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NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun

NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures of more than 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit (930 degrees Celsius).

Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot

Ever since his first hard-won sightings of African manatees, award-winning marine biologist Aristide Takoukam Kamla has been devoted to protecting the little known and atrisk aquatic mammals.

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Koons on the Moon -- sculptures to be placed on lunar surface

American pop artist Jeff Koons is to send sculptures to the Moon later this year on a spacecraft blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, his gallery said Tuesday.

Giant ice volcanoes identified on Pluto

Strange lumpy terrain on Pluto unlike anything previously observed in the solar system indicates that giant ice volcanoes were active relatively recently on the dwarf planet, scientists said on Tuesday.

Sign of things to come? Royals' Caribbean tour hit by protests

Prince William's trip to the Caribbean was meant to help Commonwealth countries where his 95-year-old grandmother is also head of state celebrate her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.

Canada torn between economy, climate in deciding oil project

Eco warrior turned Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, picked by Justin Trudeau five months ago to guide Canada's climate policy, will soon face his first major test in deciding on a new offshore oil project.

Male contraceptive pill found 99% effective in mice

A team of scientists said Wednesday they had developed an oral male contraceptive that is 99 percent effective in mice without causing side effects, and could enter human trials by the end of this year.

Water supply fears as Morocco hit by worst drought since 1980s

As Morocco withers under its worst drought in 40 years, experts warn that a combination of climate change and bad resource management could trigger severe drinking water shortages.

Chemists cook up way to remove microplastics using okra

Extracts of okra and other slimy plants commonly used in cooking can help remove dangerous microplastics from wastewater, scientists said Tuesday.

New US rule requires publicly-listed firms to disclose emissions

Publicly-traded US companies would be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their approach to managing climate change risks under a proposed rule approved by Washington Monday.

Nations vet 3,000-page handbook to halt climate crisis

Nearly 200 nations gather Monday to grapple with a question that will outlive Covid-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine: how does a world addicted to fossil fuels prevent carbon pollution from making Earth unliveable?

Antarctica hits record temperatures, say experts

Eastern Antarctica has recorded exceptionally high temperatures this week, more than 30 degrees Celsius above normal, say experts.

Russian trio blast off for ISS in shadow of Ukraine war

Three Russian cosmonauts blasted off to the International Space Station Friday, as Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine brought the Kremlin's relations with the West to their lowest point since the Soviet era.

Great Barrier Reef suffers 'widespread' bleaching event

The Great Barrier Reef has again been hit with "widespread" bleaching, authorities said Friday, as higher-than-average ocean temperatures off Australia's northeast threaten the already struggling World Heritage site.

US comic Pete Davidson not going to space after all

Plot twist: American comedian and actor Pete Davidson isn't going to space next week after all.

New microscopic organisms found in deep sea trench baffle Chile scientists

When Chilean scientist Osvaldo Ulloa led an expedition 8,000 meters under the sea to an area where no human had ever been, his team discovered microscopic organisms that generated more questions than answers.

36-million-year-old whale fossil found in Peruvian desert

Paleontologists on Thursday unveiled the fossilized remains of an ancient whale that inhabited the seas 36 million years ago, found last year in a Peruvian desert.

NASA rolls out its mega Moon rocket -- here's what you need to know

NASA's massive new rocket is poised to make its first journey to a launchpad on Thursday ahead of a battery of tests that will clear it to blast off to the Moon this summer.

'Visionary' US astrophysicist Eugene Parker dead at 94

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist whose mathematical prediction that charged particles streamed from stars in a solar wind was met with disbelief before he was ultimately vindicated, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

'Visionary' US astrophysicist Eugene Parker dead at 94: NASA

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist who developed a mathematical model predicting the stream of charged particles from the Sun known as solar wind, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

Landslide in Peruvian Andes buries dozens of homes

A landslide on Tuesday in the northern Peruvian town of Retamas has buried dozens of homes and trapped at least 15 people, according to authorities.

Australian court strikes down landmark climate ruling

An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a landmark legal ruling that the country's environment minister had a duty to protect children from climate change.

German WWII ghosts loom large in Ukraine crisis

The war weighs heavy on Ilse Thiele's mind these days as she sits in the floral print armchair in her Berlin living room, the television constantly tuned to the news from Ukraine.

US comedian Pete Davidson blasting off to space next week

American comedian and actor Pete Davidson, who has made headlines recently for his new relationship with Kim Kardashian, is going to space as part of a six-member team on Blue Origin's next flight next week, the company said Monday.

Amid NFT boom, artists worry about climate costs

Digital art is nothing new to vonMash, who describes his blend of painting, video and sound as "afro-delic" -- a psychedelic twist on Afrofuturism.

Inside Germany's secret Cold War cash bunker

For many years, the residents of the leafy town of Cochem in the German Rhineland went about their daily business with no idea they were living on a gold mine.

Huge spiders to colonize US East Coast, but maybe it's a good thing

Big and scary-looking Joro spiders have spread from Asia to the southern United States and are now poised to colonize the country's cooler climes -- but they're nothing to fear and might end up actually helping local ecosystems.

New giant tortoise species found in Galapagos after DNA study

A new species of giant tortoise has been discovered in the Galapagos after DNA testing found animals living on one island had not yet been recorded, Ecuador's environment ministry said.

NASA opens sample taken from the Moon 50 years on

The Apollo missions to the Moon brought a total of 2,196 rock samples to Earth. But NASA has only just started opening one of the last ones, collected 50 years ago.

Grave mood at EU summit in gilded Versailles palace

Emmanuel Macron's presidency began with an invitation for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the sumptuous former royal palace at Versailles. As his term draws to a close, European leaders are meeting in the same place to discuss Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Forget mammoths, study shows how to resurrect Christmas Island rats

Ever since the movie Jurassic Park, the idea of bringing extinct animals back to life has captured the public's imagination -- but what might scientists turn their attention towards first?

Buzz Aldrin's famous 1969 moon walk picture sells at auction

More than 70 original NASA photographs including a celebrated image of Buzz Aldrin's moon walk taken by Neil Armstrong were sold at auction in Copenhagen on Wednesday for more than 155,000 euros ($172,000).

Danish PM says sorry to Inuits forcibly moved to Denmark

Denmark's prime minister apologised in person Wednesday to six Greenlandic Inuits removed from their families and taken to Copenhagen more than 70 years ago as part of an experiment to create a Danish-speaking elite.

Shackleton's lost shipwreck discovered off Antarctica

One of the world's most storied shipwrecks, Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, has been discovered off the coast of Antarctica more than a century after its sinking, explorers announced Wednesday.

Uruguay's century-old Russian colony troubled over war from afar

Far away from Kyiv and even further from Moscow, residents of the small Uruguayan village of San Javier -- an old Russian settlement -- look on with dismay at the invasion of Ukraine.

Amazon nears climate 'tipping point' faster than expected

Hammered by climate change and relentless deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to recover and could irretrievably transition into savannah, with dire consequences for the region and the world, according to a study published Monday.

North Korea claims new test of 'reconnaissance satellite' component

North Korea carried out "another important test" towards the development of a reconnaissance satellite, state media said Sunday, but analysts warned it was a thinly-veiled ballistic missile launch, just days before South Korea elects a new president.

Failure to launch: War scuppers Russia-West space collaboration

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had repercussions not just around the world but beyond it, bringing to a grinding halt joint space projects between Moscow and the West that began in the aftermath of the Cold War.

How commercial satellites are shaping the Ukraine conflict

From a huge Russian military convoy snaking its way to Kyiv to missile strikes and refugee crossings, commercial satellite imagery of the Ukraine conflict is helping lift the fog of war, illuminating for the public what was previously the domain of spy agencies.

Heritage of Iraq's last few Jews at risk

In a busy district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, there is little to distinguish the faded brick building, except for a Hebrew inscription above the entrance.

On land and sea, climate change causing 'irreversible' losses: UN

Climate change has already caused "irreversible losses" for Nature, UN experts have said, warning that if emissions are not cut quickly, warming could trigger chain reactions with potentially catastrophic effects for all species, including humans.

Bombay Durpun - Technology (English)