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Nine To Noon for Thursday 17 November 2016

 

 

09:05 Is a star rating system for buildings the way forward?

Kathryn Ryan talks with prominent earthquake engineer, Dr David Hopkins, who says it's time for a change in the way we rate buildings, following this week's 7.8 magnitude earthquake. She also talks with the President of the Society of Earthquake Engineers, Paul Campbell.

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61 Molesworth Street in Wellington. One of the building's main support beams snapped in half after Monday's magnitude 7.8 quake. Photo: RNZ / Mei Heron

09:20 Gene editing, implications for NZ

Gene editing has the potential to bring huge benefits to New Zealand, including in healthcare, agriculture and conservation. What are the social, ethical & legal issues, especially when it comes to the biggest and most controversial aspect - editing human genes. Kathryn Ryan talks to Barry Scott, Professor of Genetics at Massey University, who is heading up a new panel convened by the Royal Society of New Zealand. 

Credit: Royal Society

Credit: Royal Society

Credit: Royal Society

Gene editing infographic. Credit: Royal Society

Gene editing infographic. Credit: Royal Society

CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing complex from Streptococcus pyogenes. Credit:Science Photo Library

Gene-editing could improve the ability of immune cells to attack cancer. Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library

 

What is Gene Editing ?

09:45 UK correspondent Dame Ann Leslie

Dame Ann Leslie on the Oxford Dictionary's International Word of the Year -"Post-Truth": when a person's views and decisions are based solely on emotion, fake  news stories and cyber security in the NHS.

10:05 Royal Society Fellow Hinke Osinga on maths and crochet

Kathryn Ryan speaks to the Royal Society's first female mathematician to be made a fellow, Professor Hinke Osinga. Now at the University of Auckland, Hinke Osinga specialises in dynamical systems theory, and the prediction of behaviour that changes with time. In 2004 she created a crocheted representation of a mathematical equation - the Lorenz Manifold.

Lorenz Manifold

Hinke Osinga and Bernd Krauskopf with crochet of Lorenz Manifold

Lorenz Manifold

Lorenz Manifold

 

10:35 Book review - "The Dark Flood Rises" by Margaret Drabble

Reviewed by Catriona Fergusson, published by Text Publishing.

10:45 The Reading

The Path to Nowhere a short story by Liz Breslin read by Loren Taylor.

11:05 New technology with Robbie Allan

Robbie Allan on the influence of Facebook and fake news on the US election.

Links: Post-truth is word of the year in Oxford Dictionary  http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37995600
•    Back-story on FB's impact on news: http://www.vox.com/2014/5/22/5742148/facebook-product-director-furious-at-facebook-s-effect-on-news
•    Overview of the issue: http://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/11/16/13637310/facebook-fake-news-explained
•    Technical: https://stratechery.com/
•    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-09/facebook-and-twitter-contend-with-their-role-in-trump-s-victory

 

11:25  Parenting through earthquakes & tsunami warnings

Massey University Associate Professor in Disaster Mental Health, Psychologist Sarb Johal talks to Kathryn Ryan about parenting through earthquakes and tsunami warnings.

11:45 Viewing with Tamar Munch

Tamar Munch looks at the finalists in the second NZ Webfest competition including K' Rd stories - a series of 10 short stories set on Auckland's most notorious street and Lovely Little Losers - A literary-inspired webseries of William Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Lost'.