Siouxsie Wiles

Contributing writer

Dr Siouxsie Wiles is an Associate Professor and head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland. She and her team make nasty bacteria glow in the dark to find new medicines and to study how bacteria evolve to cause disease. Siouxsie recently published her first book, Antibiotic Resistance: the End of Modern Medicine? She is also a keen blogger, tweeter and podcaster and is the 2021 Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year.

Society

May 15, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: There's a lot of vaccine BS around. Here's why I won't be debunking it

Siouxsie Wiles wants to talk about all the 'fake news' about vaccines that’s floating around and popping into people’s letterboxes. But don’t expect her to debunk it.

Society

May 3, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Are NZ MIQ facilities really four times more at risk of breach than Australia's?

A new paper compares outbreaks from border facilities on both sides of the Tasman.

Society

Apr 12, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: The data behind the decision to suspend arrivals from India in NZ

The temporary halt on travel from India to New Zealand is unprecedented. But so is the state of Covid-19 in India.

Science

Mar 26, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: One year on, we’re still learning about NZ’s first cases of Covid-19

A study published today confirms that our first official case was not in fact our first case.

Science

Mar 20, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: The great Covid bin lid mystery – solved

It all comes down to adjacent rooms and a domestic flight, new research suggests.

Society

Mar 9, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Reflections from the rollercoaster, one year after my first collaboration with Toby Morris

Twelve whiplash months on, Siouxsie ranks the good, the not so good, and the downright ridiculous.

Society

Feb 28, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Why this new case means level three – and, please, don’t misdirect your anger

Pause for a moment on today's anniversary of the first case to reflect on what could have been.

Science

Feb 24, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 works

Today the NZ vaccination programme begins in earnest, with the first doses provided to border workers. Why is that so important? Siouxsie and Toby spell it out.

Science

Feb 20, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: The Covid vaccine is a delicious great big slice of cheese

Today the NZ vaccination programme begins in earnest, with the first doses provided to border workers. Why is that so important? Siouxsie and Toby spell it out.

Science

Feb 17, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How NZ sleuths are investigating the new mystery Covid cases

One study suggests that the virus could be present, for a short time at least, on fabric items used by infectious people.

Science

Feb 15, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered

Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face as Auckland is plunged into a fresh lockdown.

Science

Feb 5, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Covid-19 transmission 101

Our understanding of the way Covid-19 is transmitted from person to person has changed a lot since the pandemic began. A year in, here's what we now know.

Science

Jan 29, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: What do we know about Covid transmission via pipes and ventilation?

Is it plausible that the new cases contracted in the Pullman hotel in Auckland were transmitted via pipes? Here's what the science tells us.

Science

Jan 26, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How worried should we be about the new Covid-19 mutations?

The new Northland case has been linked to the South African strain of Covid-19, one of a number of new, more contagious Covid variants. Here's how they emerge and why.

Society

Jan 18, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: The Plan B implosion – what Brazil teaches us about the herd immunity hogwash

The experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is.

Science

Jan 14, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: What the new, more infectious strains of Covid-19 mean for us

If these new variants of the virus get out, they'll spread like wildfire.

Society

Dec 22, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: How the Sydney cluster grew – and what it could mean for NZ

The speed at which Sydney's new Covid-19 outbreak has spread should be a lesson in the dangers of complacency, says Siouxsie Wiles.

Science

Dec 21, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: Just how worrying is the new Covid-19 strain for Britain – and the rest of us?

Boris Johnson has announced that the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed from next week. How did that happen, and are they cutting corners?

Society

Dec 18, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: What you need to know about NZ’s big vaccine play

What yesterday's announcement means, and what comes next for New Zealand and its Pacific neighbours.

Society

Dec 4, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: Britain’s emergency rush to a vaccine rollout, explained

Boris Johnson has announced that the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed from next week. How did that happen, and are they cutting corners?

Science

Nov 23, 2020

Aches on a plane – new findings on in-flight Covid transmission revealed

A new New Zealand study offers some important lessons on how the coronavirus can spread aboard an aircraft.

Science

Nov 15, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: Koch’s postulates, Covid, and misinformation rabbit holes

Take a 19th century German scientist, a 21st century disease and add internet: the result is a dangerous upsurge in Covid-denial nonsense.

Te Hiringa Hauora

Nov 13, 2020

The astonishing, life-saving power of immunisation

Siouxsie Wiles explains why she immunises, and the commitment you make to the community when you do.

Science

Nov 11, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: The vaccine news is great, but here’s the catch

Siouxsie Wiles takes on some important questions around this promising development.

Science

Oct 22, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Covid-19 and the Swiss cheese system

If it's elimination of the virus we're after, we're going to need all the cheese.

Society

Oct 20, 2020

Siouxsie Wiles: Don’t fall for the Covid contrarians

A small but vocal movement calling for the end of lockdown restrictions is gaining steam globally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why such an approach would be a bad idea.

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