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This year's global winner was a close-up image of a thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) flower with pollen tubes growing through the flower’s pistil. Scientists use the plant to study growth and development processes in plants and plant genetics.

Discover the Microscopic Wonders of Olympus' 2021 Image of the Year Awards

Just in time for spring, several winners capture a close-up view of fern spores to pollen tubes hidden in a flower petal

Researchers surveyed the owners of 18,385 dogs and sequenced the DNA of 2,155 dogs for a new study analyzing dog behavior and breed.   

Dog Breed Doesn't Affect Behavior, According to New Genetic Research

Personality is shaped by a combination of factors, including a pup’s environment

General Motors has previously announced plans to exclusively sell electric vehicles by 2035 with a plan to release 30 new electric cars globally by 2025.

Innovation for Good

Chevrolet's Classic Corvette Is Going Electric

A new hybrid model of the iconic American sports car, rumored to reach up to 1,000 horsepower, will hit the market as early as 2023

Light bulbs sold in the U.S. must have a minimum efficiency of 45 lumens per watt by July 2023.

Good News

The United States Will Phase Out Incandescent Light Bulbs

Officials estimate this will cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over 30 years and will save Americans $3 million per year on utility bills

A waning crescent moon, pictured here, occurs right before a new moon. The second new moon in a single calendar month is often called a black moon.

View a Rare Black Moon This Weekend

The phenomenon will also be marked by a partial solar eclipse

A person receives a Covid-19 nasopharyngeal swab at a testing site in Los Angeles International Airport on December 21, 2021. 

More Than Half of Americans Have Been Infected With Covid-19

The percentage of the population with Covid-19 antibodies resulting from infection rose significantly in recent months

an aurora borealis over Lake Inari in Finland

Evidence of Earliest Aurora Found in Ancient Chinese Texts

Such historical records of celestial events can help astronomers track and model patterns of space weather

Spotted tree frogs are critically endangered in New South Wales.

Critically Endangered Spotted Tree Frogs Released Into the Wild in Australia

Bushfires, fungal disease, predation and other threats have pushed these amphibians to the brink of extinction

A pied avocet wades in a wetland.

Protected Areas Don’t Always Help Wildlife, Study Shows

After examining waterbird populations, researchers found that how a protected area is managed is key in determining its effectiveness

Kane Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903.

Kane Tanaka, World's Oldest Person, Dies at 119

According to her family, the Japanese supercentenarian had been hospitalized and discharged repeatedly in recent weeks

Reseachers tested out the backpack dubbed KNaCK in a volcanic field in New Mexico, and are hoping the tech can support astronaunts on future lunar missions.

Innovation for Good

Lunar Backpack Could Aid Astronauts on Future Missions to the Moon

The pack can create 3-D maps in real-time of uncharted terrain

Oreo cookies helped inspire a new field of study coined "Oreology" by researchers at MIT.

Innovation for Good

Why MIT Researchers Are Studying Oreos

Fluid dynamics experts find that it’s nearly impossible to split the black-and-white cookie’s sweet filling evenly in half

The Hickson Compact Group 40 features five galaxies caught in a gravitational dance.

Hubble Space Telescope's 32nd Anniversary Photo Features Dramatic Galaxy Cluster

The five galaxies, dubbed the Hickson Compact Group 40, will merge in roughly a billion years

Biotech firm Oxitec is genetically modifying mosquitoes in the hopes of curbing the overall population. The company completed its first open-air release of the bugs in Florida.

Innovation for Good

First U.S. Open-Air Test of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Deemed a Success

Biotech firm Oxitec engineered the bugs in an effort to curb their numbers and help stop the spread of disease

The Dixie Valley toad lives only in a remote Nevada valley. 

Nevada Toad Receives Rare Emergency Protection

The construction of a geothermal power plant could create problems for the amphibian

The fossilized head crest of a pterosaur with evidence of feathers.

Pterosaurs May Have Had Vibrant Feathers Like Modern Birds

Researchers say different colors on the flying reptiles were a possible means of communication, and may indicate a common ancestor with dinosaurs

Europa became an interest to researchers as a place that potentially could harbor life after observations from Earth-bound telescopes and space probes found evidence of an ocean 10 to 15 miles beneath the icy surface. This drawing illustrates a possible water pocket within the ice that may contribute to ridges forming on the moon's surface.

Europa's Icy Shell May Be Habitable for Life

The moon of Jupiter could have shallow water pockets within its frozen surface

Karen Nyberg, a retired NASA astronaut, is launching a new fabric line inspired by her time in space. 

Good News

Retired Astronaut Launches a Fabric Line Inspired by Her Views of Earth From Space

Karen Nyberg's two missions to the International Space Station over her 30-year career with NASA fueled her creativity as an artist

Isaac Larsen, a geosciences expert at UMass Amherst, stands near a drop-off that seperates native remnant prairie from farmland in Iowa. Reseachers found that farmed fields were more than a foot lower than the prairie on average. 

More Than 50 Billion Tons of Topsoil Have Eroded in the Midwest

The estimate of annual loss is nearly double the rate of erosion the USDA considers sustainable

At least 36 bald eagles have died since February because of the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The virus is also causing the death of millions of commercial chickens and turkeys.

Bald Eagles Are Dying From Bird Flu

The highly contagious H5N1 strain is also infecting commercial chickens and turkeys

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