Articles for category: Climate & Environment

Lightning and trees.

How Lightning Can Strike From a Clear Blue Sky (And Other Weather Mysteries)

Annette Uy

Imagine standing in a field, the sky a perfect shade of blue, the day calm and serene. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashes down from nowhere, leaving you bewildered. This phenomenon, known as “bolt from the blue,” is just one of the many intriguing mysteries that weather can present. Our planet is a complex system, ...

Life in Eternal Darkness

How the Last Ice Age Sculpted the Landscape of Today’s Midwest

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine standing in the middle of a wide, flat plain that stretches as far as your eyes can see, dotted with lakes and rolling hills. It’s a place both dramatic and familiar—yet beneath your feet lies a story of unimaginable power and relentless transformation. The Midwest, with its fertile farms and bustling cities, owes its ...

A Living Wonder in the Land of the Long White Cloud

Frozen in Time: The 46,000-Year-Old Worm Brought Back to Life

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine waking up after a nap only to discover that the world outside your window has completely changed — not just by a few years, but by tens of thousands. In 2023, scientists did something that sounds straight out of science fiction: they revived a tiny roundworm from the Siberian permafrost that had been asleep ...

Desert Winds: Sculptors of Sand and Stone

What Makes a Desert, Anyway? It’s Not Just the Sand

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine standing in a place where silence feels thick, the horizon stretches endlessly, and the sun bears down with an almost ancient intensity. You might picture rolling dunes, but would you be surprised to learn that some deserts are covered in snow, or rocky plains, or even dotted with life? The truth is, deserts are ...

The Power of DNA: Unlocking Nature’s Blueprints

Unlocking Tomorrow with Yesterday’s Genes: How Ancient DNA Is Shaping Our Future

April Joy Jovita

A groundbreaking expedition to Antarctica’s Denman Glacier has revealed how ancient DNA (aDNA) can help scientists predict the future of Earth’s ecosystems. As climate change accelerates, researchers are turning to genetic material preserved in marine life to reconstruct past environments and anticipate how ecosystems might respond to ongoing environmental shifts. The study, led by Australian ...

Symplocarpus foetidus.

Plants That Melt Snow Around Them: Nature’s Built-In Heat Tech

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine wandering through a snow-blanketed forest and stumbling upon a patch of earth where the snow seems to melt away as if by magic. Most people would think this is just a trick of the sun or a pocket of warm air, but the real reason might be even more astonishing: certain plants have evolved ...

The Camel Genome: What Scientists Are Learning From Desert DNA

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine standing in the blistering heart of the desert, the sun relentless above, and the sand stretching endlessly around you. Suddenly, a camel ambles into view—unfazed, steady, and almost supernaturally adapted for survival. For centuries, camels have carried people and goods across unforgiving landscapes, earning their nickname as the “ships of the desert.” But what ...