practical work, the students were immersed in various topics in astronomy...

Currently, there is considerable interest around the impacts that agriculture is having on water quality. Nationwide the focus has been on highlighting the issues but little attention has been paid to what the solutions might be. The Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment (CAREX)* is a stream restoration project that has focused on finding solutions. CAREX has been running since 2013, designing and trialling...

Dr. Spider, aka Fiona Cross, made an appearance on More FM, opening up about her journey into the world of spiders and why you have seen more of them in your home recently 🎙️🕸️ Did you know spiders slow down in colder conditions? She discusses how as the temperature drops, spiders seek refuge indoors, searching for dark spots to escape...

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...

The notion that good nutrition is good for the brain is not a new idea. What is relatively new is that, until recently, there were very few well conducted studies examining whether a broad spectrum approach using doses of nutrients higher than what you could get out of a daily diet, could treat a mental disorder. At our lab at...

Ernest Rutherford was the creator of modern atomic and nuclear physics - one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century. He started at University of Canterbury (then called Canterbury College) in 1890. After three degrees and two years research at the forefront of the electrical technology of the day, he won an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship, which he took...