Science

California’s 2015 methane leak was so large it could be seen from space, according to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) statement released Tuesday. Comparison of detected atmospheric methane over Aliso Canyon, acquired 11 days apart in January 2016. The left picture was taken by NASA’s Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on a NASA ER-2 […]

Evidence of antibiotic-resistant “super bacteria” has been found at several Olympic sites in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including waters that will host the swimming portion of the triathlon and in the lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete this summer. Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit: Halley Pacheco de Oliveira, […]

By Tim Radford Scientists in the U.S. claim to have beaten nature at its own game. They have created a “bionic leaf” that exploits sunlight to create biomass—and they say their invention is now 10 times more effective than an oak or maple leaf. Scientists have released a new artificial photosynthesis system, Bionic Leaf 2.0. […]

Diminishing Arctic sea ice could make Greenland’s melting even worse, a new study shows. Changing temperatures at the poles driven by global warming have the potential to impact the jet stream, causing it to bend further north than usual. Melt water flows through a channel in Greenland’s ice. Photo credit: Marco Tedesco / Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory “Blocking […]

Researchers at the state-run Xinjiang Academy of Zootechnical Science in China have bred five sheep with different coat colors using the new gene-editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9. Researchers in #Xinjiang change #sheep colors by gene editing, known as CRISPR-Cas9 pic.twitter.com/2iz5Uhzrqr — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) June 8, 2016 According to Xinhua, two of the sheep have black […]

The giant squid is an elusive and mysterious animal that scientists are trying to learn more about. One statistical ecologist has made an attempt to estimate the range in size of these deep-sea creatures, but others don’t agree with the findings. The largest giant squid ever found measured 59 feet long and weighed almost a […]

By David Appell When sea ice melts, the ocean loses its reflective surface and the dark water absorbs more heat. “The Arctic is a region that’s probably seen some of the most dramatic changes over the past few decades. And I think possibly one of the most iconic images is the decline in the Arctic […]

Last month was 1.11 C above the 1951-1980 average, making it the warmest April on record, according to new data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was also the seventh consecutive month to have broken global temperature records. Photo credit: NASA Scientists are now nearly certain that 2016 will become the hottest year on record. Meanwhile, CO2 levels […]