Science
- WorldAssociated Press
In landmark court case, 6 young activists take on 32 European nations over climate action
Six young people from Portugal will argue that governments across Europe aren't doing enough to protect people from the harms of climate change at the European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday in the latest and largest instance of activists taking governments to court to force climate action. The lawyers representing the young adults and children will argue that the 32 European governments they're suing have failed to adequately address global warming and therefore violated some of their fund
4 min read - ScienceCBS News
How to see the harvest supermoon
September's full moon, also known as the harvest moon, will be the last of four consecutive supermoons.
2 min read - WorldThe Conversation
Africa's most notorious insects – the bugs that hit agriculture the hardest
Whiteflies - Africa's main cassava pest causes damage to crops. Maurice/FlickrThe dreaded crop-eating fall armyworm continues to spread across Africa like wildfire. This invasive insect pest, first reported in Africa in early 2016, is in more than 20 African countries including South Sudan and South Africa. It has destroyed many staple crops like maize. Damage to maize alone by this pest could total USD billion in the next 12 months. Crop losses in African countries due to insect pests are estim
4 min read - ScienceSpace
Artemis 2 moon rocket now has all 4 powerful engines on board (photo)
The Artemis 2 moon rocket's core stage now has all four of its RS-25 engines mounted in place. It's a big milestone for the mission as it sails toward a launch in late 2024.
3 min read - ScienceSpace
Fungi creepily infiltrates space stations — but scientists aren't scared. They're excited
Fungi piggybacking on space missions is dangerous to astronaut health and spacecraft equipment, but studying its behavior is also useful for long-term space missions.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
Watch a NASA astronaut and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth after 1 year in space on Sept. 27
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates are scheduled to return to Earth Wednesday morning (Sept. 27) after a year in space, and you can watch it live.
3 min read - ScienceCBS News
Supercontinent could wipe out humans in 250 million years, study says
Rising temperatures, little rain and high concentrations of carbon dioxide could make the supercontinent inhabitable for mammals, the study suggests.
3 min read - ScienceSpace
Accidental 1-year astronaut crew hands over command of ISS ahead of Sept. 27 landing
NASA's Frank Rubio and his one-year crew are ready to come home at last, after their return was delayed by six months. The Soyuz astronauts handed over their work on the ISS on Sept. 26.
3 min read - ScienceSpace
This TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet seems to have no atmosphere — the truth may hide in its star, James Webb Space Telescope reveals
The findings also corroborate earlier reports that TRAPPIST-1b lacks a thick, hydrogen atmosphere.
4 min read - WorldCBS News
NASA astronaut closing out record-setting yearlong space station flight
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is finishing up the longest single flight in U.S. space history at 371 days.
3 min read - USNBC News
Underground climate change: How heat is trapped under the surface, threatening buildings
On a recent tour underneath Chicago’s iconic skyline, Alessandro Rotta Loria, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, pointed out one of the sensors he and his team have installed across the city to track underground temperatures.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
James Webb Space Telescope reveals ancient galaxies were more structured than scientists thought
Galaxies sported disks and spiral arms as early as 3.7 billion years ago, according to new data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
3 min read - ScienceSpace
Artemis moon program will prioritize ethics, good of society, NASA says
NASA's Artemis program will include consideration of 'ethical and societal matters' as the agency aims for the first human moon landings in 50 years, a new report pledges.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
See the Super 'Blue' Moon of 2023 rise over a castle in this epic photo and time-lapse video
A single shot shows a Super Full “Blue” Moon which don’t have nothing of blue, rising above Monsaraz castle at Dark Sky® Alqueva, in Portugal.
2 min read - ScienceCBS News
Scientists take step toward "being able to resurrect extinct species"
"People didn't think it could really be done," Marc Friedländer, an associate professor in molecular biology at Stockholm University, told CBS News.
3 min read - ScienceCNN
New ‘supercontinent’ could wipe out humans and make Earth uninhabitable, study suggests
The formation of a new “supercontinent” could wipe out humans and all other mammals still alive in 250 million years, researchers have predicted.
3 min read - USNBC News
New Orleans braces for drinking water emergency from drought-stricken Mississippi River
Officials in Louisiana are in a race against time as salt water from the Gulf of Mexico threatens drinking water supplies in New Orleans and its surrounding areas because of unusually low levels in the drought-addled Mississippi River.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
SpaceX flight-proven rocket hardware to go on display at Smithsonian
An engine used to launch an Israeli company's attempt at landing on the moon has landed in the Smithsonian. Along with a grid fin, it is one of the first SpaceX artifacts to join the collection.
3 min read - BusinessAssociated Press
Boost in solar energy and electric vehicle sales gives hope for climate goals, report says
The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said Tuesday. For the last two years, the rate of the build up of solar energy and electric vehicle sales were in line with achieving emissions reductions targets that will help cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the Paris-based International Energy Agency sa
3 min read - USWashington Post
Meet the whale that may upend the offshore oil industry
It was a whale of an announcement. After years of research, scientists said they had discovered an entirely new species of whale swimming right under their noses in the Gulf of Mexico.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Yet as soon as scientists identified Rice's whale, also known as the Gulf of Mexico whale, two years ago, there was a problem. There were hardly any left. With only about 50 remaining, the whale is one of
8 min read - ScienceSpace
How our Milky Way galaxy would look in gravitational waves (video)
The gravitational waves are emitted by ultracompact binaries of black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs.
3 min read - ScienceSpace
See the moon and Saturn shine side-by-side in the night sky tonight
Saturn and its rings will be visible near a bright moon tonight. Here's how to catch a glimpse of the two celestial marvels.
4 min read - BusinessReuters
IEA says route to net zero requires more cash and less politics
Record growth in clean energy technology, including solar panels and electric vehicles, means it is still possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. But it also said the world would need need to invest nearly $4.5 trillion per year in the transition to cleaner energy from the start of the next decade, up from spending of $1.8 trillion expected in 2023.
2 min read - WorldReuters
'Atypical' rains kill at least 8 in Mexican state of Jalisco
At least eight people were killed and another three were injured after a river in the Mexican state of Jalisco burst its banks following unusually heavy rains, another extreme weather event as climate change helps whip up ever deadlier storms. The "atypical" rains completely destroyed four houses and another 50 homes were being evaluated for damages, Gustavo Robles, who heads the municipality of Autlan de Navarro, said at a press conference on Monday. Local authorities, who are working with th
1 min read - WorldReuters
Ancient Maya grave found in Mexico as tourist rail project advances
Mexican archaeologists unearthed a richly adorned human body in a grave that could be more than 1,000 years old, in an area where workers were finishing construction on a major tourist rail project, the country's national antiquities institute INAH said on Monday. The discovery took place this month during archaeological salvage work carried out in tandem with building a multibillion-dollar tourist train in southern Mexico designed in large part to draw tourists to southern Mexico's many ancien
2 min read - USNBC News
Rain pelts Pacific Northwest — and may end wildfire season
An atmospheric river storm barreled into the Pacific Northwest on Sunday, bringing several days of heavy rain, most likely ending the wildfire season in many areas and offering a bit of a reprieve for a region suffering from extreme drought.
3 min read - LifestyleCBS News
I-Team: How accurate are pet DNA tests?
How accurate are pet DNA tests and are they a waste of money?
3 min read - ScienceCNN
Asteroid named for Egyptian god of chaos and darkness set for spacecraft flyby
After delivering an asteroid sample to Earth Sunday, the newly expanded OSIRIS-APEX mission is heading to Apophis. The asteroid will come within 20,000 miles of Earth in 2029.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
OSIRIS-REx's asteroid sample lands in Houston (photos)
The asteroid sample collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed in Houston today (Sept. 25), a day after arriving on Earth from very deep space.
3 min read - OpinionCNN
Opinion: Seaweed is nutritious, not slimy. Eating it could save the world.
Seaweed might be the greatest untapped resource we have on this planet, writes Vincent Doumeizel.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
NASA's delayed VERITAS Venus mission tests key technology in Iceland (photos)
Team members of NASA's VERITAS Venus mission tested key technologies and techniques in volcanic regions in Iceland recently.
3 min read - ScienceCNN
Queen’s Brian May helped NASA return its first asteroid sample
Brian May has once again proven why he is rock royalty. Not only is he the Queen guitarist, but he is also an astrophysicist who recently helped NASA return its first ever asteroid sample to Earth.
1 min read - HealthCNN
Scientists edge closer to finding a biomarker for long Covid, which could lead to better tests and treatments
People who have struggled to recover after Covid-19 often find that clinicians treat them like medical mysteries. Routine tests often don’t reveal that anything is amiss, so doctors sometimes wrongly assume that long Covid might be a form of depression or anxiety or is otherwise all in a person’s head.
8 min read - ScienceReuters
Antarctic winter sea ice hits 'extreme' record low
(Reuters) -Sea ice that packs the ocean around Antarctica hit record low levels this winter, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said on Monday, adding to scientists' fears that the impact of climate change at the southern pole is ramping up. Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals like penguins who breed and rear their young on the sea ice, while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space. Anta
2 min read - ScienceSpace
NASA's Perseverance rover sets record for longest Mars drive on autopilot
The autopilot on Perseverance Mars rover guided it through a particularly hazardous boulder field In July, saving weeks of precious science time.
3 min read - ScienceThe New York Times
Meet the Climate-Defying Fruits and Vegetables in Your Future
Plant breeders, by nature, are patient people. It can take them years or even decades to perfect a new variety of fruit or vegetable that tastes better, grows faster or stays fresh longer. But their work has taken on a new urgency in the face of an increasingly erratic climate. Recent floods left more than one-third of California’s table grapes rotting on the vine. Too much sunlight is burning apple crops. Pests that farmers never used to worry about are marching through lettuce fields. Breeding
8 min read - ScienceThe New York Times
Mammals’ Time on Earth Is Half Over, Scientists Predict
It’s been about 250 million years since reptilelike animals evolved into mammals. Now a team of scientists is predicting that mammals may have only another 250 million years left. The researchers built a virtual simulation of our future world, similar to the models that have projected human-caused global warming over the next century. Using data on the movement of the continents across the planet, as well as fluctuations in the chemical makeup of the atmosphere, the new study projected much furt
5 min read - ScienceSpace
James Webb Space Telescope sees early galaxies defying 'cosmic rulebook' of star formation
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed galaxies defying the "cosmic rulebook" in the early universe, to the surprise of astronomers who hope to learn more about the evolution of the universe.
3 min read - WorldCNN
Extreme heat scorches large parts of South America as winter ends
This weekend may have marked the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere, but it felt like the peak of summer across several countries in South America, where temperatures pushed above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
3 min read - ScienceCNN
Surprising jellyfish finding challenges what’s known about learning and memory
Caribbean box jellyfish, animals that may appear to float through life aimlessly and don’t have a central brain, still have the ability to learn rapidly and retain information, new research has found.
4 min read - ScienceCNN
A long-awaited sample from a near-Earth asteroid is about to land in the US
The OSIRIS-REx mission will drop off its cargo, about a cup’s worth of rocks and soil from an asteroid, in the Utah desert on September 24. Here’s how NASA prepared.
8 min read - ScienceSpace
Last supermoon of 2023 rises this week. Don't miss the Harvest Moon shine with 3 bright planets
This year’s final supermoon, September’s Harvest Full Moon, rises on Friday, Sept. 29, bringing a summer of supermoons to a close and joined by a planetary parade of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury.
4 min read - HealthThe Conversation
Flesh-eating bacteria infections are on the rise in the US − a microbiologist explains how to protect yourself
_Vibrio vulnificus_ infections are spreading across the U.S. because of climate change. CDC/Janice Haney CarrFlesh-eating bacteria sounds like the premise of a bad horror movie, but it’s a growing – and potentially fatal – threat to people. In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory alerting doctors and public health officials of an increase in flesh-eating bacteria cases that can cause serious wound infections. I’m a professor at the Indiana Unive
4 min read - ScienceSpace
After NASA's epic OSIRIS-REx capsule landing success, spacecraft heads to asteroid Apophis on new mission
NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe, which delivered samples of the space rock Bennu to Earth, is now on an extended voyage to study the infamous near-Earth asteroid Apophis.
4 min read - USAssociated Press
After summer's extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows
Kathleen Maxwell has lived in Phoenix for more than 20 years, but this summer was the first time she felt fear, as daily high temperatures soared to 110 degrees or hotter and kept it up for a record-shattering 31 consecutive days. New polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that extreme weather, including a summer that brought dangerous heat for much of the United States, is bolstering Americans' belief that they've personally felt the impact of clima
6 min read - ScienceAssociated Press
We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy
Neanderthals live on within us. Using the new and rapidly improving ability to piece together fragments of ancient DNA, scientists are finding that traits inherited from our ancient cousins are still with us now, affecting our fertility, our immune systems, even how our bodies handled the COVID-19 virus. “We’re now carrying the genetic legacies and learning about what that means for our bodies and our health,” said Mary Prendergast, a Rice University archeologist.
7 min read - ScienceCNN
A long-awaited asteroid sample has landed in the US
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivered a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu to Earth Sunday, dropping the sample capsule in the Utah desert.
8 min read - ScienceCNN
An asteroid sample is about to land on Earth. Here’s what to expect
On Sunday, NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex mission will deliver a sample it collected from asteroid Bennu, completing a seven-year journey that could provide insights into how life originated on Earth.
7 min read - ScienceNBC News
In a first, NASA returns asteroid samples to Earth
A capsule containing precious samples from an asteroid landed safely on Earth on Sunday, the culmination of a roughly 4-billion-mile journey over the past seven years.
4 min read - ScienceSpace
NASA's OSIRIS-REx lands samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth after historic 4-billion-mile journey
NASA successfully recovered a capsule containing samples of asteroid Bennu taken by its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2020.
6 min read
