Less pollution meant lower amounts of a methane-destroying chemical. In the spring of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought global industry and travel nearly to a halt, satellite sensors recorded a dramatic plunge in nitrogen dioxide, a byproduct of internal combustion engines and heavy industry. For a moment, the…
Controversial 2025 study “represents the encroachment of pseudoscience into the heart of biological research.” Last year, a team of scientists presented evidence that spruce trees in Italy’s Dolomite mountains synchronized their bioelectrical activity in anticipation of a partial solar eclipse—a potentially exciting new insight into the complexities of plant…
NASA shall evaluate the “viability of transferring the ISS to a safe orbital harbor” after retirement. Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee voted to approve a NASA authorization bill this week, advancing legislation chock full of policy guidelines meant to give lawmakers a voice in the…
Amazon has booked 10 more launches with SpaceX, citing a “near-term shortage in launch capacity.” Welcome to Edition 8.28 of the Rocket Report! The big news in rocketry this week was that NASA still hasn’t solved the problem with hydrogen leaks on the Space Launch System. The problem caused…
“Kanzi is able to generate an idea of this pretend object and at the same time know it’s not real.” Little kids hosting make-believe tea parties is a fixture of childhood playtime and long presumed to be exclusively a human ability. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University presented evidence in…
Dubbed “Jetty McJetface,” the tidal disruption event’s energy keeps getting brighter and should peak in 2027. Back in 2022, astronomers were puzzled by a so-called “tidal disruption event” (TDE), dubbed AT2018hyz, that had faded when it was first noticed three years earlier, only to unexpectedly reanimate and burp out…
“Smell added an emotional and sensory depth that text labels alone could never provide.” In 2023, scientists identified the compounds in the balms used to mummify the organs of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman, suggesting that the recipes were unusually complex and used ingredients not native to the region. The…
NASA spent most of Monday trying to overcome hydrogen leaks on the Artemis II rocket. The launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first flight of astronauts to the Moon in more than 53 years, will have to wait another month after a fueling test Monday uncovered hydrogen leaks…
Trump admin’s “it’s classified” ploy put on hold in five different cases. The Trump administration is no fan of renewable energy, but it reserves special ire for wind power. Trump himself has repeatedly made false statements about the cost of wind power, its use around the world, and its…
“We should not forget the lessons of history. And the lesson is those regulations have been very important.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cracked down on lead-based products—including lead paint and leaded gasoline—in the 1970s because of its toxic effects on human health. Scientists at the University of Utah…
