Kevin Milne: Does dancing at parties lead to a longer life?

This is a native organism. Firmly established in NZ, it’s origin could be from overseas (or an ancient continent like Gondwanaland), but it got here, somehow, on its own accord (flying, drifting on logs, floating in the air, etc) without assistance from humans (luggage, commercial goods, planes, boats, smuggled, imported, etc). It’s what we call an endemic species. Endemic means it naturally occurs only in New Zealand, nowhere else, unless it has been introduced there. It is therefore a Native organism that is really special as it has been part of our ecosystems for many, many years (millions of years). Here’s an example of one of our endemic species which will stand up in your garden: Metrosideros carminea. The carmine rātā. It flowers right now and can be absolutely stunning!

Spring has sprung, which many are taking as their cue to do a bit of deep cleaning – including Kate Hall. What's in my spring cleaning cupboard? Eco cleaning products: much better for your health, better for the environment (no nasties running down your sink), and cost effective too. Ecostore products. They have great accessible ones you can buy at the supermarket, plus refill at some supermarkets and some bulk bin stores – or their flagship store in Freemans Bay. Figgy & Co products. An epic alternative to the classic Jif. Made from baking soda and castile soap with a few drops of essential oils for a nice smell (this is my favourite cleaning product that really gets the job done!). Using old toothbrushes to clean things. Bamboo cleaning brushes. Old t-shirts/rags to clean instead of buying brand new. Try The Green Collective compostable dish cloths if you're buying new cloths to clean with.

What is tetanus and how do you get it? Tetanus is a serious, life-threatening disease, caused by a bacteria called Clostridium tetani. It's found in the environment – soil, dust, and animal faeces. It enters the body through a break in the skin – puncture wounds (standing on a nail), a cut, burn, or wound contaminated with soil. Especially deep puncture wounds but can occur from relatively minor injuries. Working in the garden or around rusty metal is a particular risk - you cannot catch it from someone else.

It was a rough week on the internet for security PHP, the widely used programming language that Wordpress is built on, has a severe vulnerability that was announced this week. It would effectively let an attacker take over your server. By some estimates, up to 70% of the world's websites run on PHP. The NSA advised that all applications and servers running PHP should be taken offline until they're patched. In addition, the US laboratory company Quest Diagnostics said patient records have been accessed, they just don't know yet how many or how widespread. So that's sensitive blood test result data. The only thing worse would be doctors' notes.

Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald This documentary traces the life and career of the stand-up and Saturday Night Live legend, from his rise as the deadpan anchor of “Weekend Update” to his enduring legacy as a comedian’s comedian — a master of absurd, dry, and unexpected humour. Built from archival footage, personal photos, and rare home videos contributed by fans and friends, the documentary lets Norm tell his own story in his own voice (Netflix).