Top Stories

Why Is Venus Hotter than Mercury, When Mercury Is Closer to the Sun?

As part of The Conversations’ “Curious Kids” series, an astronomer explains how a runaway greenhouse effect has made the surface temperature of Venus hot enough to melt lead.

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In an Already Broiling Summer, El Niño Is About to Turn up the Heat

El Niño is expected to intensify in the weeks ahead, fueling more severe heat across the globe, according to the U.N. World Meteorological Organization. 

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Could Hawaiʻi’s Eucalyptus Forests Become a New Source of Building Materials?

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers are working to determine whether Hawaiʻi-grown eucalyptus could become a reliable source of lumber for construction, helping reduce the state’s reliance on imported building materials while supporting healthier forests.

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Accelerated Rates of Warming in the Arctic Continue

The American Meteorological Society released its annual report on the global climate this week, with many researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks participating. 

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Drought is Reshaping the Spread of Infectious Diseases

From the American West to Europe, droughts are drying up rivers, fueling destructive fires and reshaping ecosystems.

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Scorching Summers and Heatwaves Linked to Poorer Mental Health in Children

As record-breaking heat grips communities worldwide and Australia prepares for an intense El Niño summer, new research provides the first global review linking high temperatures and heatwaves to poorer mental health in children and young people.

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Creating Chemical Reactions That Run on Oxygen, Produce Only Water as Waste

Oxygen provides the driving force for many vital chemical reactions. Two well-known examples include respiration, the process that allows living things to break down food to release its energy, and combustion, reactions that produce heat and light.

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Melting Sea Ice Combines With Arctic Ocean to Make Clouds

Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown natural process that dramatically increases the number of cloud-forming particles in the Arctic atmosphere - potentially altering cloud cover, sunlight reflection, and future climate change.

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Marine Heatwaves Pose Hidden Threat to Human Health

The devastating impacts of marine heatwaves extend far beyond dying coral reefs and declining fisheries, with new research warning these extreme ocean warming events are posing a growing threat to humans’ physical and mental health.

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The Year 2026 Marks a Turning Point for Our Forests

Botany professor Ansgar Kahmen has been studying Switzerland’s forests for years. 

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