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Your Christmas tree is dead or dying. But some conifers and other trees theoretically could live forever, according to a recent essay that reviews accumulating evidence on extremely long-lived trees—and calls for more scientifically rigorous methods to determine their age and study their longevity. Across the board, trees do not die so much as they … Read more
“Talking about your office, the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, you’ve got the patch there. In fact, I was observing a little Latin phrase at the bottom, what does that say?” “‘Hic Servare Diem,’ which means ‘Here to save the day.’” That exchange, between a NASA commentator and a scientist in the agency’s planetary science division, … Read more
The primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope. In a new interview, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared he is “nervous” ahead of the launch. (Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn) Amid all the excitement, there is no shortage of nerves ahead of the launch of the world’s most powerful telescope. This Saturday (Dec. 25), the James … Read more
Previous research has suggested that fish have an innate sense of numbers, but critics say these experiments aren’t the final word. Now, a new study has shown that archerfish really can count Life 24 December 2021 By Michael Le Page Archerfish spit water at their prey Shutterstock / Roberto Dani Can fish count? An experiment involving … Read more
Record-shattering fires, freezes and rainfall around the world made it all too clear that extreme weather is fast becoming the new normal Environment 15 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A firefighter in California in August REUTERS/Fred Greaves DEADLY fires, floods and freezes struck around the world this year, as a report by the world’s top … Read more
China is set to host a major biodiversity summit in 2022, but leading economist Partha Dasgupta says it is unclear what the country wants to achieve Environment 24 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Partha Dasgupta The author of a major UK government biodiversity report says he sees no sign that China is showing serious leadership … Read more
By Graham Lawton Michelle D’urbano AND so this is Christmas, and what have we done? A year ago, I was writing a preview of 2021, which was shaping up to be pivotal for our fractious relationship with the environment. The UN was getting ready to launch not one, but two decades: one on ecological restoration … Read more
A year ago, many were hoping the pandemic would soon be over – but then came alpha, delta and omicron Health 24 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A sign in Hounslow, London, in June 2021 James Veysey/Shutterstock What a year it has been. In December 2020, the first vaccination campaigns were just getting under … Read more
For millennia, populations in Greenland enjoyed a relatively sugar-free diet. Without the need to rapidly process certain carbohydrates, many lost the function of a key sucrose-processing enzyme. To learn what this loss means for the health of today’s populations, a team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen analyzed the health … Read more
The science community is getting a very long-awaited Christmas gift this year – the much-delayed launch of the James Webb Space Telescope! The successor to the much-loved Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, was originally scheduled to be launched in 2007. Now, 14 years later, all systems seem to finally be ready to … Read more