Australia: Helmeted honeyeaters return to Cardinia in Victoria for first time since 1983's Ash Wednesday bushfires
10 May 2025 - For the first time in 42 years, critically endangered helmeted honeyeaters have returned to Cardinia in south-east Victoria, where they were found until the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983. Helmeted honeyeaters are charismatic, energetic, and curious, according to Dr Kim Miller, the manager of threatened species at Healesville sanctuary. (more)

'A future on our terms': How community energy is lighting up Latin America
10 May 2025 - When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, Roxana Borda Mamani had to leave Mexico, where she was studying for her degree in rural development and food security, and return to her remote village in the Peruvian Amazon. At the time, the Indigenous community in Alto Mishagua had neither an internet connection nor a reliable energy source. (more)

A swimming coach in Nigeria provides inspiration and life lessons to disabled people
9 May 2025 - A swimming coach in Lagos, Nigeria is teaching disabled children how to swim through his nonprofit aimed at empowering them in life. (more)

Chimpanzees drum with regular rhythm when they beat on tree trunks, a form of ancient communication
9 May 2025 - Chimpanzees drum with regular rhythm when they beat on tree trunks, a new study shows. ...Previous research has shown that chimps have their own signature drumming style. A new analysis of 371 bouts of chimpanzee drumming demonstrates that the chimps 'clearly play their instruments -- the tree trunks -- with regular rhythms,' said University of Amsterdam music cognition researcher Henkjan Honing, who was not involved in the study. (more)

The Asian elephant population in Cambodia is more robust than previously thought, a study finds
8 May 2025 - A genetic study of Asian elephants in northern Cambodia published Thursday [13 March] reveals a larger and more robust population than previously thought, raising hopes the endangered species could slowly recover. (more)

Cinderella partying: why young women no longer dance until dawn
7 May 2025 - In a new survey, just 5 percent of British women claimed their perfect night involves dancing with friends -- and 65 percent would rather not go out at all. Yes. According to research by skincare brand No7, 51 percent of women like to go to bed early after a night out, 65 percent would rather have an evening at home and just 5 percent claimed that their perfect night involves going dancing with friends. ...In fact, last year the Wall Street Journal declared that 9pm was the hot new bedtime for people in their 20s. (more)

US: After Hurricane Helene - The Amish community helping in Chimney Rock, NC
5 May 2025 - It's been more than six months since Hurricane Helene swept through western North Carolina, leaving behind destruction and hardship. Few places were hit as hard as Chimney Rock Village, but now, signs of progress are everywhere. The recovery effort has been powered by an outpouring of support, with volunteers and donations helping to restore the beloved mountain town. (more)

US: Pennsylvania Amish group helping rebuild Chimney Rock, North Carolina as need remains
5 May 2025 - An Amish community in Pennsylvania has been quietly rebuilding Chimney Rock, North Carolina ever since Hurricane Helene devastated the area last September. They've been working in virtual anonymity, but WCNC-TV out of Charlotte heard about it. 'There's still plenty of work ahead but for Chimney Rock, recovery is clearly in motion,' reports WCNC's Jesse Pierre. (more)

This year's 24-hour live coverage of Sweden's epic moose migration is over. It'll return in 2026
4 May 2025 - The seventh season of Swedish slow TV hit 'The Great Moose Migration' ended Sunday night [4 May] after 20 days of 24-hour live coverage. The show, called 'Den stora algvandringen' in Swedish, began in 2019 with nearly a million people watching. In 2024, the production hit 9 million viewers on SVT Play, the streaming platform for national broadcaster SVT. (more)

The sleepy corner of South Africa that's home to the world's best olive oil
3 May 2025 - To fulfil my [writer Dawn Kennedy] quest to sample the world's best olive oil, I drive five hours from Cape Town to De Rustica Olive Estate, getting delayed, on arrival, by a herd of sheep. (more)

Renewable energy jumps to new high, powered by China solar boom
2 May 2025 - Installation of renewable energy worldwide hit a record high last year, with 92.5 percent of all new electricity brought online coming from the sun, wind, or other clean sources, an international agency reports. Nearly 64 percent of the new renewable electricity capacity in 2024 was in China, according to Wednesday's report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). (more)

Cosmic CT scan reveals unexpected secrets about the universe's growth
1 May 2025 - Scientists, using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), have uncovered an unexpected twist in how cosmic structures have developed over time. Published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, the study reveals that the universe's matter appears less 'clumpy' than previous models predicted, suggesting that dark energy may be influencing cosmic growth more than we originally thought. (more)

Solar power to energize European football, UEFA teaming up with SolarPower Europe
29 April 2025 - The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and SolarPower Europe have partnered to advance sustainability in European football through solar energy. (more)

Cosmic CT scan uncovers a surprising twist in the universe's evolution
28 April 2025 - New research hints that the growth of cosmic structures may not have unfolded exactly as predicted. Using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, scientists compared ancient cosmic light with the modern distribution of galaxies, essentially creating a multidimensional cosmic timeline. (more)

Unproven Einstein theory of 'gravitational memory' may be real after all, new study hints
26 April 2025 - Einstein's theory of general relativity suggests that the 'memory' of ancient events, such as black hole mergers, may be etched into the fabric of space-time by gravitational waves. New research shows how this theory of gravitational memory could finally be proven. A team of theoretical physicists has proposed a new way to test one of the most intriguing predictions of Einstein's theory of general relativity: gravitational memory. (more)

Scientists make 'rare advance' in tackling the oldest unsolved problem in physics
25 April 2025 - Scientists have made a leap forward in understanding the pattern and structure of turbulence -- a natural phenomenon observed in fluids such as moving water, ocean currents, chemical reactions, blood flow, storm clouds, plumes of smoke, and even the plasma of stars. (more)

Quantum messages cross Germany using conventional fiber
24 April 2025 - Quantum networks can detect eavesdroppers and resist hacking at levels unrivaled by any classical networks today. Yet any expensive, specialized technologies that quantum networks require could still limit their appeal to telecom and other network operators today. Now researchers at Toshiba and their colleagues reveal that quantum communications are possible across more than 250 kilometers using existing commercial telecommunication infrastructure. (more)

Ultra-secure quantum data sent over existing internet cables
24 April 2025 - Another step towards a quantum internet has been completed, and it doesn't require any special communications equipment. Two data centres in Germany have exchanged quantum secure information using already existing telecommunication fibres at room temperature. This is in contrast to most quantum communications, which often require cooling to extremely low temperatures to protect quantum particles from disturbances in their environment. (more)

Here's how to see rare triple conjunction, when 2 planets form a cosmic 'smiley face' with the moon
23 April 2025 - If you look up to the sky in the early hours of April 25 you might just see it smiling back at you, NASA skywatchers have forecast. That's when a rare celestial spectacle called a triple conjunction will occur. On the morning of Friday, April 25, Venus, Saturn, and the crescent moon will appear close together in the predawn sky, forming a triangular formation reminiscent of a smiley face. (more)

Teenagers who go to bed early and sleep longer have sharper brains, study finds
22 April 2025 - Teenagers who go to bed earlier and sleep for longer than their peers tend to have sharper mental skills and score better on cognitive tests, researchers have said. ...The researchers expected teenagers with healthy sleeping habits to score better than those who slept poorly, but were surprised at the impact that even small differences in sleep made. (more)

10 best birding spots in the United States
20 April 2025 - Whether you're scanning coastal wetlands for wading birds or exploring dense forests for elusive warblers, these top locations promise unforgettable birdwatching experiences. (more)

Older people who use smartphones 'have lower rates of cognitive decline'
19 April 2025 - Fears that smartphones, tablets, and other devices could drive dementia in later life have been challenged by research that found lower rates of cognitive decline in older people who used the technology. (more)

A Russian bucket brigade helps toads and frogs cross the road to get to a spawning site
18 April 2025 - It happens every spring along a section of road north of Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg: Volunteers, many in yellow vests, patrol near the Sestroretsk Bog nature reserve. They serve as crossing guards for thousands of toads and frogs, who are trying to navigate toward their spawning sites. (more)

Endangered sea turtle populations show signs of recovery in more than half the world, survey finds
17 April 2025 - Endangered sea turtles show signs of recovery in a majority of places where they're found worldwide, according to a new global survey released Thursday [17 April]. (more)