Earth & Environment

Hidden city of bees: 5.5 million pollinators living beneath a quiet cemetery

Beneath a peaceful cemetery in Ithaca, New York, millions of wild bees are quietly doing one of the most important jobs in nature—helping plants...

“Forever chemicals” may quietly weaken your immune system, study warns

In recent years, scientists have become increasingly concerned about a group of chemicals known as PFAS. These chemicals are used in many everyday products, such...

The moon just got a new scar

Look up at a full Moon on a clear night and you are staring at a face that has been punched, gouged, and battered...

A 300-million-year-old mummy reveals how we first learned to breathe

Every time you breathe, you are using a system that evolved hundreds of millions of years ago. The simple act of your chest expanding and...

A hidden island emerges in Antarctica, surprising scientists at sea

A team of 93 international scientists recently made an unexpected discovery while exploring one of the most remote parts of Antarctica. During a research expedition...

Why Jupiter has more giant moons than Saturn

Jupiter and Saturn are the two largest planets in our solar system, and both are surrounded by dozens—even hundreds—of moons. But their moon systems look...

Why living at high altitude could prevent diabetes

For many years, scientists have noticed an interesting pattern. People who live at high altitudes, where the air contains less oxygen, tend to have...

Up to 6.4 million children could lose citizenship rights under new proposal

A new study suggests that ending birthright citizenship in the United States could have far-reaching effects, especially for Asian and Latino communities. Researchers from Penn...

Five things to know about rare earth elements

Aside from oil, rare earth elements may be the most buzzworthy thing coming out of the ground these days. Headlines trumpet news about new partnerships...

A sleeping giant awakens: Japan’s Kikai volcano is slowly refilling with magma

Scientists have discovered that one of the most powerful volcanoes in Earth’s recent history is slowly building up magma again—more than 7,000 years after...

Scientists discover lost ice age world beneath Texas cave

A surprising discovery deep inside an underwater cave in Texas has revealed a hidden snapshot of life from the Ice Age. A paleontologist from the...

Why winter could be the most dangerous season for your heart

Many people worry about heat waves and rising temperatures, but new research suggests that cold weather may be a greater danger to heart health. A...

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Valentine’s Day and chocolate are a perfect match, but is it a healthy relationship?

Every year, when Valentine's Day gets close, almost every store is packed with assorted heart-shaped chocolates. As companies put effort into making chocolate the...

Air pollution may cause heart attack within an hour, study finds

Scientists from Fudan University found that exposure to air pollutants – even at levels below World Health Organization air quality guidelines – may trigger...

How this summer’s heat waves could affect the economy

This summer has been one for the record books, with 63 countries experiencing record-breaking high temperatures. As a result, 2024 is already on track to...

Chewing gum is plastic pollution, not a litter problem

Thousands of tons of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made...

This black widow star devours its rapidly circling companion

In black widow star systems, a rapidly spinning dead star, called a pulsar, blasts its orbiting companion with radiation, slowly evaporating it. Like their namesake...

Intel processors are still vulnerable to attack

Computer scientists at KU Leuven have once again exposed a security flaw in Intel processors. Jo Van Bulck, Frank Piessens, and their colleagues in Austria,...

How 30 tree species dominate the world’s largest Savanna

The Cerrado, stretching across 2 million square kilometers of Brazil, is the largest and most diverse savanna in the world. It’s often overshadowed by the...

What ancient Denisovans may have looked like

If you could travel back in time 100,000 years, you'd find yourself living among multiple groups of humans, including anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and...