The dusty town of Naivasha sits within the Great Rift Valley, where the African continent is being divided into two. About 90 kilometers northwest of Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, Naivasha welcomes…
How one device could help transform our power grid
From Colorado to Washington, from Ohio to Pennsylvania, coal-fired power plants are shutting down. The United States is on track to retire half of its capacity to generate electricity from coal by…
Antarctic sea ice has been hitting record lows for most of this year
Something strange is happening to the Antarctic’s sea ice. The areal expanse of floating ice fringing the continent is not only at a record low for this time of year — surpassing…
When discussing flora and fauna, don’t forget ‘funga’
Fungi. They grow between toes, on bread and in the shower. But the organisms also produce food and medicine and act as ecosystem maids by decomposing dead matter — benefits that are…
Emperor penguins lost thousands of chicks to melting ice last year
Thousands of emperor penguins in western Antarctica lost their chicks last year, largely due to receding sea ice, satellite data suggest. Over the last two years, sea ice has reached record lows…
In a ‘perfect comeback,’ some birds use antibird spikes to build their nests
It’s the Mad Max dream of a bird’s nest: A menacing composite of metal, clay, twig and plastic. Spotted in a sugar maple tree in Antwerp, Belgium, the gnarly architecture brims with…
No more needles, an oral insulin medication could be on the horizon
Insulin is a life-saving medication, helping to control blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. Although not a cure, this breakthrough has saved millions of lives, providing treatment for a disease that was…
How thunderstorms can spawn damaging ‘downbursts’
In July, a fierce thunderstorm raged through Washington, D.C., damaging homes, felling trees, producing blinding rain and leaving thousands without power. The storm was the District’s worst since a derecho swept through…
Arctic sea ice may melt faster in coming years due to shifting winds
A flip-flopping, yearslong pattern of winds helps control the fate of the Arctic’s sea ice — by regulating how much of the Atlantic Ocean’s relatively warm, salty water sneaks northward into the…
Chemists turned plastic waste into tiny bars of soap
The time may be coming to wash our hands of plastic trash. Literally. About 60 percent of all plastic ever made ends up in landfills or littering the environment. Only about one-tenth…