Nature, Environment, Climate Change, Ecology

After 150 years, a prized box returns to an Indigenous nation in Canada: ‘I felt like royalty traveling with it’

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 08:00:45 -0400

The unlikely return of the bentwood box underscores the challenges facing Indigenous communities working to reclaim items raided from their lands

When the plane took off from Vancouver’s airport, bound north for the Great Bear Rainforest, Q̓íx̌itasu Elroy White felt giddy with excitement.

The plane traced a route along the Pacific Ocean and British Columbia’s coast mountains, still snow-capped in late May.

Protocells self-assembling on micrometeorites hint at origins of life

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:20:36 -0400

Micrometeorites are thought to shower down on planets throughout the universe, so the discovery that they help protocells form could tell us something about the chances of life elsewhere

You love the outdoors. So why are you pooping all over it?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:00:33 -0400

Millions of Americans a year visit national parks and many leave their business anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, that deluge of poop is not going to decompose

Last year, I watched a man squat and relieve himself 30ft (9 metres) from me, holding on to his vehicle’s front wheel with one hand to steady himself. My dog and I were on our usual walk up the dirt road that bisects our old mining town, nestled just shy of 10,000ft (3km) in south-western Colorado.

It was a short walk from the house, and we were out just to get a little movement. Not to see one.

The best new science fiction books of July 2025

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:00:03 -0400

From Austin Taylor to Nadia Afifi, there is lots to look forward to in the sci-fi out this month - including a novel which might be our culture editor Alison Flood's pick of the year so far

Brazil’s last asbestos miners are switching to rare earth minerals. Can they offer a brighter future?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 05:02:38 -0400

The small city of Minaçu is hoping to challenge China’s dominance in servicing the global appetite for minerals key to the green energy transition

Minaçu, a small city in inland Brazil and home to the only asbestos mine in the Americas, is set to become the first operation outside Asia to produce four rare earths on a commercial scale – a group of minerals key to the energy transition at the centre of the trade dispute between China and the US.

Until now, China has dominated the separation of rare earths, and accounts for 90% of the manufacture of rare-earth magnets, or super magnets, which are made with these elements and used in electric cars, wind turbines and military equipment such as jets.

Life on landfill: the people who scrape a living from our waste – in pictures

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 02:00:09 -0400

Three leading female photographers – Gulshan Khan, Laura El-Tantawy and Lisl Ponger – explore the complex global entanglements of climate crisis, environmental justice and human survival

Country diary: Like wrecked prizes, the body parts of pheasants litter the landscape | Nicola Chester

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:30:54 -0400

North Wessex Downs, Hampshire: Predators are increasingly drawn by the shooting-season escapees. But, miserably, other ground-nesting birds and their eggs are being taken, too

Away from where arable fields have enriched the down to coarse grasses, meadow anthills are floriferous pillows, pimpling the smoothness. On them, strange, wrecked prizes are arranged: eggshells; the light, keeled sternum of a pheasant; a stripped, raw‑red bone; a jewel-bright French partridge’s head, topping the beads of its neck vertebrae like an umbrella handle, or a brooch, pretty and gruesome.

As far as the eye can see, shooting estate borders shooting estate. Skylarks, linnets, yellowhammers and whitethroats sing, but by far the most numerous birds are pheasants, followed by corvids; and this year’s gamebirds haven’t yet been released for winter’s shooting.

‘Even if we stop drinking we will be exposed’: A French region has banned tap water. Is it a warning for the rest of Europe?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:04 -0400

Forever chemicals have polluted the water supply of 60,000 people, threatening human health, wildlife and the wider ecosystem. But activists say this is just the tip of the Pfas iceberg

One quiet Saturday night, Sandra Wiedemann was curled up on the sofa when a story broke on TV news: the water coming from her tap could be poisoning her. The 36-year-old, who is breastfeeding her six-month-old son Côme, lives in the quiet French commune of Buschwiller in Saint-Louis, near the Swiss city of Basel. Perched on a hill not far from the Swiss and German borders, it feels like a safe place to raise a child – spacious houses are surrounded by manicured gardens, framed by the wild Jura mountains.

But as she watched the news, this safety felt threatened: Wiedemann and her family use tap water every day, for drinking, brushing her teeth, showering, cooking and washing vegetables. Now, she learned that chemicals she had never heard of were lurking in her body, on her skin, potentially harming her son. “I find it scary,” she says. “Even if we stop drinking it we will be exposed to it and we can’t really do anything.”

Polycystic ovary syndrome may be passed on via chemical tags on DNA

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:01:11 -0400

Eggs and embryos from people with polycystic ovary syndrome have altered patterns of so-called epigenetic tags, which could explain how the condition is inherited

Typos and slang spur AI to discourage seeking medical care

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 17:00:40 -0400

AI models change their medical recommendations when people ask them questions that include colourful language, typos, odd formatting and even gender-neutral pronouns

Orcas are bringing humans gifts – what does it mean?

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:00:38 -0400

Researchers have documented orcas seemingly gifting rays, seals and fish to scientists and divers, which could suggest they have theory of mind and engage in altruism – even across species

Single antiviral shot could offer better protection than flu vaccines

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:00:44 -0400

A long-lasting formulation of an antiviral drug greatly reduced people’s risk of a symptomatic flu infection in a trial, and should even be effective against new strains

The remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:00:31 -0400

Over tens of thousands of years, waves of Homo sapiens set out across Europe and Asia, only for their societies and cultures to mysteriously vanish. At last, ancient DNA is revealing why

Spain records highs of 46C and France under alert as Europe swelters in heatwave

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:16:39 -0400

Extreme heat ‘the new normal’, says UN chief, as authorities across the continent issue health warnings

A vicious heatwave has engulfed southern Europe, with punishing temperatures that have reached highs of 46C (114.8F) in Spain and placed almost the entirety of mainland France under alert.

Extreme heat, made stronger by fossil fuel pollution, has for several days scorched Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece as southern Europe endures its first major heatwave of the summer.

Flying ants: why this year’s mating season could be longer and more frenzied than ever

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 10:59:02 -0400

Warm weather and wet conditions caused by the climate emergency could trigger huge swarms of winged ants this July, experts warn. But why do they all take to the skies at once?

Name: Flying ants.

Age: Their ancestors have been with us since the end of the Jurassic period.

Puerto Rico’s solar-powered village – in pictures

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 10:00:44 -0400

For years, Puerto Ricans have faced high electricity costs and regular blackouts. The town of Adjuntas, in the central mountains, boasts the island’s first community-owned solar microgrid

England wildlife regulator chair ‘enthusiastic’ about lynx rewilding

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:15:16 -0400

Views on apex predator still polarised, says Natural England head, as activists apply for trial release in Northumberland

The head of the government’s wildlife regulator has said he remains enthusiastic about reintroducing lynx to Britain and would be “absolutely delighted” if it could be achieved during his two-year term.

But Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said debates over the animal’s release were “still quite polarised” and more engagement was required to understand how communities would be affected.

Europe swelters under heatwave – in pictures

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 06:31:14 -0400

Authorities issue extreme heat, health and wildfire warnings with highest temperatures forecast in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain

I was a big orca fan – but their skincare regime is giving me the ick | Emma Beddington

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 06:00:18 -0400

These supposedly serious cetaceans have been spotted massaging each other with kelp stalks. This is the sort of performative nonsense you’d expect from dolphins

I’ve thought for a while that it would be nice to be an orca. Not because I hate boats and they sink them (though I get it – the briny depths are none of our human business). What actually appeals is the idea of being charismatic megafauna – I love that phrase – and also important as a post-menopausal female. Orcas are one of very few species that go through menopause, living for decades after their reproductive years. These older matriarchs remain an integral part of the community, improving pod survival rates thanks to being “repositories of ecological knowledge”, caring for young and even, research suggests, keeping their giant adult sons safe from being attacked. The fact that they’re fashion-conscious is a bonus: the 80s orca trend for wearing jaunty salmon fascinators was revived, intriguingly, in some pods last December; other orcas have been observed draping themselves artistically in kelp.

But new research is giving me pause. Now orcas in the Salish Sea off the coast of Washington state have been filmed picking kelp stalks and “massaging” each other with them. In sightings of this behaviour, reported and dubbed “allokelping” by the Center for Whale Research, “the two whales then manoeuvre to keep the kelp between them while rolling it across their bodies … During contact, whales roll and twist their bodies, often adopting an exaggerated S-shaped posture.”

Did you know that there are huge caves full of weirdy bugs and ancient life right under the Nullarbor desert? | First Dog on the Moon

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 04:03:44 -0400

We simply don’t know even a fraction of what is in them

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UN expert urges criminalizing fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 02:00:13 -0400

Rapporteur calls for defossilization of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms

A leading UN expert is calling for criminal penalties against those peddling disinformation about the climate crisis and a total ban on fossil fuel industry lobbying and advertising, as part of a radical shake-up to safeguard human rights and curtail planetary catastrophe.

Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change who presents her damning new report to the general assembly in Geneva on Monday, argues that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and compensate communities for harms caused.

Seoul wrestles with how to handle invasion of ‘lovebugs’

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:50:09 -0400

Swarms in South Korean capital trigger heated debate over pest control as experts say rising temperatures partly to blame

Seoul residents are grappling with an invasion of so-called “lovebugs” that have swarmed hiking trails and urban areas across the South Korean capital, with experts debating how to handle the infestations that are surging as the climate crisis draws them further north.

Viral footage shared on social media shows Gyeyangsan mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, with hiking trails and observation decks carpeted black with the insects.

Altered gut microbiome linked to fertility issues in people with PCOS

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 19:01:45 -0400

People with PCOS who struggle to conceive tend to have lower levels of a gut microbe that has been linked to endometrial function

Gardeners urged to 'deadhead' their flowers to attract 1 beautiful animal

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 14:00:00 -0400

A quick hack will turn a garden into a haven for beautiful and vibrant wildlife.

The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s China deal: rare earths pave the green road to militarisation | Editorial

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 12:00:57 -0400

Clean tech’s key minerals now drive western rearmament, reviving extractive ambition and exposing the toxic cost of dependence

It’s an irony that the minerals needed to save the planet may help destroy it. Rare earth elements, the mineral backbones of wind turbines and electric vehicles, are now the prize in a geopolitical arms race. The trade agreement between Washington and Beijing restores rare earth shipments from China to the US, which had been suspended in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Behind the bluster, there has been a realisation in Washington that these are critical inputs for the US. They are needed not just by American icons such as Ford and Boeing but for its fighter jets, missile guidance systems and satellite communications.

This understanding suggests that Washington will scale back some of its countermeasures once Beijing resumes delivery of rare earths. The paradox is that to reduce its dependence on China, the US must depend on Beijing a little longer. This is not yet decoupling; it’s deferment. That, however, may not last. Mr Trump has signed an executive order to boost production of critical minerals, which encourages the faster granting of permits for mining and processing projects. He eyes Ukraine and Greenland’s subterranean riches to break dependence on China.

Vet urges dog lovers to think twice before choosing this popular breed

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 23:01:00 -0400

Pet experts have spoken out to warn future dog parents about the difficulty of owning one popular pooch due to its serious health conditions.

Thames Water court case shows there are alternatives to massive infrastructure

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 12:00:28 -0400

It is what we might call the HS2 fallacy: new reservoirs as tall as high-rise buildings that boost water companies’ assets

Britain is running out of water, we are told. Soon there will be curfews, banning people from turning on their taps, as happens in Italy. Standpipes will sprout on the side of parched roads where trees once stood.

Rivers will run dry and rural communities will begin digging wells in response to a water apocalypse destined to arrive courtesy of the ravaging effect of climate change.

X-ray boosting fabric could make mammograms less painful

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:00:00 -0400

A flexible fabric called X-Wear could replace some parts of medical scanners, which would make taking X-rays and CT scans far more comfortable and convenient

The Women Behind the Wild | In Her Nature

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:53:29 -0400

The post The Women Behind the Wild | In Her Nature appeared first on Nature.

Mathematicians create a tetrahedron that always lands on the same side

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:47:31 -0400

With the help of powerful computers, researchers discovered a four-sided shape that naturally rests on one side, and built a real-life version from carbon fibre and tungsten

The bold plan to save a vital ocean current with giant parachutes

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:30:11 -0400

Large sea anchors could be used to drag water under a bold plan to keep the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation moving – but some experts are sceptical

Anyone with ants in garden told 'watch out' for invasive 'dangerous' species spotted in UK

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 06:50:00 -0400

Dubbed one of the 'most destructive invasive species' they have been seen in UK and have habits making them easy to spot

UK zookeepers can p-p-pick out their penguins thanks to one genius idea

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 06:16:00 -0400

Blackpool Zoo's keepers came up with a cunning plan to tell their fluffy new penguin chicks apart .. painting their toenails!

Our verdict on The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: A thumbs up

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:52:36 -0400

Culture editor Alison Flood rounds up the New Scientist Book Club's take on our latest read, a time-travelling romance

Read an extract from Adam Roberts’s far future-set Lake of Darkness

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:45:31 -0400

In this passage from near the opening of Lake of Darkness, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are given an insight into how deep-space travel works in Adam Roberts’s universe

Why Adam Roberts set out to write a sci-fi utopia, not a dystopia

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:45:21 -0400

The author of Lake of Darkness, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, on why, in a world awash with fictional dystopias, he set out to write the opposite

Grizzly with checkered past swims miles to Canadian island – and into hot water

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:00:04 -0400

Residents on British Columbia island fiercely divided over whether to relocate, euthanize or ignore ‘Tex’ the bear

Most visitors to Texada Island, a 30-mile sliver of land off the west coast of British Columbia, choose one of two main methods of arrival: a provincial ferry service with 10 daily sailings or a 3,000 foot air strip which welcomes the occasional chartered plane.

But a four-year-old grizzly bear recently took a far more challenging route, braving strong currents and frigid water to swim nearly three miles across the Malaspina Strait.

Mystery fireball spotted plummeting to Earth over the US

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 18:09:37 -0400

There have been hundreds of reports of sightings of a “fireball” in the skies over the southern US – it may have been a meteor breaking up as it falls through Earth’s atmosphere

Ash trees are rapidly evolving some resistance to ash dieback disease

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:00:47 -0400

DNA sequencing shows young trees are more likely to have gene variants that confer partial resistance to a fungus that has been wiping out ash trees across Europe

Deep sleep seems to lead to more eureka moments

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:00:23 -0400

After a nap, people who entered the second stage of sleep were more likely to spot a solution to a problem than those who slept lightly or not at all

These rocks are probably the last remains of Earth's early crust

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:00:05 -0400

Geologists have long debated whether a stony formation in Canada contains the world’s oldest rocks – new measurements make a compelling case that it does

Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 11:17:26 -0400

With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home

Extreme winter weather isn’t down to a wavier jet stream

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 10:00:33 -0400

The recent erratic behaviour of the polar jet stream isn't out of the ordinary, researchers have found by compiling data from the past 125 years

Can a new paper defuse climate infighting?

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 09:36:47 -0400

To fix climate, all the tools need to be on the table, experts say.

What sleep scientists recommend doing to fall asleep more easily

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:00:23 -0400

Helping yourself get to sleep isn’t just about avoiding screens before bedtime. From cognitive shuffling to sleep-restriction therapy, columnist Helen Thomson finds out what actually works

Shipping is one of the world’s dirtiest industries – could this invention finally clean up cargo fleets?

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 02:00:51 -0400

Freighters emit more greenhouse gases than jets, but a tech startup believes a simple and effective technique can help the industry change course

An industrial park alongside the River Lea in the London suburb of Chingford might not be the most obvious place for a quiet revolution to be taking place. But there, a team of entrepreneurs is tinkering with a modest looking steel container that could hold a solution to one of the world’s dirtiest industries.

Inside it are thousands of cherry-sized pellets made from quicklime. At one end, a diesel generator pipes fumes through the lime, which soaks up the carbon, triggering a chemical reaction that transforms it into limestone.

Independent estimate of Gaza deaths is higher than official figures

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 16:07:57 -0400

A study based on household surveys suggests that from October 2023 to January 2025, around 75,000 people in Gaza died violent deaths, while Gaza's health ministry estimates 46,000 for the same period

Ancient mammoth-tusk boomerang is twice as old as we thought

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 15:00:31 -0400

A boomerang discovered in a Polish cave was originally dated as 18,000 years old, but it may have been contaminated by preservation materials. A new estimate suggests the mammoth-ivory artefact is 40,000 years old

Gastric bypass surgery may cut the risk of bowel cancer

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 15:00:09 -0400

Weight-loss surgery seems to lower the risk of colorectal cancer by changing where bile acids enter the small intestine, raising the possibility of developing treatments that mimic these effects

How might society react to babies with two genetic fathers?

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 14:00:00 -0400

Mice created using genetic material from two sperm cells have gone on to have offspring off their own, but the prospect of one day using the technique in humans has potential to cause controversy