New Zealand's productivity could be boosted if more people working in the construction industry understood basic management principles, says University of Auckland Civil Engineering Associate Professor Suzanne Wilkinson.

The New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) is warning of serious repercussions for the health of young New Zealanders with the closure of the 198 Youth Health Centre in Christchurch.

A special "gym" designed by University of Auckland student Casey Jowers to exercise human bone cells in the laboratory could help to develop better drug therapies for osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

A wireless green energy system to supply the home and the car is being designed by University of Auckland engineering research fellow Duleepa Thrimawithana.

US angel investment expert Bill Payne has taken two student interns under his wing for 10 weeks of his 6-month residency with The Icehouse, the University of Auckland's business growth centre.

"My GP cares enough about the fact that I am smoking to send me a letter. This has made me think again about the effects it is having on my health," say smokers in a new study.

Some of New Zealand's most brilliant minds have been honoured in the first annual Prime Minister's Science Prizes, the country's most prestigious and valuable science awards.

Staff and students shouldn't be competing for the same money, says TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs.

A call is going out for people needing funding for research and other projects to help with New Zealand's number one disability - hearing impairment - to apply to the Oticon Foundation now.

Price discounts are more effective than nutrition education in encouraging people to buy healthier foods, according to New Zealand research that is the first of its kind internationally.