Alex Fox

Alex Fox

 

Alex Fox is a freelance science journalist based in California. He has written for the New York Times, National Geographic, Science, Nature and other outlets. You can find him at Alexfoxscience.com.

Emperor penguins are the world's largest penguin, standing almost four feet tall and weighing around 88 pounds. They live almost exclusively in Antarctica and need sea ice to survive.

Climate Change Poised to Push Emperor Penguins to the Brink of Extinction

Study estimates 98 percent of colonies will be quasi-extinct by 2100 unless the world drastically reduces its greenhouse gas emissions

Poland's coal-fired Belchatow Power Station released 38 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2018.

Just 5 Percent of Power Plants Release 73 Percent of Global Electricity Production Emissions

Targeting the world's worst emitters could offer disproportionate benefits when it comes to fighting climate change

An adult male transient or Bigg's killer whale.

Stranded Killer Whale Survives With the Help of Humans

The whale was spotted stuck among the rocks of an island in Southeast Alaska, but after about six hours on dry land the whale was able to swim off

A new article suggests that cats have been underutilized in studies of genetic disease and that studying their genomes, which are structured similarly to humans', could yield new treatments.

Human Genomes Are Surprisingly Cat-Like

Cat genomes are more similar to ours than those of mice and dogs, yet researchers say felines are underutilized in genetic studies of disease

This map shows how land and ocean temperatures have changed from June 2021 relative to the 1951-1980 base period. High values (darker red colors) indicate temperatures that are higher than those in the base period. The number in the top right is an estimate of the global mean temperature increase. All temperatures are in Celsius.

Study Measuring Earth's Vital Signs Warns of Climate Tipping Points

The authors say tropical coral reefs, the Amazon rainforest, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets may have passed dangerous tipping points

A 3D image of the spiral-shaped intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark. In life, food would move through this intestine left to right.

Sharks' Intestines Spiral Like a Valve Invented by Nikola Tesla

Tesla's ingenious valve promoted a one-way flow of fluid without the need for moving parts, but, it turns out, evolution got there first

A map from NOAA showing parts of the country that are under heat advisory as of July 27 (orange), excessive heat watch (brown) and excessive heat warning (fuchsia). The shaded areas of the map with heat related advisories or warnings encompass more than 30 million people.

'Heat Dome' Descends on Central United States

Forecasts suggest more than 30 million people could see temperatures topping 100 degrees this week

Researchers extracting an ice core from the Guliya Ice Cap in the Tibetan Plateau in 2015.

Scientists Extract 15,000-Year-Old Viruses From Tibetan Glacier

Researchers say the ancient pathogens are unlikely to cause humans any harm, but 28 out of the 33 viruses found are new to science

Feral hogs wreak havoc on the ecosystems they invade, and new research suggests they're also contributing to climate change by releasing 1.1 million cars-worth of carbon dioxide every year.

Feral Pigs Release 1.1 Million Cars-Worth of Planet-Warming Carbon Dioxide Every Year

The study's results add exacerbating climate change to the list of environmental impacts ascribed to this invasive species

This is the 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly specimen that researchers collected tissue samples from for this study.

This Butterfly Is the First U.S. Insect to Be Wiped Out by Humans

Genetic tests using museum specimens suggest that the Xerces blue was a distinct species and that it disappeared in 1941

An opah or moonfish that washed up on Sunset Beach in northern Oregon on July 14.

Brightly Colored, 100-Pound Moonfish Washes Up on Oregon Beach

Scientists say this open-ocean species, also known as an opah, typically inhabits warmer waters than those of the Pacific Northwest

A new image of a powerful jet firing out of the black hole at the center of the radio galaxy Centaurus A, taken with the Event Horizon Telescope.

New Black Hole Image Shows Plasma Jets Blasting Into Space

Researchers say the new, detailed image of the black hole at the center of the Centaurus A galaxy could reveal how its jets formed

The aftermath of floods that ravaged the village of Schuld in western Germany, seen on July 16, 2021. The floods killed at least 165 people across western Germany and neighboring countries.

Deadly Floods Rip Apart Western Germany, Claiming at Least 165 Lives

Nearly two months-worth of rain fell in just 24 hours, leading to flash floods that tore through buildings

This wearable sensor harvests sweat from the fingertips to generate the electricity it needs to measure things such as heart rate and blood-sugar.

New Wearable Medical Sensors Run on Fingertip Sweat

The slim, flexible device could measure blood glucose or heart rate without the need for batteries

Researchers say that wild plants that gave rise to today’s three lineages of cannabis grew in present-day China.

New Study Suggests Cannabis' Wild Ancestors Likely Came from China

The analysis identifies East Asia as a potential source of genetic diversity for the growing market for medical and recreational marijuana

A dwarf cow named Rani stands next to a more normal sized cow on a farm in Bangladesh.

This 20-Inch-Tall Cow Could Be the World's Smallest Ever

Meet Rani, a pint-size bovine in Bangladesh, who has drawn thousands of adoring fans to her farm

A thin strand of ice seen through a microscope in the process of bending under pressure. When the pressure is released the ice strand will spring back to its original shape.

Scientists Make Thin Strands of Ice That Bend Without Breaking

Researchers created a new type of ice that is far more elastic than any other water ice ever studied

The Maple Fire photographed burning up Jefferson Ridge in Olympic National Forest, Washington. In court documents, prosecutors alleged that men convicted of illegal logging in the National Forest may have started the Maple Fire.

For the First Time, Tree DNA Was Used to Convict Lumber Thieves in Federal Investigation

Genetic evidence showed that two men illegally chopped down and sold valuable bigleaf maple trees inside Olympic National Forest

New research finds that sea otters have extremely high metabolisms for their size to keep warm in the cold ocean waters they inhabit.

With This Metabolic Trick, Sea Otters Stay Warm Without Shivering

Researchers find that the metabolisms of these marine mammals go into overdrive to create heat in cool waters

A newly discovered white dwarf star (right) is only slightly larger than the moon (left).

Incredibly Dense White Dwarf Star Packs the Mass of the Sun Into the Size of the Moon

Researchers say if the star was any more massive it would likely collapse under its own weight and explode

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