Choosing to be child-free is more common than ever before in some countries, including the US. Many people see not having children an ethical and ecological choice, made to protect the environment, people and other species. Being child-free is about being "green". Consequently, more positive discourses around childlessness are emerging.

Commonly associated with longer days and slower paces, this summer's record-smashing heat in Arizona demonstrated a concerning future for the planet's warmest season. From power outages endangering entire neighborhoods and heat-related deaths rising among some of the state's most vulnerable populations, the city of Phoenix found itself in national headlines. As national attention grew, one...

New research from Northern Arizona University has explained coast redwood's remarkable ability to recover from very severe fire, a rare sign of optimism amid a landscape increasingly scarred by severe fires.

Researchers are realizing that animal communication is more complicated than previously thought, and that the information animals share in their vocalizations can be complex. For example, some animals produce calls that warn of specific dangers in the environment, such as a predator, and these calls can even contain information about the type of predator (e.g., flying vs. ground predator). These...

With winter approaching, birds are migrating south to escape the cold and take advantage of more abundant food sources.

The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record. Climate change fueled destructive hurricanes in Florida, more intense monsoons in India, and melted sea ice to historically low levels in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Hemlocks [Tsuga (Endl.) Carrière] are foundational, climax coniferous evergreen trees in forested ecosystems and are also iconic in cultivated landscapes. In the United States, the eastern hemlock, T. canadensis (L.) Carr., is a well-known and economically significant species for forest and cultivated landscapes.

Integrated optical signal distributing, processing, and sensing networks require the miniaturization of basic optical elements, such as waveguides, splitters, gratings, and optical switches. To achieve this, fabrication approaches that allow for high-resolution manufacturing are required.

Liquid-crystal (LC) phase modulators are widely used in optical systems because of their advantages of low power consumption, lightweight, flexible bandwidth adjustment, and non-mechanical movements. However, most LC phase modulators are polarization-sensitive, meaning that they affect the light phase differently depending on its polarization. This can limit their performance and functionality in...

Scientists are working to protect the unique qualities of cacao beans grown in the Buenaventura region on the Pacific coast of Colombia.

A new study published in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation evaluates the employment outcomes and ongoing support needs among graduates of Project SEARCH in Michigan, a one-year school-to-work transitional program. Replicated at more than 500 sites across the United States and worldwide, the program prepares students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to attain and...

The rapid diversification of animals over 500 million years ago—often referred to as the Cambrian Explosion—saw the appearance of the first large swimming predators in our oceans. Amplectobelua symbrachiata, a member of the group Radiodonta, which are relatives of modern arthropods, was the largest of these, reaching nearly one meter in length, and can be easily recognized by their fearsome...

AFAC, the National Council for fire and emergency services, has released the Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Summer 2023.

Pitcher plants in the genus Nepenthes thrive in places where they shouldn’t. There’s very little nitrogen in the Southeast Asian and Australian soils where they grow—but they do just fine, thanks to a macabre source for this essential nutrient: the dissolved flesh of small animals, mostly insects, that slip into their bulbous traps. A new study suggests...

A recent study demonstrates how dripstones can be crucial for reconstructing past climates. The new approach can provide a detailed picture of the climate around early human occupations in South Africa.

A tiny but prolific world of microbes encompasses everything around us, both inside and out. Microbiomes, which are comprised of diverse communities of microbes, play a pivotal role in shaping human health, yet the intricacies of how different microbial compositions influence our well-being remain largely unknown.

While the impacts of climate change vary across the globe, most scientists agree that, overall, a warming environment is increasing both the frequency and intensity of severe weather events such as tornados and intense thunderstorms.

A team of scientists found that carbon dioxide becomes a more potent greenhouse gas as more is released into the atmosphere.

In the annals of planet hunting, astronomers’ latest find is a bit of a head-scratcher: a giant exoplanet tightly orbiting a star so tiny, it’s hard to understand how the star could have birthed it. The planet, which is named LHS 3154 b and was reported today in Science, tips the scales at 13.2 timesContinue reading "This newfound planet seems way too big for its tiny star" The post This...