Science

Cigarette butts are often overlooked when people think about pollution, particularly because of their small size. However, their environmental impact can extend far beyond the places where they are discarded. They contain cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that does not readily biodegrade, and can retain toxic substances, including nicotine and other heavy metals. As…

13,800-year-old Alaska campsite reveals tools, a hearth and clues to early life near Beringia (Image Credit: Kelly Graf via Discover Magazine) Thousands of years before permanent settlements became common across North America, small groups of people were already adapting to life in the continent’s far north. In interior Alaska, archaeologists have uncovered an exceptionally rich…

The population of New Zealand’s critically endangered southern dotterel, known locally as pukunui, has risen by 52 percent in one year. The increase followed an intensive effort to control feral cats on Stewart Island, also known as Rakiura. According to a media release published on April 21 by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC), an…

US oyster rescue buys 7 million oysters for 35 reef sites, helping protect 1,000+ jobs (Image Credit: Sean Graesser/SOAR via Pew) When restaurants across the United States shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, oyster farmers suddenly lost their biggest market, leaving millions of shellfish unsold and threatening coastal livelihoods. What began as an…

Florida city opens $31 million botanical and wellness park at 209-acre Tucker Ranch preserve (Image Credit: City Of Winter Garden) A former cattle ranch in Florida has gained a new purpose, bringing botanical gardens, outdoor fitness areas and wellness facilities together in a sprawling natural preserve. What began as a multimillion-dollar development project in 2024…

For the first time in 160 years of excavations, archaeologists unearthed a musical instrument at Troy, a flute made of bone that dates back about 2,800 years. Also discovered was a 4,500-year-old humanoid idol, which archaeologists hope will help shed light on the cultural traditions of the region.The bone flute was found in what’s known…

In a striking ocean experiment, scientists released 75 kilograms of rhodamine dye into the Atlantic Ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to watch how water moves and mixes beneath the surface. The experiment, conducted on August 16–17, 2018, showed that the dye spread readily within the ocean’s upper mixed layer but crossed into the denser…

PC: The European Commission Three teenagers have developed a low-cost device designed to detect signs of stress in plants by listening to their acoustic signals. Their project, PlantLeaf, aims to make monitoring technology more accessible to farmers, with an estimated production cost of about €20 compared with existing equipment costing thousands. As reported by The…

PC: Palaeontologia Electronica A lizard’s ability to shed its tail to escape danger dates back at least 99 million years, according to a fossil discovered in amber from Myanmar. The specimen preserves a detached tail from the Cretaceous Period, providing the first direct fossil evidence of voluntary tail shedding in a fossil vertebrate.According to the…