Are we on the verge of a global initiative to clean up ocean plastics?

A global summit on clearing up the oceans has produced big promises – is it just blah, blah, blah, or can we make the future of plastic fantastic, asks Graham Lawton Environment | Columnist 23 February 2022 By Graham Lawton Elena Valeeva/Shutterstock IN JUNE 2021, the government of the Seychelles decided it was time to … Read more

Christopher Jackson interview: How geologists can fight climate change

By Abigail Beall Jennie Edwards FROM the breathtaking Atlas mountains in Morocco to the expansive deserts of the US, Christopher Jackson’s work has taken him to some incredible places. Incredible and sometimes risky, too: he has been held at gunpoint and put in prison in the line of duty. Why does he do it? Just … Read more

How our environment is making us sick – and what we can do about it

From air pollutants to pesticides in food and cosmetic additives, modern life means constant exposure to environmental chemicals. Picking apart the effects will help us boost the health of humans and the planet Environment 26 January 2022 By Graham Lawton Kyle Ellingson MICHAEL SNYDER wears four watches, two on each wrist. A geneticist at Stanford … Read more

Gene-edited crops may be 5 years away from sale in the UK

The UK parliament passed a law to help researchers do trials of gene-edited crops in England, and the chief scientist at the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says it would take at least five years for a product to go from research trials to market Environment 20 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan … Read more

We Have Breached The Safe Planetary Limit For Synthetic Chemicals, Scientists Warn

From sea to land to sky, Earth’s systems are contaminated with synthetic substances, and scientists warn it has already pushed the integrity of our planet over the brink. Today, there are about 350,000 human-made chemicals on the market, including plastics, pesticides, industrial chemicals, cosmetic chemicals, antibiotics, and other drugs.   The fact this number continues … Read more

Gene-edited crops may be 5 years away from sale in the UK

The UK passed a law to help researchers do trials of gene-edited crops, and the chief scientist at the UK’s Department for Food, Rural Affairs & Environment says it would take at least five years for a product to go from research trials to market Environment 20 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Stacks of wheat … Read more

Swab Your Throat First? Rapid Tests May Need Saliva to Detect Omicron, Early Data Find

Rapid COVID-19 tests that use nose swabs alone might not pick up Omicron in the early days of infection, a new study suggests – but experts don’t agree on whether you should also swab your throat.   A small study from a group of US researchers, published Tuesday, found that rapid tests with nasal swabs didn’t detect Omicron … Read more

Astronomers See Black Hole Jets Blaze 16x Wider Than The Full Moon in Our Sky

Astronomers have captured a breathtaking radio wave image, showing our closest radio active black hole spewing out massive jets of plasma that span more than 16 times the size of the full moon in our sky.   The supermassive black hole in question is located in the center of the galaxy Centaurus A around 12 … Read more

2022 news preview: China to host crucial meeting in a bid to save nature

By Adam Vaughan Shane Gross/naturepl.com AS THE world examines the outcome of the COP26 climate summit, spare a thought for conservationists trying to protect the planet’s natural riches. A landmark UN biodiversity summit has been postponed three times because of the pandemic and now won’t be held in person in China until April, after a … Read more

The James Webb Space Telescope Is on The Launchpad!

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