Sci/Tech

pyrocumulus

4 ways wildfires generate tornadoes, lightning and other extreme weather, sometimes miles from the flames

by Yunyao Li, THE CONVERSATION August 1, 2026August 1, 2026

Crossing contrails in the sky

New study explains when some conspiracy theories can lead to action

by Annenberg Public Policy Center July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

NASA’s Perseverance took this selfie at “Witch Hazel Hill” on Jezero Crater’s rim on May 10, 2025. The small dark hole in the rock in front of the rover is the borehole made when the rover collected the “Bell Island” sample. The small puff of dust left of center and below the horizon line is a dust devil. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reads Record of Ancient Mars Impacts

by NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) July 15, 2026July 15, 2026

Quasars – shown here in an artist's impression – are among the brightest, most energetic objects in the universe, powered by supermassive black holes. Credit: ESA

The two most distant quasars ever observed: U of A astronomers help shatter cosmic record

by University of Arizona July 7, 2026July 7, 2026

Jack the red-tailed hawk on perch. (Alfonso Martínez-Carmena, UC Davis)

What molting hawks can teach researchers about resilient flight

by UC Davis June 27, 2026June 26, 2026

Bonobo smiling. Credit: Elisa Demuru

Apes and humans have been sharing a laugh for 15 million years

by University of Warwick June 26, 2026June 26, 2026

The traditional poo emoji (left) only shows one possible shape of faeces. Some worms extrude their excrement upside down, leading to a very different shape (right). As a playful by-product of their work, the authors of the research are planning to design a second poo emoji and officially propose it to the Unicode Consortium. Image: Lukas Kernell.

Why the poo emoji has its shape

by University of Amsterdam June 22, 2026June 22, 2026

Sentinel-3’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer includes dedicated channels for measuring fires. This will help to map carbon emissions from burnt biomass and to assess damage and estimate recovery of burnt areas. Information to help manage forest fires will be available using Sentinel-3 measurements combined with meteorological forecasting data. In addition, forests can be monitored systematically to assess risk and develop efficient plans to prevent forest fires. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Pacific warming signals El Niño has stirred

by European Space Agency June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

An affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) approach for comparative network analysis of SARSr-CoVs (A) Schematic overview of the affinity purification coupled to AP-MS workflow for mapping protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 in human (HEK293T) and bat (RFe) cells. (B) Bar plot showing the number of high-confidence PPIs identified for each viral protein of SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 in RFe (top) and HEK293T (bottom) cells. Interactions are color-coded as SARS-CoV-2-specific (green), RaTG13-specific (purple), or shared (gray). (C) Dot plot showing the percent sequence identity between human (HEK293T) and bat (RFe) orthologs for all PPIs, grouped by viral bait. Each dot represents a prey identified with either RaTG13 or SARS-CoV-2 viral baits.

Single Amino Acid Change May Help Viruses Jump From Bat to Human

by UC San Francisco June 15, 2026June 15, 2026

Satellite imagery showing the difference from average sea surface temperatures at the equator in the tropical Pacific Ocean (depicted using various shades of red and orange for warmth) during the first week of June 2026, as compared with the baseline used by NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch. (Image credit: NOAA Satellites )

El Nino forms, expected to strengthen, say NOAA forecasters

by NOAA June 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Obesity. Obese men walking on the street

Body mass index found to drastically underestimate obesity levels in the United States

by Keck Medicine, University of Southern California June 4, 2026June 4, 2026

The_Env_Cost_of_AI

Rising Emissions, Depleting Water and Vanishing Land—UN Scientists: AI Is Threatening Natural Resources for Billions

by United Nations University June 3, 2026June 3, 2026

View of Earth taken during International Space Station Expedition 66. Credit: NASA

A new study explains how carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms earth below

by Earth Institute at Columbia University May 11, 2026May 11, 2026

Global workshop focuses on protecting whales from ship strikes

by UC Santa Barbara May 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Shifts in the tempo of reef fish diversification. Phylogeny of reef-associated fishes, with black points indicating nodes where significant rate shifts were detected; points are scaled to the magnitude of speciation rate change between parent and daughter branches. Speciation rate shifts in 1) Scarus and Chlororus, 2) Canthigaster, 3) Balistidae, 4) Rhinecanthus, 5) Siganidae, 6) Naso, 7) Acanthurus, 8) Hypoplectrus, 9) and 10) Holocentridae, 11) Elacatinus, 12) Pomacentridae. Green bars represent predominantly benthic-feeding groups. Ectoparasite feeding (Elacatinus) requires detachment of resources and thus, functionally resembles a biting-associated feeding mode rather than a suction-based mode.

Fish Evolution Accelerated After Adapting to Eat off Hard Surfaces

by UC Davis April 28, 2026April 28, 2026

Past earthquakes in the area are marked with circles (red circles represent earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 7, orange with a magnitude greater than 6 and cheddar with a magnitude greater than 5.5). Known faults are marked with lines (red faults had a recorded earthquake, yellow had a prehistoric earthquake and green had an earthquake at an unknown time).

Magnitude 4.8 aftershock strikes near Lahontan Reservoir

by University of Nevada Reno April 22, 2026April 22, 2026

A satellite image, August 6, 2018, shows smoke from multiple large California wildfires. The fires themselves, detected by thermal imagery, are in red. (NASA)

Exposure to Wildfire Smoke May Be Linked To Increased Risk of Developing Several Cancers

By American Association for Cancer ResearchApril 21, 2026April 21, 2026

Fault slickensides. Credit Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

Safety Board Urges Analysis of Extensive Faulting in Underground Nevada Nuclear Lab

by Seismological Society of America April 15, 2026April 15, 2026

The ocean is continuously ventilated when surface waters sink and transport, for example, oxygen and carbon to greater depths. Photo: Arne Körtzinger, GEOMAR

Hidden ocean feedback loop could accelerate climate change

by University of Rochester April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Photo f the Moon. contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA

Earth from Space: Eyes on our Moon

by European Space Agency April 3, 2026April 3, 2026

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