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The sun sets behind the Manhattan Bridge and One World Trade Center in a haze created by smoke from the west coast wildfires reaching the east coast on September 15, 2020 in New York City, according to Getty Images.

West Coast Wildfire Smoke Reported as Far East as the Netherlands

Hazy skies covered the United States and parts of Europe this week as jet streams pushed fumes eastward

Smoke rises from a fire in the Amazon rainforest, south of Novo Progresso in the Para state, Brazil.

Humans Wiped Out Two-Thirds of the World’s Wildlife in 50 Years

Threats to global biodiversity are also threats to humans, experts warn

Climate change is causing trees, like black spruces, grow fast and die early, which in turn negates the trees' ability to absorb as much CO2 as scientists previously thought.

Trees Are Growing Fast and Dying Young Due to Climate Change

Rapid growth reduces the capacity of forests to absorb and store carbon dioxide

An acorn woodpecker wearing one of the radio tags used in the study.

New Research

These Woodpeckers’ Bloody Wars Draw Crowds

Acorn woodpeckers will fight to the death to control the finest habitat and new research finds up to 30 non-combatants will pull up a branch to watch

Starlet anemone grow tentacle arms based on how much food they intake.

These Sea Anemones Grow Limbs When They Eat

The starlet sea anemone is the first known species to translate food into limbs

Storm Francis uncovered more petrified tree stumps in Wales' Cardigan Bay, 15 miles south of the sunken forest in Borth.

New Section of Petrified Forest Uncovered on Wales Beach After Storm

The petrified forest in Borth appears in a myth written in the oldest surviving Welsh manuscript

Venus, the second planet from the sun

In Clouds on Venus, New Potential for Microbial Life

Astronomers have detected a chemical in Venus’ atmosphere that signifies life on Earth. Could it mean the same on Venus?

The cave angel fish's unique pelvic shape was first documented in 2016. Its uncommon anatomy allows it to walk with all four appendages the way a salamander or a lizard might.

New Research

Study Finds Ten Species of Fish That May Have a Secret Talent for Walking on Land

The strange fish may help researchers envision the gaits of Earth’s first terrestrial vertebrates

A research team surveyed the seafloor near Thwaites Glacier on the RV Nathaniel B Palmer in early 2019.

New Research

Mapping Technology Reveals Channels of Warm Water Under Florida-Sized Glacier

The new research will inform computer models of how quickly the glacier is melting

A regular mouse is pictured on the left of a bulky "mighty mouse."

Space Mice Return to Earth, Mighty as Ever

Their space voyage provides new insights for treating muscle and bone loss

Autumn near Killington, Vermont

See Where Brilliant Fall Foliage Will Peak Across the Country in This Map

An interactive map predicts when the orange, red and yellow hues of autumn will brighten up the countryside

Bronze-tailed Comet (Polyonymus caroli) perched on a cactus in Peru.

New Research

Hummingbirds in the Andes Go to Chilly Extremes for a Good Night’s Sleep

The longer a bird spent in a state of torpor, the less body mass it lost overnight

Left: an artist's rendering of the GW Orionis system depicts its misaligned rings of dust and gas. Right: a view of GW Orionis

A Rare Planet Might Be Hiding in This Oddly Shaped, Triple-Star System

Two new studies explain why GW Orionis, a rare triple-star system 1,300 light years away, looks so misshapen

View of shore at Crissy Field in San Francisco, Alcatraz in the distance.

Photographs Capture Eerie Skies That Cloaked the Bay Area in an Orange Glow

Smoke from more than 20 major fires burning in the surrounding region shrouded the city through the morning hours

A lower resolution copy of a 3,200 megapixel image of Romanesco broccoli. The photo was taken by a camera being built to help the Vera Rubin Observatory's telescope study space.

Scientists Tested Out the World’s Largest Digital Camera on a Piece of Broccoli

Soon, it’ll photograph the cosmos. But first, scientists used it to snap a highly-detailed picture of an ordinary vegetable

Yakutia [pictured] is 83.4 percent forested, making it "one of the most fire-hazardous Russian regions.

‘Zombie Fires’ May Have Sparked Record High Carbon Emissions in the Arctic

Increasing temperatures due to climate change and wildfires may be propelling the region into a fiery new normal

Parasitic dodders use outgrowths called haustoria to leech water and nutrients from their host plants.

New Research

Parasitic Plant Waits for Host’s Signal Before Flowering

Dodders grow into tangled masses of leafless tendrils also called wizard’s net and strangleweed

In one example of redlining, this Home Owners' Loan Corporation map depicts part of Chicago, Illinois and labels neighborhoods as "hazardous" (red) or "best" (green). Borrowers could be denied access to credit if their homes or businesses were located in "hazardous" neighborhoods, typically economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with large minority populations.

How Redlining Made City Neighborhoods Hotter

A growing body of research highlights the connection between systemic discrimination and the local climate

The total emissions released increased as temperatures rose, doubling when temperatures went from 104 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit

On Hot Days, Asphalt Can Release as Much Air Pollution as Cars

During heat waves, pavement can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which unleashes harmful particles into the air

The blue areas in this composite image from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter show water concentrated at the Moon's poles. Homing in on the spectra of rocks there, researchers found signs of hematite, a form of rust.

Why Is the Moon Covered in Rust? Even Scientists Are Stumped by This Metal Mystery

Without oxygen and water, how is the substance

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