Environment

The changes and wonders of the natural world—and how human interaction influences animals, the ocean, and the rest of the environment.

Latest in Environment

A green monk parakeet standing in dirt. Parrots could have a unique tone of voice just like humans do.
Animals

No two parakeets sound exactly the same

By Laura Baisas

Animal deterring robotic wolf sentry
Animals

Robotic ‘Super Monster Wolves’ are guarding Japanese towns against bears

By Andrew Paul

T. rex model, T. rex skull, and Triceratops skull at dinosaur display in the Museum of Natural History in Vienna
Animals

4 reasons dinosaurs never really ruled the Earth

By Riley Black

America’s war in Afghanistan devastated the country’s environment in ways that may never be cleaned up
Climate Change

America’s war in Afghanistan devastated the country’s environment in ways that may never be cleaned up

By Lynzy Billing/Inside Climate News

The best outdoor bug zappers will help keep inspects at bay.
Animals

The best outdoor bug zappers of 2024

By John Alexander

This fluffy anteater could be a new species
Animals

This fluffy anteater could be a new species

By James Hall/Hakai Magazine

Otzi the Iceman remains laid out on a stretcher
Archaeology

‘Dark’ archaeologists scour melting ice for ancient artifacts

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, a behavior that has long perplexed scientists.
Animals

Why are these orcas harassing porpoises? Scientists have 3 theories.

By Laura Baisas

This 6-million-year-old turtle shell still has some DNA
Animals

This 6-million-year-old turtle shell still has some DNA

By Laura Baisas

A lineup of the best pet vacuums on a white background
Animals

The best vacuums for pet hair of 2024

By Charlotte Marcus

Green architecture homes
Climate Change

The EPA wants to tighten up their ‘zero-emission’ building definition

By Andrew Paul

A volcano spews lava and ash. In roughly 250 million years, massive tectonic activity could push together all of our current landmasses into a supercontinent like Pangea and make the climate inhospitable to humans and other mammals.
Animals

A boiling hot supercontinent could kill all mammals in 250 million years

By Laura Baisas

A hyenea shows its jaws. Giant hyenas went extinct about 500,000 years ago, but were roughly 240 pounds and skilled scavengers like their modern counterparts.
Animals

How many ancient humans does it take to fight off a giant hyena?

By Laura Baisas

The Seattle skyline.
Environment

Two fault lines near Seattle could rupture in one giant earthquake

By Hannah Seo

To protect wild bumblebees, people have to find them first
Animals

To protect wild bumblebees, people have to find them first

By Sarah Trent / High Country News

A German short-haired pointer is ready for the best dry dog food after its game of fetch.
Animals

The best dry dog foods of 2024

By Stacey L. Nash

An illustration of Bohemolichas feeding on the seafloor, moments before it is engulfed, buried, and preserved by an underwater mud flow.
Animals

A fossilized trilobite stomach can show us clues to Cambrian cuisine

By Laura Baisas

Aerial view of a hot air balloon over Namib desert. The circular “fairy circles” are derived from any vegetation & surrounded by tall grass.
AI

Mysterious ‘fairy circles’ may appear on three different continents

By Laura Baisas

Best dog training treats composited
Animals

The best dog training treats of 2024

By Kalli Hawkins

Microsoft wants small nuclear reactors to power its AI and cloud computing services
AI

Microsoft wants small nuclear reactors to power its AI and cloud computing services

By Andrew Paul

A tarantula with a mostly black body, but bright blue legs and pincers. Chilobrachys natanicharum is the first tarantula species found in Thailand’s mangrove trees. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys.
Animals

Meet the first electric blue tarantula known to science

By Laura Baisas

A dog walking down a wooden bridge on one of the best dog leashes.
Animals

The best dog leashes of 2024

By Stacey L. Nash

South Africa’s Missing sharks have been found
Animals

South Africa’s Missing sharks have been found

By David Shiffman / Hakai Magazine

EVs have a tire particle problem
Electric Vehicles

EVs have a tire particle problem

By Paul Krantz / Grist

training collars for stubborn dogs sliced header image
Animals

The best training collars for stubborn dogs in 2024

By Kalli Hawkins

Grizzly bear mom and cubs crossing road in Yellowstone National Park
Animals

Grizzlies are getting killed by roads, but the risks are bigger than roadkill

By Hannah Seo

Pile of colorful Lego bricks
Climate Change

Lego’s plan for eco-friendly bricks has fallen apart

By Andrew Paul

Rafflesia kemumu in the rainforest of Sumatra.
Biology

Earth’s stinkiest flower is threatened with extinction

By Laura Baisas

A high-density field of corals, including the spiraling Iridogorgia magnispiralis. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.
Biology

The deepest known ocean virus lives under 29,000 feet of water

By Laura Baisas

A dog behind a fence wishing it had some of the best wet dog food
Animals

The best wet dog food of 2024

By Stacey L. Nash

Why some clownfish are growing up too quickly
Animals

Why some clownfish are growing up too quickly

By Elizabeth Landau / Hakai Magazine

Want to join the American Climate Corps? Here’s what we know so far.
Environment

Want to join the American Climate Corps? Here’s what we know so far.

By Kate Yoder/Grist

A Caribbean box jellyfish on a black background. It has a round, bell shaped body, with about 11 visible tentacles. It also has four parallel brain-like structures with roughly 1,000 nerve cells in each.
Animals

These 24-eyed jellyfish learn from their mistakes

By Laura Baisas

Manatee in a patch of sunlight
Animals

Sea the beauty of the world’s oceans with these 12 award-worthy photos

By Popular Science Team

Elon Musk in suit
AI

Neuralink’s human trials volunteers ‘should have serious concerns,’ say medical experts

By Andrew Paul

A black and white French bulldog puppy sits in a garden with green grass and orange flowers. In an experiment where dogs had to find food hidden in a box, flat-faced dogs were more likely to look back at people than a breed with a mid-length muzzle.
Animals

Humans might just love French bulldogs because they remind them of babies

By Laura Baisas

Spider silk stronger than Kevlar spun by an unlikely source
Animals

Spider silk stronger than Kevlar spun by an unlikely source

By Andrew Paul

A pied tamarin monkey sits on a large rope. Pied tamarin monkeys live in a small geographic range in Brazil, where they eat fruits, flowers, and various tree gums and saps.
Animals

As humans get louder, monkeys mark more territory

By Laura Baisas

Egyptian fruit bats on a fruit feeder at a zoo
Animals

How do bats stay cancer-free? The answer could be lifesaving for humans.

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Pacific Ocean storm seen from a research vessel's stern
Climate Change

When climate change throws the Pacific off balance, the world’s weather follows

By Hannah Seo

A lineup of the best window perches
Animals

The best cat window perches in 2024

By Alexandra Berry

Avery Dennison thermal energy factory in Belgium
Energy

This Belgian factory’s massive mirror array turns sunlight into thermal energy

By Andrew Paul

A dissected ant and where you can see the encapsulated parasites (white oval structures) spilling out of the hind body.
Animals

This parasite deploys mucus slime balls to make ‘zombie ants’

By Laura Baisas

An Australian lungfish named Methuselah swims in a tank at the Steinhart Aquarium. The fish has a flat snout, olive-green scales, and a long torpedo-shaped body.
Animals

World’s oldest living aquarium fish could be 100 years young

By Laura Baisas

Giant African land snail, an invasive species in Florida, on a red bucket
Animals

Invasive snails are chomping through Florida, and no one can stop them

By Maddi Langweil

A giant panda eats a green plant.
Animals

‘Jet lag’ could be messing with pandas’ natural mating behaviors

By Laura Baisas

A black and white archival photo of the USS Arizona sinking during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Climate Change

Pearl Harbor dataset holds clues to how WWII may have shaped weather data

By Laura Baisas

A lineup of the best cat beds
Animals

The best cat beds of 2024

By Jenna Glatzer

Plastic fishing gear brings in a better catch, but there’s a big tradeoff
Animals

Plastic fishing gear brings in a better catch, but there’s a big tradeoff

By Alastair Bland/Hakai Magazine

Can animals give birth to twins?
Animals

Can animals give birth to twins?

By Michael Jaffe and Tracy Jaffe/The Conversation

A beagle running through grass.
Animals

Why your pet might need a glucose monitor

By Gwendolyn Rak

All-knowing toilets and taste-testing rocks amongst 2023 Ig Nobel winners
Animals

All-knowing toilets and taste-testing rocks amongst 2023 Ig Nobel winners

By Sara Kiley Watson

Revo Foods 3D-printed salmon
Animals

The world’s first 3D-printed salmon is hitting store shelves, and it looks kind of good

By Andrew Paul

beagle
Animals

New tool for finding lost pets is a low-tech twist on old-school tags

By Charlotte Hu

A gray tufted titmouse perches on a scientist's hand.
Animals

What songbirds can teach us about being smart

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A rare fish with ‘hands’ is spotted in a surprising place
Animals

A rare fish with ‘hands’ is spotted in a surprising place

By Sara Kiley Watson

Communities struggling with opioid addiction have a new complication: climate disasters
Climate Change

Communities struggling with opioid addiction have a new complication: climate disasters

By Robin Buller/High Country News

A remote Air Force base in Alaska is getting its own nuclear reactor
Air Force

A remote Air Force base in Alaska is getting its own nuclear reactor

By Kelsey D. Atherton

Robotic origami microflier
Engineering

Microflier robots use the science of origami to fall like leaves

By Andrew Paul

Dogs and wolves remember where you hide their food
Animals

Dogs and wolves remember where you hide their food

By Laura Baisas

Heat pump outside building
Climate Change

Heat pumps still get the job done in extreme cold

By Andrew Paul

Oysters can’t sleep—and your lights might be the cause
Animals

Oysters can’t sleep—and your lights might be the cause

By Hannah Seo/Hakai Magazine

It’s Fat Bear season again! This is the best feed to keep up with these hairy giants
Animals

It’s Fat Bear season again! This is the best feed to keep up with these hairy giants

By Charlotte Hu

drought in Yemen, august 2023
Climate Change

Almost every place on Earth was affected by extreme temperatures this summer

By Sara Kiley Watson

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