Environment

Science & Society

Is nuclear energy good? A new book explores this complex question

Atomic Dreams explores nuclear energy's future in the U.S. through the history of Diablo Canyon, California's last operational nuclear power plant.

Artificial Intelligence

A new AI-based weather tool surpasses current forecasts

The AI tool used machine learning to outperform current weather simulations, offering faster, cheaper, more accurate forecasts.

Oceans

Seafloor amber may hold hints of a tsunami 115 million years ago

Oddly shaped deposits of tree resin point to massive waves that struck northern Japan roughly 115 million years ago and swept a forest into the sea.

Animals

This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap

This assassin bug's ability to use a tool — bees’ resin — could shed light on how the ability evolved in other animals.

Environment

Skyborne specks of life may influence rainfall patterns

A study of weather on a mountain in Greece reveal that bioparticles in the sky may drive fluctuations in rainfall patterns more broadly.

Oceans

Before altering the air, microbes oxygenated large swaths of the sea

Hundreds of millions of years before oxygen surged in the atmosphere 2.4 billion years ago, swaths of oxygen winked in and out of existence in the ocean.

Animals

The axolotl is endangered in the wild. A discovery offers hope

Introducing captive-bred axolotls to restored and artificial wetlands may be a promising option for the popular pet amphibian.

Physics

Here’s how we might generate electricity from rain

Water drops produce electricity when dripped through a small tube. That power might be harnessed as renewable energy in rainy places.

Oceans

How will the LA fires affect the ocean? These researchers are racing to find out

Scientists aboard a research vessel near Los Angeles collected ash, air and water samples as fire blazed on the hills before them in January.

Climate

Hidden Antarctic lakes could supercharge sea level rise

An overlooked Antarctic water system could raise sea levels by more than 2 meters by 2300, computer simulations show.

Environment

Fires in the Amazon forest may melt sea ice in Antarctica

Satellite data reveal a link between the amount of black carbon in the atmosphere and rates of Antarctic sea ice loss in recent years.

Climate

A lush, green Arabian Desert may have once linked Africa and Asia

Mineral formations in caves reveal recurring periods of humidity in the Arabian Desert over the last 8 million years.