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Climate Change

Smarter than we think.

New Research

Bees Can Learn to Play “Soccer.” Score One for Insect Intelligence

Small as they are, bumblebee brains are surprisingly capable of mastering novel, complex tasks

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault keeps backups of the world's seeds safe in case of catastrophe.

Trending Today

Syria Just Made a Major Seed Bank Deposit

Seeds from 49,000 types of crops will be backed up in Svalbard once more

E.O. Wilson Urges Tomorrow’s Scientists to Seek Earth’s Undiscovered Riches

In a Smithsonian talk, the eminent biologist argued for more protected areas and greater efforts to map the diversity of life

Our global greenhouse gas emissions may not be any lower overall, but the historic treaty established a framework for an international plan of action.

Age of Humans

Twelve Years Ago, the Kyoto Protocol Set the Stage for Global Climate Change Policy

The predecessor of today’s Paris Agreement got us one step closer to an international plan of action on climate change

Sea surface temperatures are abnormally warm in the Pacific Ocean. Will that drive an El Niño event later this year?

Trending Today

Another El Niño Could Be On Its Way

There’s a 40 percent chance of the pattern later this year

Wilson works to band waterfowl in the summer to help track the birds. Hunters that harvest banded birds will report their harvest to state wildlife officials.

Age of Humans

This Biologist Defies Gravity (and Glass Ceilings) to Document the Effects of Climate Change

As one of five American women in this role, Heather Wilson blends aviation and birds to bolster climate change records

The Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario is one of the world's leading long-term experiments tracking the effects of climate change, pollution and other factors on freshwater ecosystems.

Canadian Scientists Explain Exactly How Their Government Silenced Science

It wasn’t just climate research. Rock snot, sharks and polar bears: All were off-limits during the Harper administration

While it has some kinks to work out, this sleek new device could help in the bid to limit landfill-bound waste.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Can This Trash Can Turn Food Waste Into Garden Treasure?

The Zera Food Recycler may not transform scraps into ready-to-use soil, but it could still help take a bite out of landfill-bound waste

An illustration of Australia's past megafauna.

New Research

Changing Climate, Not Humans, Killed Australia’s Massive Mammals

But that mass extinction could help us predict what today’s human-wrought climate change may bring

2016 broke temperature records on land and sea, report both NOAA and NASA.

Trending Today

2016 Was the Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Never in modern memory has the Earth’s surface and sea temperature been so high

As his ancestors have done for generations, Icelander Árni Hilmarsson catches an Atlantic puffin in a net called a háfur.

Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny

Historically, hunting seabirds has been a distinctive feature of Nordic coastal culture. Should it still be?

Smallmouth salamanders reproduce sexually, which may give them certain advantages.

New Research

When Is Sex Worth Going the Distance? When You’re a Salamander, Apparently

Asexual amphibians may be less equipped to handle modern threats than their sexual counterparts

New Research

Warming Oceans Could Make These Seafood Favorites Toxic

New study links rising temperatures to dangerous toxins

In 300 years of fundamentally altering the Earth and its climate, what have we learned?

Age of Humans

Your Guide to All Things Anthropocene

Documenting an era of manmade change

A wide view of the rift in Larsen C as seen on November 10, 2016. The crack has since lengthened by about 12 miles.

Trending Today

An Iceberg Larger Than Rhode Island Is Poised to Break From Antarctica

Its break from the ice shelf could spell trouble for the frozen expanse

Workers on a NOAA ocean buoy

New Research

New Study Confirms There Was No Global Warming Hiatus

An independent evaluation of NOAA’s disputed data further supports the steady upward march of temperatures

This year we've seen swelling efforts to protect vast swaths of ocean. Are they scientifically sound?

Do Ocean Preserves Actually Work?

The U.S. now leads the world in protected marine areas. But are they a scientifically sound strategy?

Chinchorro mummy at San Miguel de Azapa Museum in Arica, Chile

New Research

What Have the World’s Oldest Mummies Kept Under Wraps?

Researchers are making digital reconstructions of the 7,000-year-old bodies, which face rapid deterioration from microbes

This year's science left us speechless and maybe a tiny bit more knowledgeable.

The Top 9 Baffling, Humbling, Mind-Blowing Science Stories of 2016

From gravity’s song to the evolutionary secrets of dogs, this year unlocked a treasure trove of scientific discovery

At the top of Dome A, an unmanned research station, is a smattering of antenna masts, small shipping containers, scientific equipment and a lot of footprints that take years for the snow and meager wind to cover up.

The Coldest, Driest, Most Remote Place on Earth Is the Best Place to Build a Radio Telescope

This remote Antarctic field station is an ice-covered arid desert, perfect for peering deep into space

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