Energy

an overhead shot of land split in three. the left side is dry and dusty. the middle has some vegetation, and the right side has a lot.

Desertification is destroying fertile land. Here’s how we’re fighting it.

a female presenting person in a lab coat holding a solar cell

New “tandem” solar cell breaks world record

A new tandem solar cell containing layers of silicon and perovskite has demonstrated an unprecedented efficiency of 33.7%.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

These 4 charts show the unstoppable growth of solar

Solar is growing fast enough to displace fossil fuels from the entire global economy before 2050, but infrastructure needs to keep up.

Andrew Blakers

Genetics

Can genetic engineering stop the fall armyworm invasion?

The fall armyworm is devastating African agriculture, eating millions of pounds of crops. Can a genetically modified version control their advance?

B. David Zarley

Climate Crisis

Cooling the planet with a giant solar umbrella

Solar geoengineering would cool global temperatures — is it worth it?

Amanda Winkler

Animals

Undescribed deep sea creatures discovered in the great barrier reef

Researchers discovered undescribed deep sea creatures, spotted rare fish, and gathered geological samples from the deepest part of the Great Barrier Reef.

B. David Zarley

Outer Space

Can we turn the moon into a gas station?

NASA is looking to buy moon rocks from private companies. This lunar marketplace will spur the development of new technologies that can extract resources from the moon.

Amanda Winkler

Oceans

Google built a neural network to warn ships of whales. will it help?

Google introduced an artificial neural network that can locate whales in the ocean. They want to use it to keep the animals safe from ships.

Teresa Carey

Disaster Response

Firefighting satellites help track wildfires in California

High-tech instruments on satellites are helping emergency responders and members of the public track wildfires in California.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

Could a Norwegian “hurricane net” stop storms by cooling the sea?

Norwegian company OceanTherm uses bubble nets to keep ice out of fjords. Could a hurricane net weaken the storms?

B. David Zarley

Video Games

Storm chasers explore Hurricane Laura with new flight simulator

Virtual storm chasers are using Microsoft’s new flight simulator to explore Hurricane Laura as it moves across the U.S.

Kristin Houser

Animals

The murder hornet’s genome may help stop the invasion

The Asian giant hornet has invaded the Pacific Northwest. Researchers hope a map of the murder hornet’s genome can help their hunt for them.

B. David Zarley

Climate Crisis

Raising Pacific islands to save them from high sea levels

The president of Kiribati announced a new plan to fight against sea level rise: raise the islands.

Teresa Carey

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