Traditional Chinese medicine: Eye of newt and toe of frog

‘Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble’ chant the three witches in the cavern, lightening flashing outside, in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It’s images like these, conjured up by the great bard himself, that I associate with traditional Chinese medicines and herbal remedies.

The implied promise that if I take this concoction, my health and life will improve, is a powerful allure to many people, but does this ‘hell-broth’ really contain the ‘eye of newt and toe of frog’ as it promises or is it just fairy dust, or even something much worse? Continue reading “Traditional Chinese medicine: Eye of newt and toe of frog”

Will the real frog please stand up…

Luke Easton, a PhD student from our laboratory studying Conservation Palaeontology, is about to drop into Martinborough’s Cave of Bones.

Abseiling into the tomo he is assaulted by the putrid rich smell and sight of rotting sheep carcases that lie between him and his treasure. You see, Luke is on the hunt for the bones of some of the smallest members of New Zealand’s lost biodiversity club: Leiopelma frogs, one of our taonga that few New Zealander’s will be lucky enough to see. Once through the sheep carcass soup and a tight squeeze, laid out before him along the cave passage were the remains of moa, kakapo, kiwi, takahe, tuatara and the tiniest of frogs. Continue reading “Will the real frog please stand up…”

‘Honey, I’m related to Genghis Khan’: the hype around ancestral DNA testing

Television documentaries focusing on the use of ancestral DNA to reveal hidden mysteries in family trees are becoming increasingly popular. However, in our house they are known as ‘the time Daddy rants at the TV’.

Quite frequently, you will hear me exclaim to my kids ‘You can’t say that!’ or ‘There’s no evidence to support that’, before I throw my hands up in exasperation. Despite the genomic revolution having swept through science and the popularity of testing for ancestral DNA, there is still a lot of hype and misconception surrounding the field. So, what is the hype and should we be concerned? Continue reading “‘Honey, I’m related to Genghis Khan’: the hype around ancestral DNA testing”

What’s in a name: the importance of naming biodiversity

‘What’s in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other word would smell as sweet’ wrote the bard when he penned Romeo and Juliet. Names are important. They evoke emotions, power, a sense of pride and ownership. Names can transcend language barriers and allow global communication of science. Naming biodiversity is no different. Continue reading “What’s in a name: the importance of naming biodiversity”

Ancient DNA giveth and ancient DNA taketh away: The penguin that never was

Dr Nic Rawlence & Tess Cole, University of Otago

Australian politics is mired in a duel-citizenship scandal. Certain politicians have discovered that they are in fact part kiwi and accusations of interference in Australian politics are flying. This trans-Tasman identity shock, however, is not unique to Australian politicians. Now new ancient DNA research has surprisingly shown it’s also found in Australia’s penguins as well. Continue reading “Ancient DNA giveth and ancient DNA taketh away: The penguin that never was”

Hiding in plain sight: how we found New Zealand’s newest seabird, the Kōhatu Shag

New Zealand was once a land of birds. A bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis of different species that had evolved in isolation until the arrival of humans. Scientists thought we knew the characters that made up this enigmatic ecosystem of a time long past, but we were wrong.

Hiding in plain sight, in fossil deposits throughout Northland, and natural history collections, was an entirely new species of seabird, the Kōhatu Shag, albeit sadly extinct. This research has just been published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution and included collaborators from the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory (University of Otago), Arizona State University, Birds New Zealand, Auckland Museum, Canterbury Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Continue reading “Hiding in plain sight: how we found New Zealand’s newest seabird, the Kōhatu Shag”

Introducing the Poūwa: New Zealand’s unique and ill-fated black swan 

Step inside a TARDIS and travel to prehistoric New Zealand and the landscape looked very different.

Moa roamed the forests, Haast’s Eagle soared in the sky and you would have met a very tall, heavy and potentially grumpy swan. This is the Poūwa – New Zealand’s newest species discovered by my team (published today in Proceedings B) including collaborators from the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory (University of Otago), Canterbury Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. But how did we get to this point? Continue reading “Introducing the Poūwa: New Zealand’s unique and ill-fated black swan “