Melting glaciers are one runaway symptom of global warming, but new research suggests that they might also be a contributing factor. Scientists have discovered evidence of a previously unknown vicious circle, whereby melted glacial water alters the chemistry on the surface of the ocean and drives further glacial melting, in turn accelerating the rise of sea […]

If the ultraviolet radiation from the sun damages human DNA to cause health problems, does UV radiation also damage plant DNA? The answer is yes, but because plants can’t come in from the sun or slather on sunblock, they have a super robust DNA repair kit. Research finds that this powerful DNA repair system in […]

Planet hunters have a new tool in their quest for planets like Earth: a space telescope called TESS, set to launch from Cape Canaveral today. Over the course of its two-year mission, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) will scan almost the entire sky, using four cameras to snap images of more than 200,000 stars. Astronomers anticipate […]

No matter how you interpret the latest cosmic signs, history tells us people don’t have the best track record at predicting the apocalypse As viral videos and various tabloids tell it, April 23, 2018, will mark the end of an age. Depending on your taste, the date will either bring forth a collision between Earth and […]

The stories of our distant ancestors — when and how they evolved into the Homo sapiens we are now, and how they migrated and eventually populated the world, often center on an exodus of modern early humans from Africa about 60,000 years ago. What’s new: A growing number of researchers believe while there may have been a main […]

Three alarming-looking coronal holes have appeared on the surface of the sun – as a solar storm has buffeted our planet. But while coronal holes (which are only visible in certain wavelengths of light) look alarming, they’re actually quite common, and this week’s solar storm has been mild. NASA says that it spotted the holes […]

A pair of scientific studies released this week pinpoint how climate change is impacting the world’s oceans. The first study notes that heat waves over the ocean have become longer and more frequent over the last century, harming marine life and coral reefs. The study, published in Nature Communications on Tuesday, found an increase of 54% in the number of […]

Hampton, VA – Each new season brings change. Seasonal change on land is something that we’re familiar with and adjust to regularly. But what happens to billions of plankton in the ocean each season? How do they adjust to changing sunlight patterns and mixing of the water column? And what impact do these tiny critters have […]

UFOs are real and there is life out there. That might be the conclusion some will reach upon hearing that news that Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon, and two other deceased astronauts passed lie detector tests over what they saw during their space missions. Of course, that only means […]

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Despite a global abundance of food, a United Nations report says 815 million people, 11 percent of the world’s population, went hungry in 2016. That number seems to be rising. Poverty is not the only reason, however, people are experiencing food insecurity. “Increasingly we’re also seeing hunger caused by the displacement related to […]