When we hear that climate change is damaging natural environments, it conjures images of rising seas eroding coastlines, or heat waves bleaching the Great Barrier Reef. But what about deserts?
A University of Bath–led study has estimated that the carbon dioxide produced by humans as our bodies turn food into energy rose by 74% between 1985 and 2015, reaching 2.05 billion metric tons a year. Researchers say the findings could help scientists better understand where carbon comes from, where it goes and how human activity fits into the bigger picture.
Tucked away among its sensors, cameras and navigation tools, NASA's Mars rover Perseverance is wearing small swatches of spacesuit material. A rover doesn't need a spacesuit, but the swatches—each less than a square inch (6.5 square centimeters) in size—serve an important purpose: They're helping scientists assess the potential damage caused by ubiquitous Martian dust.
Authorities in New Delhi stepped up anti-pollution measures on Sunday, including higher parking fees and work-from-home orders, seeking to curb toxic smog in one of the world's most polluted capitals.
Long dubbed an "air-conditioned nation," Singapore is experimenting with cooling alternatives from chilled beams to "passive displacement" to curb its thirst for energy-guzzling air conditioning.
Guided by the beam of a flashlight, Tino Marolo follows his dog Stella through the darkness of a Piedmont woodland, searching for one of Italy's most prized culinary treasures hidden beneath the soil.
Nowhere in the Iberian Peninsula or the Balearic Islands has a tropical climate—for this to be the case, the average temperature in the coldest month would have to be 18°C (64 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher. The contrast between Spain's winters and summers, and the low temperatures reached in winter, do not resemble those of any tropical climate.
In a study spanning 192 sites and four continents, researchers have discovered that conifers planted in the Southern Hemisphere grow up to four times faster and are more drought-resistant than those growing in their native ranges.
Sleep is fundamental to well-being. Decisions to end semiannual clock changes and remain on permanent daylight saving time (DST) in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have consequences for many Canadians due to potential sleep disruption.
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS carries a chemical clue to conditions in the planetary system of its origin, locked away long before it reached our sun. Its methane signature is unusually rich in heavy hydrogen, suggesting that the comet's frozen ingredients took shape in an intensely cold environment around another star—or in the cloud that preceded it.
