Check out our new site currently under development, combining the Biotechnology and Science Learning Hubs with a new look and new functionality.

Skip to page content

Site navigation

2012 Archive

Looking for a news story about biotechnology in New Zealand? Browse our news archive from 2012.

  • Biodegradable electronics

    18/12/2012

    A multinational team of scientists from the US, Korea and China has developed a new class of electronics capable of dissolving harmlessly in water or bodily fluids after a predetermined amount of time.

  • Waging war on acne

    11/12/2012

    Scientists in the US have demonstrated the effectiveness of 11 phages (viruses that infect bacteria) living on our skin that naturally seek and destroy Propionibacterium acnes, the bacterial culprit behind acne.

  • CarbonScape cleans up at global green contest

    06/12/2012

    Blenheim-based carbon-refining company CarbonScape was runner-up in a global green technology contest in New York, organised and sponsored by the United Postcode Lotteries in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).

  • Life on Mars?

    27/11/2012

    A New Zealand biotechnology company is interested in data from Curiosity rover on Mars. There is potential value in the enzymes that could be extracted from any microbes found there.

  • Cyborg tissues: reality imitates fiction again

    20/11/2012

    Researchers in the United States are developing artificial tissues that may eventually be able to monitor and improve health at the cellular level.

  • Potential treatment of type 1 diabetes with BCG vaccine

    13/11/2012

    A group of researchers in the USA have found that Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a 90-year-old tuberculosis vaccine, may hold the key to treating type 1 diabetes.

  • Bee-fing up royal jelly

    06/11/2012

    Scientists in Taiwan have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly.

  • NZ bladder cancer detection test validated

    30/10/2012

    Dunedin-based diagnostic test company Pacific Edge announced the results of independent clinical tests that show that its bladder cancer detection test Cxbladder was at least as accurate as any other available methods.

  • Sweating the small stuff

    23/10/2012

    Researchers from Ireland and New Zealand have developed a detection system for biological matter down to femtomolar concentration levels using a qNano device made by New Zealand’s Izon Science.

  • EPA rules cosmetics with nanomaterials to be labelled

    16/10/2012

    The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has decided that, if a cosmetic product contains nanomaterials, it must be labelled as such. The products include sunscreens and a small range of make-up and anti-ageing creams.

  • IRL help Synlait make medicinal milk

    10/10/2012

    Earlier in 2012, Canterbury milk-powder manufacturer Synlait Milk announced the production of a new milk powder designed to assist people with sleep disorders.

  • Biotech companies tackle genetic eye disease

    03/10/2012

    Aussie biotechnology company Benitec Biopharma is teaming up with Ireland-based biotech Genable Technologies to further a treatment for a genetic eye disease.

  • Automatic milking popular with early adopters in NZ

    25/09/2012

    Adoption of automatic milking systems (AMS) is rapidly increasing internationally, and New Zealand farmers are beginning to follow suit.

  • Stem cells beat diabetes in mice

    19/09/2012

    Scientists have shown that human stem cell transplants can successfully restore insulin production and reverse diabetes in mice.

  • Needle-free jet injections

    06/09/2012

    Researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a needle-free jet injector.

  • The good oil on wood

    30/08/2012

    Scientists at Scion have been finding ways to stop mould growing in homes and at the same time preserve timber using non-toxic treatments.

  • NZ-developed MS drug moves to second clinical trial

    21/08/2012

    A New Zealand-developed drug to help people with chronic, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is having positive results according to the developers and overseers of the drug’s first round of clinical trials.

  • Bioreactor battles inflammation

    14/08/2012

    Researchers have developed a small, external bioreactor that makes and pumps out an anti-inflammatory protein to prevent organ damage.

  • Viral generation: making electricity from viruses

    07/08/2012

    A team of scientists from the University of California has worked out how to make electricity using harmless viruses and mechanical energy.

  • ACSRC receives commercialisation gong

    24/07/2012

    In early May 2012, the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC) received a medal to recognise the centre’s on-going success with commercialising their research.

Return to top