Britain sees second-best butterfly season in 16 years; people counted almost 1.4 million common butterflies and moths; painted ladies jumped by 335%, but scientists are worried
The record heat of 2026 made this summer exceptional for butterfly-watching. More than 100,000 volunteers fanned across Britain with notebooks this summer, tallying nearly 1.4 million common butterflies and day-flying moths. This was the second-best…
Scientists removed kangaroo rats from desert plots for 13 years, revealing how the rodents shape vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert
PC: Connor Long/Wikipedia In the Chihuahuan Desert, kangaroo rats play an important role in shaping vegetation. Between 1977 and 1990, researchers excluded three kangaroo rat species from experimental plots to see how their absence affected plants and…
Scientists hung clean moss beside three Russian highways, and the plants began collecting metals linked to traffic pollution
Researchers in Russia hung bags of moss beside three busy highways to see how much traffic pollution the plants would soak up. Published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the study exposed moss collected from a clean background site to roadside air…
Time moves faster on Mars than on Earth: Scientists calculate the exact difference
Ask anyone on Earth what the current time is, and they can tell you in a jiffy. Across the planet, highly accurate clocks help maintain a common standard for measuring time. Mars, however, is a different story. Mars clocks tick faster than Earth’s…
Scientists rebuilt oyster reefs in Florida; within 18 months, the wider marine animal community began returning
Restoring damaged oyster reefs can bring back the small marine animals that depend on them. A study examined restored, living, and dead oyster reefs in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon to track how their macroinvertebrate communities changed after…
MIT scientists developed a way to turn discarded plastic into strong building materials, with recycled composites already used in a 40-foot bridge
A new MIT-backed company is turning discarded plastic into structural parts for buildings and infrastructure. Atlas Building Composites has developed an AI-powered robotic manufacturing platform that shreds single-use plastic, melts it, and fuses it with…
Scientists developed a starch-based wash that removes pesticide residues and keeps fruits and vegetables fresh for 15 days
Fruits and vegetables can retain pesticide residues on their surfaces after they are harvested, while their quality can gradually decline during storage. Researchers have developed a wash that aims to tackle both the problems together. The study,…
Scientists built a wood-based sponge that pulls water from air as dry as 15% humidity; it produced up to 1.72 litres per kg per day
Image: AI-generated representation of a wood-based sponge that pulls water from air as dry as 15% humidity Water vapour is present almost everywhere, even in places where rivers, lakes and groundwater are scarce. The challenge has always been turning…
In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef
Acropora muricata, Heron Island, Australia. (Photo Credit: Claire Lager, Smithsonian) A rare coral species found nowhere else on Earth except Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii has been successfully returned to its natural habitat after completely disappearing from…
Two giant dams changed Europe’s second-longest river. Decades later, scientists found the Danube Delta was being starved of sediment
The Danube does not arrive at the Black Sea as it once did. For thousands of years, the river carried enormous quantities of sediment towards its delta, steadily building and reshaping the low-lying landscape where river channels meet lagoons and the…