Climate Change

Grōv Technologies’ vertical farm is designed to minimize land and water use of conventional feed production.

Could Indoor Vertical Farms Feed Livestock?

The people at Grōv Technologies think farmers can produce wheatgrass for their herds with less land and water using the method

In another executive order, President Biden canceled permits for construction on the Keystone XL pipeline. Alberta construction of the pipeline is pictured here, taken in October 2020.

The United States Will Rejoin Paris Climate Accord

The move is one of several climate-related actions taken by President Joe Biden on his first day in office

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule separating from the International Space Station after undocking from the Harmony module’s international docking adapter.

Case of Bordeaux Wine Returns to Earth After a Year in Space

Last week a dozen bottles splashed into the Gulf of Mexico inside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule after a year aboard the International Space Station

Warming waters cause the sharks to hatch early and underdeveloped, making them vulnerable to predation.

Ocean Warming Threatens Baby Sharks in the Great Barrier Reef

Researchers found the hatchlings of the egg-laying epaulette shark are weakened by rising sea temperatures

Category-4 Hurricane Laura hit Cameron, Louisiana on August 27, 2020 with winds up to 150 mph and storm surge in excess of 15 feet. The storm caused costly destruction along the coast and inland to the city of Lake Charles and was one of seven storms that caused more than $1 billion in damages.

U.S. Breaks Record for Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters in 2020

A total of 22 disasters caused $95 billion in total damage, reflecting climate change’s growing cost

Los Angeles County is the most at risk for climate-related disasters out of 3,000 counties analyzed in the United States.

Los Angeles Rated Most Susceptible to Natural Disasters, According to FEMA Data

The report explains how damaging hypothetical, extreme weather scenarios would be and does not represent how frequently devastation actually occurs

Along the Potomac River, somebody spotted a bird so vibrant that it looked splattered as if it was splattered with gobs of bright paint.

A Visit From a Dazzling Bird Drew Crowds of People Into a Maryland Park

A painted bunting was spotted along the Potomac River, far from its home in the south

The U.K. has been inching away from its reliance on fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, after setting a goal in 2019 to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Wind Turbines Generated More Than Half of Great Britain's Energy on Boxing Day

A powerful storm sent the wind turbines whirling, generating a record-breaking contribution of electricity

Researchers say some of this woolly rhino's internal organs may still be preserved.

Melting Russian Permafrost Yields New Woolly Rhino Specimen

Russian researchers say this may be the best-preserved woolly rhino ever found

A new chemical process uses an iron-based catalyst to turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel. So far the process has only been proven effective in lab settings, but if researchers can scale it up it could lessen the climate impact of air travel.

Scientists Use Iron to Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Jet Fuel

If the chemical reaction at the heart of the process can be scaled up, it could help reduce the carbon footprint of air travel

An RN administers the Covid-19 vaccine to a nurse at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2020

From the rapid development of vaccines for Covid-19 to the stunning collection of an asteroid sample, these were the biggest science moments of the year

This year's top stories included an explainer on murder hornets, a list of fun facts about love and sex in the animal kingdom, and a look at the true history behind Hulu's "The Great."

Our Ten Most Popular Stories of 2020

From Anglo-Saxon artifacts to copper's antibacterial properties, systemic racism and murder hornets, these were the most-read stories of the year

Dead bird specimens seen in the collection of the Museum of Southwestern Biology in New Mexico on September 14, 2020.

Southwest Bird Die-Off Caused by Long-Term Starvation

New report finds majority of the birds found dead in early fall were emaciated

Projects that harness the public to make observations and report data about the health of our environment are growing. Anyone can join—no PhDs needed.

Twenty-Four Ways to Turn Outdoor Passions Into Citizen Science

Heading into the new year, consider collecting scientific data while skiing, hiking, surfing, biking and partaking in other adventures

There have been other ancient wolf remains found in places like Siberia, but finding a well-preserved specimen in Yukon is rare since the ground has to be permanently frozen and the animal must be buried quickly.

A 57,000-Year-Old Mummified Wolf Pup Was Discovered Frozen in Yukon Permafrost

The specimen sheds light on how different gray wolf populations migrated through North America

Longer days signal to birds when they should breed and lay their new clutch of eggs, and they match up their timing so that their chicks are born when the springtime's bounty is at its peak.

Light Pollution Is Causing Birds to Nest Earlier, Mitigating Some Effects of Climate Change

But two wrongs don't make a right, as both problems are altering the birds' biology

A small hike in the water temperature triggers corals to dispel the algae, causing them to bleach and turn a ghostly shade of white.

Some Corals Can Survive Through Relentless Heat Waves, Surprising Scientists

The organisms can recover during a heat wave instead of afterwards, and scientists call it a 'game changer' for conservation of the species

An ice core extracted at El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico connects water collection to periods of droughts.

Ancestral Puebloans Survived Droughts by Collecting Water From Icy Lava Tubes

In ancient New Mexico, cold air in cavernous spaces carved out by lava flows preserved blocks of ice

Researchers caught an 81-year-old midnight snapper (Macolor macularis) like the one pictured here off the coast of Western Australia. The fish is the oldest coral reef fish ever discovered.

Researchers Catch Oldest Tropical Reef Fish Known to Science

Researchers caught the 81-year-old midnight snapper off the coast of Western Australia

The study suggests that the island is built from sediment generated by the surrounding coral reef, such as from crushed up dead coral, weathered shells and dried-up microorganisms.

This Pacific Island Is Both Sinking and Growing

Sediment produced by surrounding coral reefs has helped Jeh Island outrace rising sea levels

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