Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico

Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico

Heavy rains in Acapulco from Hurricane John have left parts of the city underwater. Hurricane John, which made landfall twice on Mexico’s Pacific coast, has now left eight people dead, all of them in southern Guerrero state, home to the beachside city of Acapulco, authorities said Saturday. John first slammed into the shore earlier this … Read more

More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow

More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow

Helene slammed into Florida as a Category 4 hurricane before surging north. Rescuers struggled on Saturday with washed-out bridges and debris-strewn roads in the search for survivors of devastating Storm Helene, which killed at least 63 people across five states and caused massive power outages. Helene slammed into Florida Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane … Read more

Earth will have a temporary ‘mini moon’ for two months

Earth will have a temporary ‘mini moon’ for two months

A supermoon with a partial lunar eclipse rises over Lake Michigan in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File Earth’s moon will soon have some company—a “mini moon.” The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus at 33 feet (10 meters). When it whizzes by Earth … Read more

Octopuses as shift supervisors for fish; universe confounds standard model; extremely old cheese

Octopuses as shift supervisors for fish; universe confounds standard model; extremely old cheese

3,300-year-old Kefir cheese discovered on the Tarim mummies. Credit: Yimin Yang This week, biologists tracked down a mysterious group of orcas near Chile; Hubble spotted a black hole jet that causes stars along its trajectory to erupt; and researchers explained mysterious craters that began appearing in Siberian permafrost in the 2010s. But you’re probably here … Read more

A 20-year struggle for environmental justice—and a public park—in one California city

A 20-year struggle for environmental justice—and a public park—in one California city

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Just up the road from Oakland and Berkeley, the city of Richmond is a minority and low-income community of 115,500 people—mainly Latino, Black and Asian American—with a major Chevron refinery whose pollution has been an ongoing source of conflict (the city just reached a $550 million settlement with Chevron to mitigate … Read more

SpaceX launches rescue mission to return stranded astronauts

SpaceX launches rescue mission to return stranded astronauts

SpaceX has been flying regular missions every six months to allow the rotation of ISS crews. A SpaceX rocket soared into the sky Saturday with two passengers on board, leaving two seats empty to return American astronauts who have been stranded for months on the International Space Station, NASA said. The Falcon 9 rocket took … Read more

Progress on high seas treaty, but change still far off

Progress on high seas treaty, but change still far off

Campaign groups still hope the treaty will come into force in 2025, but the required number of ratifying countries remains a long way off. A year after a historic treaty to protect the high seas was opened to signatures, it has now received 13 ratifications—leaving it still far from coming into force. The treaty, which … Read more

59 dead in Nepal as downpours trigger floods

59 dead in Nepal as downpours trigger floods

Kathmandu residents climb on the rooftops as their neighborhood is submerged in flood waters after the Bagmati River overflowed following heavy monsoon rains. Floods and landslides triggered by heavy downpours in Nepal killed at least 59 people across the Himalayan country, with rescue teams searching for 44 missing, police said Saturday. Rain-related disasters are common … Read more

What do schools and teachers think of AI in classrooms?

What do schools and teachers think of AI in classrooms?

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain It’s almost two years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022. Since then, educators worldwide have been grappling with what generative artificial intelligence might mean for classrooms and learning. ChatGPT has been met with both anxiety and a sense of optimism. While there has been a lot of discussion … Read more

Designing multifunctional framework materials for sustainable photocatalysis

Designing multifunctional framework materials for sustainable photocatalysis

Rational design of framework materials incorporating photosensitizers and catalysts leads to highly efficient and reusable photocatalysts for artificial photosynthesis and organic transformations, promising to lead to more efficient and sustainable chemical processes. Credit: Carbon Future, Tsinghua University Press The goal of sustainable chemistry has motivated chemists to use renewable energy in chemical reactions, minimizing hazardous … Read more