All Stories by Nikk Ogasa
- Climate
Greenland’s inland ice is melting far faster than anyone thought
Inland melting of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream is accelerating — and may contribute far more to sea level rise than earlier estimates suggested.
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Chemistry
Lego-like way to snap molecules together wins 2022 chemistry Nobel
This so-called ‘click chemistry’ allows scientists to build complex molecules in the lab and in living cells.
- Earth
Not one, but two asteroids might have ended the age of dinosaurs
A craterlike structure found off the coast of West Africa might have been formed by an asteroid that struck around the time dinosaurs went extinct.
- Chemistry
Simple process destroys toxic and widespread ‘forever’ pollutants
Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down these PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other methods.
- Animals
Some Greenland polar bears are surviving with very little sea ice
The ‘glacial mélange’ on which they’ve come to rely — a mix of ice, snow and slush — could be a temporary refuge for some polar bears.
- Earth
Tiny gemstones show when Earth’s crust first started moving
Chemical hints observed in zircons suggest when the important process of plate tectonics first took off.
- Planets
Mercury’s surface may be studded with diamonds
Billions of years of meteorite impacts may have transformed much of Mercury's graphite crust into precious gemstones.
- Climate
UN report calls for two-pronged approach to slow climate impacts
The latest IPCC climate change report underscores an urgent need for action to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.
- Planets
No, organic molecules alone don’t point to life on Mars
These carbon-based molecules, found in a meteorite, may reflect merely a mixing of water and minerals on the Red Planet over billions of years.
- Earth
Volcanic avalanches may be more destructive than previously thought
Pressures within these pyroclastic flows may be as much as three times as high as observations had suggested.
- Science & Society
Empty stadium ‘ghost games’ increase losses for home teams
European soccer teams playing at home during the pandemic also racked up more foul calls.
