Not just resisting, but leading the fight: five women who refuse to be ignored
1 September 2025 - A report published this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the International Indigenous Women's Forum (Fimi) cites the many ways women are the key protectors of cultures and land. We [The Guardian] spoke to five women leaders about their work and inspiration. (more)

Bumper whale calving season a 'sign of hope' for South Australia's oceans
22 August 2025 - Scientists say a bumper season for southern right whales in South Australia is a 'sign of hope' for the state amid the ongoing effects of a devastating algal bloom. The bumper season coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Great Australian Bight marine park, one of the primary calving grounds for southern right whales. (more)

Hundreds of historic tall ships sail into Amsterdam for a maritime festival
20 August 2025 - Crowds packed vantage points along a major canal and took to the water themselves Wednesday [20 August] to watch a flotilla of hundreds of historic ships sail into Amsterdam at the start of a five-day festival celebrating the Dutch capital's maritime history. (more)

10-year-old chess prodigy makes history with win over 60-year-old grandmaster
15 August 2025 - A 10-year-old girl who started playing chess five years ago has made history by defeating a grandmaster, according to the International Chess Federation. Bodhana Sivanandan won against Peter Wells, a 60-year-old grandmaster, in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool on August 10... The win makes Bodhana the youngest female chess player in history to score a win against a grandmaster. (more)

Six planets are hanging out in early morning skies this month. Here's how to spot them
14 August 2025 - Six planets are hanging out in the sky this month in what's known as a planetary parade. Catch the spectacle while you can because it's the last one of the year. ...To catch the planets, go out in the morning shortly before sunrise and look east. Try to find Jupiter and Venus clustered together first. Saturn is off to the side and Mercury will be close to the horizon, trying to rise before the sun. (more)

Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to a new Gallup poll
13 August 2025 - Fewer Americans are reporting that they drink alcohol amid a growing belief that even moderate alcohol consumption is a health risk, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday [13 August]. (more)

Praggnanandhaa looks to achieve the No. 1 chess ranking to add to India's dominance
9 August 2025 - India has become a major power in international chess led by its highest-ranked player, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. He's No. 4 in the world, one place above compatriots Gukesh Dommaraju, the current world champion, and Arjun Erigaisi, who are tied for fifth. Praggnanandhaa, who will celebrate his 20th birthday on Sunday [10 August]', has an ambition to be the best. (more)

How Afghan women under Taliban rule are coding their way to a brighter future
8 August 2025 - Like so many other Afghan women, Sodaba could do little but watch as her country's new Taliban government imposed a stranglehold on women's lives. ...But one of the cruelest blows for the pharmacology student was the ban on education beyond primary school. Pushed by necessity, she went online. And there, she found hope: a free computer coding course for women in Afghanistan. Taught in her own language, Dari, by a young Afghan refugee living half a world away, in Greece. (more)

UK: Wild-born chough fledges for first time in 200 years
7 August 2025 - A young red-billed chough has successfully taken flight from a nest in the wild in Kent for the first time in more than two centuries, conservationists have said. A nest that was discovered at Dover Castle this spring produced the chick that fledged last month. Wildwood Trust's Liz Corry, supervisor of the chough's release, said: 'This is a moment we've all been hoping for, to see a wild chick not only hatch but fledge and take to the sky is a major step forward to the species re-establishing itself naturally in the region.' (more)

Study finds female mountain gorillas prefer to join 'buddies'
6 August 2025 - If you're taking a new job, or moving to a new town, it can often help if you have at least one friend who's already there -- someone to introduce you around and show you the ropes. This is true for people, and it also seems to be true for female mountain gorillas. (more)

Gorillas seek out old female friends even after years apart
5 August 2025 - The relationships built up between female mountain gorillas are more important than previously understood, new research from Rwanda suggests. It shows that when one of these social great apes moves into a new group, she will seek out and join another female she already knows. Scientists based the research on 20 years of data covering multiple groups of gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, in Rwanda. (more)

Recycled glass gives solar panels high-performance, makes them work like new
2 August 2025 - A new study by solar recycling firm SOLARCYCLE and Arizona State University (ASU) has confirmed that solar panels manufactured with recycled glass perform identically to new panels. The finding is a significant development for creating a sustainable, domestic supply chain for the renewable energy sector. (more)

IEA: Renewables will be world's top power source 'by 2026'
31 July 2025 - Renewable energy will overtake coal to become the world's top source of electricity 'by 2026 at the latest', according to new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA). (more)

Four Montagu's harrier chicks take flight in first UK breeding success since 2019
30 July 2025 - A pair of Montagu's harriers have raised four chicks in an English wheat field, the first success for Britain's rarest breeding bird since 2019. ...The migratory raptor overwinters in sub-Saharan Africa before heading north to nest in Europe, often in arable fields. (more)

UK: Cornish nature reserve welcomes first baby beavers
24 July 2025 - A nature reserve in Cornwall has welcomed its first beaver babies, or kits. Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) confirmed the presence of the kits at Helman Tor, near Bodmin, using footage from camera traps. (more)

Phones, data centers, laptops - one new alloy could supercharge them all
22 July 2025 - A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has unveiled a powerful new alloy, Ni4W, that could radically reshape how electronic devices store and process information. This metal can switch magnetic states without using external magnets -- a leap that could reduce the energy consumed by everything from phones to data centers. (more)

Pope Leo XIV marks 56th anniversary of moon landing with observatory visit, call to Buzz Aldrin
21 July 2025 - Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man's arrival on the moon Sunday [20 July] with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin. (more)

Scientists reveal the ultimate flower mix for a buzzing backyard
20 July 2025 - Scientists from Denmark and Wales have cracked the code on the perfect flower mix for pollinators -- and it's as eye-catching as it is effective. (more)

Astronomers detect most massive black hole collision to date
17 July 2025 - A collision observed between two black holes, each more massive than a hundred suns, is the largest merger of its kind ever recorded, according to new research. (more)

Researchers reveal surprising health benefits of watermelon
13 July 2025 - Recent research is turning heads with evidence that watermelon isn't just a hydrating summer snack -- it may actually boost heart health and improve overall nutrition. (more)

One man, thousands of trees, and heaps of determination: how regreening Guatemala transformed a village
12 July 2025 - Since 1999, Armando Lopez Pocol and his team of volunteers have bucked the trend for deforestation, regenerating the landscape of Guatemala's highlands with their Chico Mendes project. (more)

In a first, solar was Europe's biggest source of power last month
11 July 2025 - For the first time, solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU last month [June], supplying a record 22 percent of the bloc's power. At least 13 countries saw solar output hit a new monthly high in June, according to an analysis from energy think tank Ember. Solar amounted to more than 40 percent of generation in the Netherlands and 35 percent in Greece. (more)

With sanctions lifted, Syria looks to solar power as more than a patchwork fix to its energy crisis
9 July 2025 - Syria's new leaders are hoping renewable energy will now become more than a patchwork solution. Investment is beginning to return to the country with the lifting of U.S. sanctions, and major energy projects are planned, including an industrial-scale solar farm that would secure about a tenth of the country's energy needs. (more)

Meet the bug that uses the stars to navigate hundreds of miles
8 July 2025 - An Australian moth follows the stars during its yearly migration, using the night sky as a guiding compass, according to a new study. When temperatures heat up, nocturnal Bogong moths fly about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) to cool down in caves by the Australian Alps. They later return home to breed and die. (more)