Sea levels have been climbing for decades, but pinning down exactly why has been tricky. Now researchers have built a 30-year record showing added ocean mass has taken the lead.
News by Lee Bell
A spectacular rocket breakup over Europe has now been tied to something less visible: scientists say they’ve measured a sharp spike in lithium high above Earth, linked to that re-entry
Beach cleaners on a small Orkney island have been finding far more rubbish than usual, including items that look decades old and apparently travelled a very long way to get there
Quantum machines keep falling over because their qubits are too easy to disturb, but now researchers say they’ve nailed a key step for a new style that read their state cleanly, in real time
A massive global study tracking over 31,000 tree species suggests forests are drifting towards the same few fast-growing “sprinter” types - squeezing out slower natives and weakening biodiversity and carbon storage
The UN has appointed a new chair for the global plastics treaty negotiations, raising hopes the stalled process can move again - with campaigners already pushing for production cuts
Brain research is energy-hungry and often limited by what’s safe to do in healthy people. MIT researchers say a focused ultrasound method could open up deeper, cleaner tests of how awareness is generated
A long-running study in Norway’s Svalbard has found polar bears’ body condition has actually improved despite global warming, which has shocked researchers who were expecting the opposite.
Corals look like they’re just quietly existing, but a new study has found they run a proper day-night rhythm - while the coral rests, its microbial roommates keep working
A new McGill review has suggested something far smaller than warming air and darker oceans has been quietly speeding up the melting of ice behind the scenes
The government has unveiled its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan, promising £15bn over five years for solar panels, heat pumps and batteries - with new rules for renters and a push to slash bills.
Physicists have built a new simulation to test self-interacting dark matter, where particles collide with each other. It has let researchers model halo ‘core collapse’ accurately, from the comfort of a laptop
Penn engineers have shown that bubbles in wet foam never truly settle, even when the foam looks still. The surprising part is the maths matches how deep learning systems train
Scientists have pinned down iron as the tiny ingredient that keeps phytoplankton photosynthesis humming, and new at-sea measurements show exactly how things slip when oceans run short
Reliable energy storage has long been one of the weak points of renewable power, but fresh research suggests a subtle chemical change could help flow batteries last much longer for cheaper
Quantum machines are power-hungry long before they’re even useful, mostly because controlling them takes loads of bulky kit. A breakthrough cuts that overhead, which could matter for future energy use, scientists say
Superconductors are the dream for cleaner power, but most only work in deep-freeze conditions. MIT scientists have now spotted a weird signal in twisted graphene that hints at a different way in
Researchers say the planet’s own carbon cycle could swing too hard in response to global warming, setting up a much colder future long after the damage is done
AI has garnered a reputation as an energy-guzzling monster of late, with data centres blamed for added emissions. But fresh research suggests otherwise, and it could actually help drive greener innovation
A new EU-funded project will train specialists to turn exotic “vortex” beams into real-world tech