RNZ: This Way Up

Peter Griffin beams in with the latest from the world of technology. This week, Telecom slashes mobile roaming charges, and the internet radio service Pandora re-launches in New Zealand.

The quest to breed the perfect Christmas tree. Professor Gary Chastagner of Washington State University is trying to find the genes associated with needle shedding.

Acne is one of the joys of growing up, and you can blame it all on the hormone testosterone. Jeff Lowe sees lots of spots in his work as a GP at Karori Medical Centre.

Dreamland is the name of David K. Randall's book about his adventures in the strange science of sleep.

Professor Arthur Stone of Stony Brook University's been measuring how people feel on different days of the week, with some surprising results.

Lynn Perkins of UrbanSitter.com is trying to move babysitting into the digital age by connecting parents and babysitters through Facebook and their existing networks.

Professor Paul Thomas of Loughborough University developed the trapped human simulator; it's a way to test an electronic nose that can smell for signs of life underneath collapsed buildings.

Can you tell the age of someone just from their personal aroma? Johan Lundstrom of the Monell Chemical Senses Center is working in the area.

The history of body odour. Sarah Everts has been looking at the history of smelling good for Smithsonian.com.

Sharknet is a new app that can tell you where great white sharks and other ocean predators are in the sea. With Dr. Randy Kochevar of Stanford University.

If you have a social conscience how easy is it to tell if your Kiwisaver money is getting ethically invested? With Chris Douglas, the co-head of Fund Research at Morningstar Australasia and Amanda Morrall the personal finance editor at interest.co.nz.

Magnets are great for holding photos and postcards on the fridge but they're even better at converting electrical energy into physical movement! Richard Webb of the New Scientist has been looking at why magnets are in such demand and why we're running out of supplies.

First it was music and films, then journalism and shopping. Now tertiary education is set to be disrupted by the internet as many universities start putting their content online for free. Dennis Viehland is an associate professor at Massey University who's interested in the area.

Rachel Taulelei from Yellow Brick Road chats about the blue cod; the fish that eats just about anything, and is great panfried.

Food writer Bee Wilson covers a host of kitchen and food-related innovations, including chopsticks and the gas-fired oven, in her book 'Consider the Fork: A History of Invention in the Kitchen' (Particular Books).