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Climate Change

Amud 7 was discovered in a cave in Israel in 1992.

Neanderthal Kids Grew Up So Fast—at Least Compared With Their Human Peers—Thanks to Genetic Adaptations to Their Environment

Scientists think Neanderthal children may have had faster growth rates because larger bodies tend to retain heat more effectively than smaller ones

Students at Anne Wien Elementary School in Fairbanks pilot test the Fresh Eyes on Ice data collection protocol with project team member Allen Bondurant in 2019.

‘Fresh Eyes on Ice’ Teaches Kids to Collect Vital Ice Data in Remote Alaskan Communities

Students measure ice thickness and monitor spring break-up to help save lives in areas where frozen rivers are used as roadways

A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake, Olafur Eliasson, 2026

A Glowing Sphere Towering Over Utah Sent an Urgent Artistic Message: The Great Salt Lake Is Drying Up

Olafur Eliasson’s latest installation married visuals with a soundscape to draw the public’s attention to the plight of the important ecosystem

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills of British Columbia, Canada, on August 17, 2023. Evacuation orders were put in place for areas near Kelowna, as the fire threatened the city of around 150,000.

Ancient Humans Mastered Fire. Now, Burning Fossil Fuels and Blazing Landscapes Threaten to ‘Undo the World’

Intensifying wildfires across the continent are spewing air pollution, putting human health at risk, particularly Americans living with chronic illnesses

The Mekong giant catfish is an endangered freshwater species.

Freshwater Fish Migrations Are Disappearing Across the Planet, Finds U.N. Report

The assessment identified over 300 species of fish that urgently need international conservation effort

More than 95 percent of the world’s bergamot oil production is concentrated in Southern Italy’s Calabria region. But harsh conditions driven by climate change threaten that supply.

Earth’s Smells Are Disappearing Because of Climate Change, and It’s a Vast Cultural Loss

A triple threat of pollution, extinction and warming temperatures is altering the way the planet smells. Scientists are only beginning to understand the stakes for humans

Roo Satay, a dish at Attica, in Melbourne, featuring a skewer of grilled red kangaroo and rice studded with native fruits and wattleseeds, which were traditionally ground into flour for bread.

How Australian Chefs and Farmers Are Rediscovering the Ingredients That Have Been There All Along

From kangaroo grass to Kakadu plums, native foods are redefining diners’ taste buds and deepening their connection to the land

A young living root bridge, barely a decade old, is seen from the deck of a much older root bridge on the same riverbed. Five months after I shot this photograph, monsoon rains triggered a landslide that sent boulders crashing into the younger bridge. It absorbed the impact and shielded the older bridge downstream.

In One of the Wettest Places on the Planet, Indigenous People Build Bridges and Ladders Out of Living Tree Roots

For hundreds of years, Khasi and Jaintia people in Meghalaya, India, have woven the roots of Indian rubber trees into structures that help them navigate flooded areas

One of blue crabs' biggest threats seems to be members of their own species.

Cannibalistic Blue Crabs Are Eating Their Younger Peers in Part of the Chesapeake Bay

The findings by Smithsonian researchers could help experts better manage this crustacean’s population. The creatures play important roles in the local ecosystem and food industry

Scientists tracked the breeding behaviors of king penguins on Possession Island, part of the French-controlled Crozet archipelago.

King Penguins Seem to Be Benefiting From a Warming World. While That’s Good News for Now, It Could Spell Trouble for the Future

The birds are breeding earlier, and more of their chicks are surviving. But researchers fear this success may not last

Even common backyard birds like house finches are disappearing.

North American Bird Losses Are Accelerating. New Research Suggests Fertilizers and Pesticides May Be to Blame

Scientists found the severest changes in decline rates in places that include hallmarks of high-intensity agriculture

The biggest discrepancies were in Southeast Asia.

Sea Levels Might Be Higher Than We Thought, Putting Millions of People in the Path of Coastal Flooding Sooner Than Expected

A lot of past research has used flawed methodology to estimate current coastal water levels, according to a new study

Manuel Díaz Cárdenas harvests the tender tips of his Salicornia plants.

As the Planet Warms, a Humble Sea Bean Is Proving to Be a Promising Superfood

Known as samphire, sea beans, glasswort or pickleweed, Salicornia thrives in high-saline environments, like coastal marshes, and has a lot of nutritional and medicinal properties

A blue morpho butterfly, native to the tropical forests of Central and South America

Most Insect Species Call the Tropics Home. But Climate Change Is Pushing Many of the Critters There to Their Heat Limits

Insects in the lowlands will have an especially hard time with rising temperatures, a new study suggests

Screenshot from the footage of a sleeper shark seen in Antarctica's waters

See the First Known Footage of an Elusive Southern Sleeper Shark Swimming in Antarctica’s Near-Freezing Waters

It might be the southernmost encounter with a shark ever documented

Geologist Molly Patterson holds part of the sediment core

Researchers Retrieve the Deepest-Ever Rock Core From Beneath Antarctica’s Ice. It Holds Clues About the Earth’s Past—and Future

The 748-foot-long sediment core contains a record of roughly the past 23 million years, including periods when the planet’s surface temperature was hotter than it is today

The Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, in eastern Chad, encompasses 19,300 square miles of a vast sandstone plateau.

The Sahara Desert Hasn’t Always Been a Dry, Desolate Landscape. Some Scientists See Signs It May Be Greening Again

Petroglyphs on sandstone at a national park in Chad bear witness to wildlife that once roamed the area before the continent’s water largely receded 6,000 years ago. Could it return?

Couples kissed beneath the arch for luck, according to local legend.

Couples Have Been Kissing Under the Lovers’ Arch in Italy for Years. On Valentine’s Day, It Collapsed Into the Sea

The iconic rock formation crumbled after days of raging storms. Local officials are calling for new initiatives to help slow coastal erosion in the region

An artistic representation of T. heberti snacking on some greens.

Cool Finds

A Football-Size Creature That Lived 307 Million Years Ago May Have Been One of the First Land Vertebrates to Eat Plants

“Hebert’s tyrant digger” had teeth built for grinding tough veggies, a new study suggests

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There's More to That

The Tragedy of the Alps’ Disappearing Glaciers for Those Who Live, Visit and Ski There

Warming temperatures are wreaking havoc at elevation, upending the Winter Olympics and the tourism industry and imperiling communities

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