A movement is growing to reintroduce controlled burns to forests and grasslands, bringing back the role of fire in creating biodiverse landscapes.
Category: Science
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Take Action Against Climate Change With These Tools and Resources
These apps and online spaces can help you manage your eco-anxiety—and take steps to tread more lightly on the planet.
NASA Will Roll Back Its SLS Rocket for Repairs
After three attempts to run through a test of the Space Launch System, engineers spotted a leak and a faulty valve. The fixes may delay the first Artemis moon mission.
A Brutal Wave of Bird Flu Spotlights the Need for a Poultry Vaccine
More than 27 million birds have died or been slaughtered, and wild birds are dying too. Without a shot, farmers have to rely on vigilance and culling their flocks.
A Newly Measured Particle Could Break Known Physics
A new analysis of W bosons suggests these particles are significantly heavier than predicted by the standard model of particle physics.
To Resurrect Jordan’s Lost Forests, People Plant Tiny Urban Ones
Environmentalists see small reforestation pilot sites around the capital of Amman as a first step to a greener future.
Some (Kinda) Good Climate News: 2 Degrees Is Doable
Humans could keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, new research shows, but only if countries actually stick to their pledges.
Biofuels Are Getting a Second Look—and Some Tough Questions
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn’t the climate solution.
Analysts Warn Anti-Satellite Weapons Have Evolved Beyond Missiles
A pair of new reports point to a proliferating array of technologies that could be used to attack spacecraft.
As Climate Fears Mount, Some Are Relocating Within the US
A small but growing number of Americans are moving to New England or the Appalachian Mountains, which are seen as safe havens from climate change.
Scientists Spy on Mount Etna With Fiber Optic Cables
Researchers can detect volcanic activity by watching how light moves through the same kinds of fibers that bring you internet.
Axiom’s All-Private Spaceflight to the ISS Preps for Launch
For the first time, a commercial craft will bring a crew of civilians to the space station. It’s a harbinger of space tourism’s future—and its inequities.
For Kids Fleeing Ukraine, Wartime Trauma May Leave Lasting Wounds
Volunteers are rushing to provide online counseling, art therapy, and stress relief for the more than 2 million Ukrainian children who have become refugees.
Technology Can Fix the Climate Mess—but Not Without Help
Another damning IPCC report insists that to reduce emissions, humanity will need more political willpower and help from nature’s carbon-sequestering powers.
How Does a Newt Cross the Road? With Lots of Human Help
Brigades of volunteers are coming to the rescue of thousands of Pacific newts that perish each year as they migrate to their breeding grounds.
Biden Invokes the Defense Production Act to Fix the Lithium Shortage
The administration will use its security-related powers to encourage mining raw materials for batteries. But a sustainable fix will take years.
The First Drug-Releasing Contact Lens Is Here
The FDA has approved daily disposables that release anti-allergy medication. Experts hope lenses could one day help treat cataracts and glaucoma.
Companies May Soon Have to Reveal a Hidden Risk: Carbon Emissions
Big businesses set splashy climate targets but don’t always reveal their data. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to change that—to protect investors.
The Pandemic Revolutionized Disease Surveillance. Now What?
Covid forced the world to develop some of the best epidemiological surveys ever done. Now they’re being cut back, even as the threat of the virus lingers.
Math’s ‘Oldest Problem Ever’ Gets a New Answer
A new proof significantly strengthens a decades-old result about the ubiquity of ways to represent whole numbers as sums of fractions.
How Boa Constrictors Can Breathe Even as They Crush Their Prey
New research shows the snakes activate different sections of their rib cage, using their lungs as bellows to pull in air.
A Global Boom in Fences Is Harming Wildlife
Barriers are going up rapidly as border projects and livestock farming increase, but they impede wildlife migrations and genetically isolate threatened species.
This Cheetah Robot Taught Itself How to Sprint in a Weird Way
Researchers got the machine to run nearly 13 feet per second. It ain’t graceful, but this powerful technique is preparing robots for the chaos of the world.
Online ‘Happiness’ Classes Might Work Better Than You Think
Science of happiness courses are attracting thousands of students. But there’s still a lot to learn about whether these lessons stick.
Scientists Map Yellowstone’s Plumbing With … a Helicopter
For the first time, scientists get a look at what’s going on under the park’s geysers. It may even help them better understand the origin of life on Earth.
NASA Bets on an Asteroid Killer, a Venusian Balloon, and More
The agency’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program provides seed funding for ideas that sound like sci-fi—but just might work.
Astronomers Tally the Growing Carbon Footprint of Space Science
Observatories require electricity and computing power to process data from deep space. Is there a way to make them run greener?
Underwater Permafrost Is a Big, Gassy Wild Card for the Climate
You’ve probably heard of permafrost, the frozen carbon-rich land. But it’s also thawing under the sea, burping up planet-warming gases.
Scientists Watch a Memory Form in a Living Brain
While observing fearful memories take shape in the brains of fish, neuroscientists saw an unexpected level of synaptic rewiring.
Climate Change Is Disrupting the Global Supply Chain Too
Extreme weather, from floods to wildfires, is increasingly hammering ports, highways, and factories. It’s expected to get worse.
Big Pharma’s Ethical Dilemma: Should They Keep Selling to Russia?
Sanctions and boycotts following the invasion of Ukraine have curtailed the export of nearly every product—except medicines. That’s up to drugmakers.
NASA Finally Rolls Out Its Massive SLS Rocket, With Much at Stake
The agency’s long-awaited, costly Space Launch System is finally ready for a practice countdown before the first Artemis mission this spring.
The War in Ukraine Is a Reproductive Health Crisis for Millions
Russia’s invasion is making it harder to deliver babies and provide birth control, abortion services, and other essential care.
It’s a Perfect Time for EVs. It’s a Terrible Time for EVs
Gas prices are up, commutes are back, and Russian oil is under sanction. Too bad the electric vehicle industry isn’t ready to seize the moment.
4 Years On, a New Experiment Sees No Sign of ‘Cosmic Dawn’
Astronomers tried to confirm a signal from the birth of the first stars after the Big Bang. They saw nothing.
The Situation at Chernobyl Is Deteriorating
The defunct site of the infamous 1986 meltdown has lost power two weeks after it was seized by Russian forces. Experts fear another nuclear disaster looms.
The Amazon Rainforest May Be Nearing a Point of No Return
Satellites spot troubling signals that may portend a transformation from rainforest to savanna, with profound implications for the planet.
The Most Complete Simulation of a Cell Probes Life’s Hidden Rules
A 3D digital model of a “minimal cell” leads scientists closer to understanding the barest requirements for life.
You Should Still Test Yourself for Covid. Here’ When
Even if you’re vaccinated, there are still scenarios where you should get tested and use your results to make smart, empathetic choices.
Turmoil Over Ukraine Could Debilitate Russia’s Space Program
In response to international sanctions, Russia’s space agency is distancing itself from its former partners and risks losing its role as a major space power.
Iceland Bets on Herd Immunity
The island nation’s government joins several other European countries in dropping Covid restrictions—but not everyone is sure the timing’s right.
Genetic Databases Are Too White. Here’s What It’ll Take to Fix It
Most genetic research is done on people of European descent. That’s led to misdiagnoses, inaccurate tests, and missed opportunities for new treatments.
In Alaska, Beavers Are Engineering a New Tundra
Once nonexistent in the northwest part of the state, beavers are both benefiting from and changing a warming landscape.
What Neurodivergence Teaches Us About How to Live
Scientist and writer Camilla Pang explains what the rationality of science showed her about making better decisions, processing feedback, and feeling like an outlier.
Risks to Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants Are Small—but Not Zero
While the Russian military is unlikely to target Ukrainian reactors, a stray missile or a power outage could spark a disaster.
Sea Level Rise Will Be Catastrophic—and Unequal
A chilling new report predicts a foot of sea level rise in the US by 2050. But quirks of physics mean everyone will suffer in different ways.
Africa’s Oldest DNA Is Helping Address Science’s Racial Bias
Scientists have way more DNA from ancient Europeans than Africans. Now analysis of a genome from nearly 20,000 years ago is answering questions about the continent’s past.
Any Single Galaxy Reveals the Composition of an Entire Universe
In computer simulations, researchers have discovered that a neural network can infer the amount of matter in a whole universe by studying just one galaxy.
Jacques Vallée Still Doesn’t Know What UFOs Are
After six globe-trotting decades spent probing “the phenomenon,” the French information scientist is sure of only one thing: The truth is really, really out there.
DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion
The Google-backed AI firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.