The climate crisis lingers in the back of Gemma Gutierrez’s mind, a gnawing anxiety that blossoms fully when she reads about wildfires, flooding or other climate-related disasters. It’s a nagging concern that clouds how the 16-year-old sees her future. “I have a sense of dread,” says Gutierrez, who […]
A team of researchers from ETH Zurich has for the first time used simulations on the CSCS supercomputer Piz Daint to investigate how certain aging mechanisms of soot particles in the atmosphere affect cloud formation. The results show that the influence of ozone and sulfuric acid on soot […]
Rescuers and volunteers were racing to save about 100 pilot whales stranded on Sri Lanka’s western coast in the country’s biggest mass beaching. The short-finned pilot whales began beaching at Panadura, 15 miles (25km) south of Colombo, shortly before dusk. Within an hour their numbers swelled to about 100, […]
Russia’s Arctic Laptev Sea has not yet frozen for the first time since records began, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Centre. The sea, which is known as the “birthplace of ice,” thawed much earlier in 2020 than in any previous year since 1979, and has […]
Every time life-long fisherman Mark Dort wades into St. Marys River to cast his line and try to lure fish to his fly, he hopes he’ll land a big one. But this fall, his aim wasn’t just to snag a large trout in the picturesque waterway on Nova […]
Famed for their ability to latch onto larger marine animals via powerful suction cups on their heads, remora are small fish that have long fascinated scientists for the ways they seek transport and protection. A new study has delved into this behavior in unprecedented detail, producing the first-ever […]
U.S. corn production is booming as Midwestern farmers adopt new technologies and methods in agriculture that mitigate bad weather, destructive pests and weeds. But the long-term outlook isn’t good. New research published yesterday in Nature Food shows maize is becoming more vulnerable to drought, a finding with major implications for annual […]
An examination of two documented periods of climate change in the greater Middle East, between approximately 4,500 and 3,000 years ago, reveals local evidence of resilience and even of a flourishing ancient society despite the changes in climate seen in the larger region. A new study led by […]
The idea of modifying Earth’s atmosphere to cool the planet, once seen as too risky to seriously consider, is attracting new money and attention. Investors watch out! As the effects of climate change become more devastating, prominent research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on […]
Wildlife officials in Washington have captured two so-called “murder hornet” queens, following a major operation to wipe out the invasive species’ first known nest in the United States. You might even call the operation a “sting,” as it took a bit of subterfuge to finally capture the Asian giant […]