Editor’s Note (June 2, 2025):This article was originally published prior to the recent solar storm event. We’ve added new information below detailing the June 1–3 geomagnetic storm, including real-time impacts and updated NOAA warnings. Solar storms are powerful bursts of energy from the sun that can affect our life on Earth. In May 2025, the...
The word “crime” comes with many severe connotations. It draws up images of burglars, drug dealers, embezzlers, carjacking thieves, scam artists, stalkers, and serial killers. But many crimes are much less dramatic and much more common, like underage drinking and distracted driving. Although these are laws people often break, it’s not surprising to receive a...
A jury has found two men guilty of cutting down England’s most beloved tree. Prosecutors called their actions “a deliberate and mindless act of destruction.” Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, received guilty verdicts on May 9, 2025, after they destroyed the famous Sycamore Gap tree. The 150-year-old tree stood beside Hadrian’s Wall before vandals destroyed it in...
Experts once believed the Wollemi pine tree went extinct. But in the 1990s, it was rediscovered in Australia. Also called the dinosaur tree, the Wollemi pine is one of the oldest tree species in the world. However, it’s under threat of real extinction from climate change and wildfires. To guarantee their survival, conservationists bred genetically...
For decades, global campaigns have urged everyday people to do their part in slowing climate change. We’ve been told to drive electric cars, take shorter showers, recycle more, and eat less meat. While these actions help, a new and widely discussed study published in Nature Climate Change challenges this narrative. It suggests that individual lifestyle...
Imagine waking up to find a massive lake where your farm used to be. That’s exactly what happened to farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley in 2023 when Tulare Lake suddenly came back to life. After disappearing in the 1890s, this “ghost lake” returned with a splash, swallowing up farmland and surprising everyone. Known as “Pa’ashi” (meaning “big water”)...
Breathe easy, for now. Scientists say our breathable air won’t last forever. A new NASA-supported study warns that Earth’s oxygen supply is not a permanent feature of our planet. Though we often take it for granted, the delicate balance that allows life to thrive will eventually shift. Over the next billion years, Earth’s atmosphere will...
For decades, our solar system was thought to have nine planets, with Pluto considered the smallest and farthest. But in 2006, Pluto was officially reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union. Since then, we’ve become used to saying there are eight planets. Now, however, some scientists believe there could actually be a...
What would remain of all human knowledge in a post-apocalyptic world? Our species has already witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations lost to history. One can only imagine what life may have been life in an era that left no records behind. Today, archeologists spend decades trying to piece together clues from ancient...
In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, a massive pyramid-shaped mountain pierces the jungle canopy. Known as El Cono, it rises 1,310 feet (about 400 meters) into the sky. Its perfect symmetry and solitary presence have stunned explorers, scientists, and local communities alike. El Cono sits deep within the remote Sierra del Divisor, near...
Something strange is happening at the bottom of the world. Antarctica’s ice is growing again. After years of melting away, the great white continent has flipped the script. Between 2021 and 2023, we’ve seen surprising ice gains in Antarctica. Satellites show the ice sheet puts on about 108 gigatons of new ice each year. That’s a...
The Brown Recluse Spider is one of the most widely feared spiders in the United States. Known for its violin-shaped marking and potentially dangerous bite, this spider has built a reputation that often outweighs reality. While Brown Recluse Spider bites can sometimes lead to serious skin damage, these cases are rare. In fact, most bites...
