Heavy metal poisoning may be changing birds’ personalities
Great tits exposed to toxic metals like cadmium and lead alter their behaviour, becoming less exploratory and more cautious, suggesting their personalities have been reshaped
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is gobbling up ever more plastic
There's at least four times as much plastic floating in the Pacific as we thought, and a lot of it may have floated over from Japan after the 2011 Tohoku tsunami
Weird Antarctic ice may explain how life endured on frozen Earth
A strange discovery, made by polar explorer Robert Scott a century ago, might explain how complex life survived when the planet froze over into “Snowball Earth”
Huge Australian bushfire was caused by unseasonal freak weather
A fire in New South Wales has destroyed 69 homes, even though Australia’s fire season is over – climate change may be a factor
These searing hot chilli peppers are in danger thanks to snakes
The donne’ sali chilli is a major feature of the cuisine of the Mariana Islands, but thanks to an invasive snake this pepper faces an uncertain future
US climate report warns nation will lose out if it doesn’t act
A draft of a US government report argues that the country could reap huge economic and health benefits by cutting greenhouse gas emissions
Parts of San Francisco are sinking faster than the sea is rising
Rising seas are already boosting the flood risk in places like San Francisco, but the problem is even worse than that because land is also subsiding
Arctic hit by record high temperatures as rest of Europe shivers
The extreme warmth is likely to slow or prevent the formation of Arctic sea ice, which has been shrinking for decades due to climate change.
Breeding crisis as no North Atlantic right whales born this year
The failure of the breeding season bodes ill for endangered North Atlantic right whales, which are down to a population of just 430
When it comes to climate change, a tantrum is just what we need
We can’t wait for the next generation to solve the problem of climate change but today’s kids can still be a big force for change, says Michael E. Mann