Shattered ‘alphabet soup’ iceberg flushed a lot of fresh water into the ocean

A rogue iceberg that drifted dangerously close to an Antarctic penguin population in 2020 and 2021 released billions of tons of fresh water into the ocean during its breakup. A new study, based on satellite data, tracks the aftermath of the once-mighty iceberg A-68a, which held the title of world’s largest iceberg for more than three years … Read more

Otherlands review: A fascinating journey through Earth’s history

By Gege Li An artist’s impression of how Earth’s first multicellular animals looked on the sea floor Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library Book Otherlands: A world in the making Thomas Halliday OUR planet has existed for some 4.5 billion years In that time, it has undergone extraordinary changes, with landscapes and life forms that would seem … Read more

UK Net Zero Strategy: Government still won’t say how much CO2 its plan will save

For the third time, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has refused a request to release key details about its Net Zero Strategy Environment 21 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Climate protesters in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021 Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The UK government has declined for a third time to … Read more

This Is How Toddlers Know if People Share a Special Bond, And It’s Gross

The thought of sharing an ice cream cone with a stranger can trigger feelings of disgust – however that’s often not the case with someone close to us, such as a romantic partner or child.   A new study in the journal Science on Thursday shows that children are aware of this dynamic from a … Read more

The World’s Massive Need For More Solar Panels Has One Shiny Catch

There’s a major catch to the world’s need for solar panels, a new analysis suggests. The booming solar panel market – which is critical for a clean energy future – could demand close to half the world’s aluminum by 2050. Thankfully, there are ways we can mitigate this.    Unlike more precious metals, such as … Read more

We May Finally Know Why Whales Don’t Drown When They Gulp Down Krill

Baleen whales are heavy drinkers. In just ten seconds, these giant mammals can down over five hundred bathtubs of ocean water, filtering out roughly 10 kilograms of krill in a single swig.   All they have to do is open their mouths and lunge forward at roughly 10 kilometers an hour (6 miles per hour). The … Read more

Two Solar Flares Just Erupted on The Sun, Bringing Coronal Mass Ejections

After a series of eruptions on the Sun, Earth may be in for auroras over the next few days. A sunspot called AR2929 has emitted two solar flares, accompanied by coronal mass ejections. Although neither was directed at Earth, the ejections that are currently blasting through space may deliver glancing blows to our planet’s atmosphere that … Read more

Physicists Just Smashed a Record by Keeping a Bubble Intact For Over a Year

When you think of the word “ephemeral”, many people will immediately conjure up the image of a soap bubble: delicate, gorgeous, and gone in a blink (or maybe a few). Now a team of physicists led by Aymeric Roux of the University of Lille in France has defied this cliché, creating a bubble that maintained … Read more

This Cheap, Effective, Patent-Free COVID Vaccine Could Be a Global Game-Changer

The world now has a new COVID-19 vaccine in its arsenal, and at a fraction of the cost per dose. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen over 314 million infections and over 5.5 million deaths worldwide. Approximately 60 percent of the world population has received at least one dose of a … Read more

A ‘Pristine’ Reef of Rose-Shaped Corals Was Just Found Off The Coast of Tahiti

Scientists have discovered a vast reef of “pristine” rose-shaped corals apparently unharmed by climate change in deep water off the coast of Tahiti, UNESCO announced Thursday. Mapping approximately three kilometers (two miles) long and up to 65 meters (213 feet) wide, UNESCO said it was “one of the most extensive healthy coral reefs on record”. … Read more