Today: September 20, 2024
Today: September 20, 2024

Science

Science

Trump-era rule change allowing the logging of old-growth forests violates laws, judge says

A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman on Thursday found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act and the Endangered Species Act when it amended a protection that had been in place since 1994. The findings came in response to a lawsuit filed by multiple environmental groups over the change. Hallman recommended that the Forest Service’s environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

September 01, 2023
Trump-era rule change allowing the logging of old-growth forests violates laws, judge says
Science

In final hours before landfall, Hurricane Idalia stopped intensifying and turned from Tallahassee

In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida the storm had grown into a Category 4 beast lurking off the state’s west coast, and the forecast called for it to continue intensifying up until landfall. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft had recorded winds up to 130 mph (215 kph), the National Hurricane Center said in an ominous bulletin at 6 a.m. Wednesday. As the sun rose an hour later, however, there was evidence the hurricane began replacing the wall around its eye — a phenomenon that experts say kept it from further intensifying. Maximum

September 01, 2023
In final hours before landfall, Hurricane Idalia stopped intensifying and turned from Tallahassee
Science

In Mississippi, a tiny fish is reintroduced to the river where it disappeared 50 years ago

A species of tiny fish that once flourished in a river running hundreds of miles from central Mississippi into southeastern Louisiana is being reintroduced to the Pearl River after disappearing 50 years ago. Wildlife experts say a number of factors likely contributed to the disappearance of the pearl darter from the Pearl River system, including oil and gas development, agricultural runoff, urban pollution, and dam construction. All are deemed detrimental to the pearl darter’s habitat and survival. And even though pollution and other threats to habitat remain today within the Pearl River, more than 400 miles

September 01, 2023
In Mississippi, a tiny fish is reintroduced to the river where it disappeared 50 years ago
Science

NASA spacecraft around moon spots likely crash site of Russia's lost lunar lander

A NASA spacecraft around the moon has found the likely crash site of Russia’s lost lunar lander. The Luna 25 lander slammed into the moon last month, a harsh end to Russia’s first moon mission in almost half a century. Based on observations by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA said Thursday that it appears the impact created a crater 33 feet (10 meters) across. This fresh crater is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) short of the spacecraft’s intended landing site at the lunar south pole, and farther north. NASA’s spacecraft found no evidence of a

September 01, 2023
NASA spacecraft around moon spots likely crash site of Russia's lost lunar lander
Science

Court revives doctors' lawsuit saying FDA overstepped its authority with anti-ivermectin campaign

A federal appeals court Friday revived a lawsuit by three doctors who say the Food and Drug Administration overstepped its authority in a campaign against treating COVID-19 with the anti-parasite drug ivermectin. Ivermectin is commonly used to treat parasites in livestock. It can also be prescribed for humans and it has been championed by some conservatives as a treatment for COVID-19. The FDA has not approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment because studies have not proven it is effective. The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Friday’s ruling from a panel of three

September 01, 2023
Court revives doctors' lawsuit saying FDA overstepped its authority with anti-ivermectin campaign
Science

India launches spacecraft to study the sun after successful landing near the moon's south pole

India launched its first space mission to study the sun on Saturday, less than two weeks after a successful uncrewed landing near the south polar region of the moon. The Aditya-L1 spacecraft took off on board a satellite launch vehicle from the Sriharikota space center in southern India on a quest to study the sun from a point about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from earth. The spacecraft is equipped with seven payloads to study the sun’s corona, chromosphere, photosphere and solar wind, the Indian Space Research Organization said. India became the first country to land

September 02, 2023
India launches spacecraft to study the sun after successful landing near the moon's south pole
Science

India's moon rover completes its walk, scientists analyzing data looking for signs of frozen water.

India’s moon rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and been put into sleep mode less than two weeks its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said. “The rover completes its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into sleep mode,’’ with daylight on that part of the moon coming to an end, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement late Saturday. The rover’s payloads are turned off and the data it collected has been transmitted to the Earth via the lander, the statement said. The Chandrayaan-3

September 03, 2023
India's moon rover completes its walk, scientists analyzing data looking for signs of frozen water.
Science

As G20 leaders prepare to meet in recently flooded New Delhi, climate policy issues are unresolved

Rekha Devi, a 30-year-old farm worker, is dreading the moment when her family will be ordered to leave their makeshift tent atop a half-built overpass and return to the Yamuna River floodplains below, where their hut and small field of vegetables is still under water from July’s devastating rains. Devi, her husband and their six children fled as the record monsoon rains triggered flooding that killed more than 100 people in northern India, displaced thousands and inundated large parts of the capital, New Delhi. The waters took her husband’s work tools, the children’s school uniforms and

September 04, 2023
As G20 leaders prepare to meet in recently flooded New Delhi, climate policy issues are unresolved
Science

Four astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up six-month station mission

Four astronauts returned to Earth early Monday after a six-month stay at the International Space Station. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Atlantic off the Florida coast. Returning were NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev and the United Arab Emirates’ Sultan al-Neyadi, the first person from the Arab world to spend an extended time in orbit. Before departing the space station, they said they were craving hot showers, steaming cups of coffee and the ocean air since arriving in March. Their homecoming was delayed a day because of poor weather

September 04, 2023
Four astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up six-month station mission
Science

Farms with natural landscape features provide sanctuary for some Costa Rica rainforest birds

Small farms with natural landscape features such as shade trees, hedgerows and tracts of intact forest provide a refuge for some tropical bird populations, according to an 18-year study in Costa Rica. For almost two decades, ornithologist James Zook has been collecting detailed records on nearly 430 tropical bird species found on small farms, plantations and undisturbed forests in the country. While birds thrive the most in undisturbed rainforests, Zook said some species usually found in forests can establish populations in “diversified farms” that partially mimic a natural forest environment. “How you farm matters,” said Nicholas Hendershot, a Stanford University

September 04, 2023
Farms with natural landscape features provide sanctuary for some Costa Rica rainforest birds
Science

Kenya's leader says climate change is eating away Africa's GDP, calls for talks on global carbon tax

Climate change is “relentlessly eating away” at Africa’s economic progress and it’s time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax, Kenya’s president declared Tuesday as the first Africa Climate Summit began. “Those who produce the garbage refuse to pay their bills,” President William Ruto said. The African continent of more than 1.3 billion people is losing 5% to 15% of its GDP growth every year to the widespread impacts of climate change, according to Ruto. It’s a source of deep frustration in the region that contributes by far the least to the global problem.

September 05, 2023
Kenya's leader says climate change is eating away Africa's GDP, calls for talks on global carbon tax
Science

4 exceptionally preserved Roman swords discovered in a Dead Sea cave in Israel

Four Roman-era swords, their wooden and leather hilts and scabbards and steel blades exquisitely preserved after 1,900 years in a desert cave, surfaced in a recent excavation by Israeli archaeologists near the Dead Sea, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. The cache of exceptionally intact artifacts was found about two months ago and tells a story of empire and rebellion, of long-distance conquest and local insurrection. Researchers, who published the preliminary findings in a newly released book, propose that the arms — four swords and the head of a javelin, known as a pilum — were stashed

September 06, 2023
4 exceptionally preserved Roman swords discovered in a Dead Sea cave in Israel
Science

Tropical Storm Lee strengthens into a hurricane as it churns across Atlantic toward Caribbean

Tropical Storm Lee strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it churned through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean. The hurricane was located about 1,130 miles (1,815 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. Current projections show it not making landfall but passing just northeast of the British Virgin Islands, which is still recovering from hurricanes Maria and

September 06, 2023
Tropical Storm Lee strengthens into a hurricane as it churns across Atlantic toward Caribbean
Science

The Great Salt Lake is shrinking rapidly and Utah has failed to stop it, a new lawsuit says

Utah state government officials have pushed the Great Salt Lake to the brink of an ecological collapse by decades of allowing upstream water to be diverted away from the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River and primarily to farmers growing alfalfa, hay and other crops, says a new lawsuit filed Wednesday by a coalition of environmental groups. The lake first hit a record low in the summer of 2021, fueling renewed attention from Utah’s Republican-led Legislature. But lawmakers’ actions have not been enough to assuage the concerns of a coalition that includes Earthjustice, the Utah Rivers Council and

September 06, 2023
The Great Salt Lake is shrinking rapidly and Utah has failed to stop it, a new lawsuit says
Science

Across the Northern Hemisphere, now's the time to catch a new comet before it vanishes for 400 years

A newly discovered comet is swinging through our cosmic neighborhood for the first time in more than 400 years. Stargazers across the Northern Hemisphere should catch a glimpse as soon as possible — either this week or early next — because it will be another 400 years before the wandering ice ball returns. The comet, which is kilometer-sized (1/2-mile), will sweep safely past Earth on Sept. 12, passing within 78 million miles (125 million kilometers). Early risers should look toward the northeastern horizon about 1 1/2 hours before dawn — to be specific, less than

September 06, 2023
Across the Northern Hemisphere, now's the time to catch a new comet before it vanishes for 400 years
Science

The UK is rejoining the European Union's science research program as post-Brexit relations thaw

Britain is rejoining the European Union’s $100 billion science-sharing program Horizon Europe, the two sides announced Thursday, more than two years after the country’s membership became a casualty of Brexit. British scientists expressed relief at the decision, the latest sign of thawing relations between the EU and its former member nation. After months of negotiations, the British government said the country was becoming a “fully associated member” of the research collaboration body U.K.-based scientists can bid for Horizon funding starting Thursday and will be able to lead Horizon-backed science projects starting in 2024. Britain is also rejoining

September 07, 2023
The UK is rejoining the European Union's science research program as post-Brexit relations thaw
News|Science|World

A Norwegian man needed a hobby. His new metal detector found a showy 1,500-year-old gold necklace

A Norwegian man using a metal detector has found nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls someone might have worn as showy jewelry 1,500 years ago

September 07, 2023
A Norwegian man needed a hobby. His new metal detector found a showy 1,500-year-old gold necklace
Science

Some pendants, rings and gold pearls. Norwegian archaeologists say it's the gold find of the century

At first, the Norwegian man thought his metal detector reacted to chocolate money buried in the soil. It turned out to be nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls in what was described as the country’s gold find of the century. The rare find was made this summer by 51-year-old Erlend Bore on the southern island of Rennesoey, near the city of Stavanger. Bore had bought his first metal detector earlier this year to have a hobby after his doctor ordered him to get out instead of sitting on the couch. Ole Madsen, director at

September 07, 2023
Some pendants, rings and gold pearls. Norwegian archaeologists say it's the gold find of the century
Science

Residents and fishermen file a lawsuit demanding a halt to the release of Fukushima wastewater

Fishermen and residents of Fukushima and five other prefectures along Japan’s northeastern coast filed a lawsuit Friday demanding a halt to the ongoing release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. In the lawsuit filed with Fukushima District Court, the 151 plaintiffs, two-thirds from Fukushima and the rest from Tokyo and four other prefectures, say the discharge damages the livelihoods of the fishing community and violates residents’ right to live peacefully, their lawyers said. The release of the treated and diluted wastewater into the ocean, which began Aug. 24 and is

September 08, 2023
Residents and fishermen file a lawsuit demanding a halt to the release of Fukushima wastewater
Science

Puerto Rico's public schools clamor for air conditioning to get relief from record-breaking heat

Public school teacher Ángel Muñiz grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into the camera as someone recorded him inside his classroom this week. “It is about 99 degrees (37 C),” he said in a video posted on social media as seven fans whirred noisily around him. It wasn’t even noon yet, and an advisory that day warned of a heat index of up to 111 F (43.8 C). Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico that lack air conditioning and are demanding government action as the U.S. Caribbean territory struggles

September 08, 2023
Puerto Rico's public schools clamor for air conditioning to get relief from record-breaking heat
Science

SpaceX can't launch its giant rocket again until fixes are made, FAA says

SpaceX must take a series of steps before it can launch its mega rocket again after its debut ended in an explosion, federal regulators said Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration said it closed its investigation into SpaceX’s failed debut of Starship, the world’s biggest rocket. The agency is requiring SpaceX to take 63 corrective actions and to apply for a modified FAA license before launching again. FAA official said multiple problems led to the April launch explosion, which sent pieces of concrete and metal hurtling for thousands of feet (meters) and created a plume of

September 08, 2023
SpaceX can't launch its giant rocket again until fixes are made, FAA says
Science

UN report says the world is way off track to curb global warming, but offers ways to fix that

With the world far off track on its 2015 pledge to curb global warming, a new United Nations report central to upcoming climate negotiations details how quickly and deeply energy and financial systems must change to get back on a safer path. “The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable for future for all is rapidly closing,” Friday’s report warned. The globe has to cut its emissions of heat-trapping gases by 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, and 60% by 2035, the report said. To get there, the report said, “the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels is

September 08, 2023
UN report says the world is way off track to curb global warming, but offers ways to fix that
Environment|News|Science

Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

Experts say that Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology

September 09, 2023
Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms
Science

Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms

Hurricane Lee is rewriting old rules of meteorology, leaving experts astonished at how rapidly it grew into a goliath Category 5 hurricane. Lee could also be a dreadful harbinger of what is to come as ocean temperatures climb, spawning fast-growing major hurricanes that could threaten communities farther north and farther inland, experts say. “Hurricanes are getting stronger at higher latitudes,” said Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program and a past president of the American Meteorological Society. “If that trend continues, that brings into play places like Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.”

September 09, 2023
Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms
Environment|News|Political|Science|World

Group of 20 countries agree to increase clean energy but reach no deal on phasing out fossil fuels

Group of 20 leaders have agreed to triple renewable energy and try to increase the funds for climate change-related disasters but maintained the status quo with regards to phasing out carbon spewing coal

September 09, 2023
Group of 20 countries agree to increase clean energy but reach no deal on phasing out fossil fuels

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