Delta Air Lines is facing a lawsuit over its $1bn carbon neutrality claim which plaintiffs say is “false and misleading” as it relies on offsets that do little to mitigate global heating.In February 2020, the US airline announced plans to go carbon neutral, pl... More »
Scientists have discovered more than 5,000 new species living on the seabed in an untouched area of the Pacific Ocean that has been identified as a future hotspot for deep-sea mining, according to a review of the environmental surveys done in the area.It is th... More »
My friend Mike Bruford, who has died aged 59 after a protracted illness, dedicated his career to unravelling the genetic consequences of biodiversity loss and was a professor of conservation genetics at Cardiff University.Respected by governments and researche... More »
For Anthony Meng, a senior at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, food insecurity can take on many different forms. On some days, it means skipping meals as he’s rushing to work or to class. On others, “it’s like, I don’t think I can afford groceries,... More »
Whales have taken as long as two hours to die during Icelandic hunts, according to a report by the Icelandic food and veterinary authority.A number of the carcasses of the fin whales shot by explosive harpoons during hunts in Iceland last year were examined by... More »
The Biden administration has found that Alabama’s public health departments discriminated against Black residents by denying access to adequate sanitation systems.A 2017 study, published first by the Guardian, found the hookworm parasite transmitted in fecal m... More »
Every morning, starting at 3am, Lakshan hacks up manta rays. A wholesale buyer who plies his trade at Sri Lanka’s largest fish market, in the city of Negombo, just north of Colombo, he jostles with fishers offloading their catches. His business is primarily to... More »
The horror of the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it one small cause for optimism: the crisis accelerated the development of new vaccine technologies, with the potential to protect against other diseases. Yet this leap forward was accompanied by a dramatic back... More »
Researchers at the University of Vienna have discovered particles of plastic in mice’s brains just two hours after the mice ingested drinking water containing plastic.Once in the brain, “Plastic particles could increase the risk of inflammation, neurological d... More »
A new study offers an alternative to earlier explanations for why moths and other bugs are attracted to artificial sources of illumination.A moth circles a lamp in slow motion. Video by Fabian et al.Moths and other insects are drawn to lights at night as relia... More »
The Asahi illusion tricks humans and ratsLaeng et al An optical illusion that plays with our perception of brightness also seems to work on rats, suggesting that the connection between perception and pupil size evolved early on in mammals. The Asahi illusion i... More »
Today’s puzzles celebrate the connections between mathematics and literature.They also mark the publication of Once Upon a Prime, a terrific new book about these connections, by Sarah Hart, professor of maths at Birkbeck, University of London. (One of the puzz... More »