Earth & Climate

Air pollution killed more than 300,000 Europeans in 2019

And that while more than half of these deaths could have been prevented. Air pollution is a real silent killer. Hundreds of thousands of...

Scientists come up with a synthetic cell that can divide

The cell – equipped with computer-designed DNA – should provide more insight into the basic processes that underlie life. Five years ago, scientists created a...

Birds in the pristine heart of the Amazon are shrinking due to climate change

Their wings, on the other hand, have lengthened over time. Even the most pristine parts of the vast Amazon rainforest cannot escape it: climate change....

Can this hydrogen jet make aviation really go green?

The Delft students who built the plane themselves and who will send it into the air this year, fervently hope so. In 2018, the Dutch...

Pandemic generates some 8 million tons of plastic waste

And more than 25,000 tons of that ends up in the already polluted ocean, where it is a major contributor to an already unmanageable...

Penis worms squatted empty houses 500 million years ago

Millions of years before hermit crabs developed their famous trick, penile worms used it successfully. British and Chinese researchers come to this surprising conclusion after...

Penis worms invented Hermit Crab concept

Artist's impression of a Cambrian priaps worm in the annexed shell of a prehistoric marine animal. (Image: Prof Zhang Xiguang, Yunnan University) The beach...

We obey robots better after a tender touch

Research shows that we apparently like to be touched by robots. In fact, we are even more likely to follow their advice afterwards. What...

Worker or Queen? A single molecule turns out to be decisive

An ant's brain changes when she takes on the role of queen. And one striking molecule underlies that transformation. Although most ants are...

The chance that we can limit warming to 2 degrees is now about 60 percent

If countries fulfill their new climate promises, we are much more likely to prevent the worst of global warming. More than 100 countries have made...

‘Vegan spider silk’ possible sustainable alternative to plastic

It is plant-based, sustainable, scalable and incredibly strong. And thus a promising solution to the comprehensive plastic problem. Pollution from single-use plastics is one...

Bacterial friends take care of seaweed

The so-called Neptune grass forms underwater meadows on some Mediterranean coasts. (Image: Hydra Marine Sciences GmbH) Fertilized by tiny things in the roots: The...

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