In the early 1990s, fewer than 1,000 threatened chum salmon returned to this Washington watershed; recent returns average 32,600 a year as a $9.7 million river restoration nears completion

chum salmon Representative image In the early 1990s, fewer than 1,000 threatened summer-run chum salmon made it back to the Big Quilcene River on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula each year. Decades of logging, road building and habitat degradation had left the river choked with sediment, its gravel spawning beds buried and its side channels disconnected. Today,…

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In the 1970s, just 14 giant tortoises remained on Española; now 3,000 are restoring vegetation and bringing albatrosses back to nesting grounds |

On Española, one of the smaller islands in the Galápagos, the landscape is being reshaped by animals that spend much of their time moving slowly through it. Giant tortoises push through grasses, knock down vegetation and leave broad paths behind them as they travel. Their effect is easy to miss if viewed as ordinary grazing….

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Meet Hao Ting Lyu, Qing Ying Cao, Bai Xuan Ye, Yuanhao Zhang and Jia An Pan, Chinese students who built a low-cost underwater messaging system for divers |

Image: Conrad Space Center For divers beneath the surface, communication can become surprisingly difficult. Radio signals that work reliably on land do not travel effectively through water, leaving divers dependent on hand signals, pre-arranged plans or specialised equipment when they need to communicate. Five Chinese students, Hao Ting Lyu, Qing Ying Cao, Bai Xuan Ye,…

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Researchers analysing hardened plaque from eight people buried in Edo-era Osaka detected 38 dietary proteins, including luxury red sea bream and cold-water fish imported through Japan’s shipping networks

Nearly 400 years ago, people living in Osaka had no refrigerators, supermarkets or modern food supply chains. Yet an unusual scientific discovery suggests that their diets were far more varied than expected. Researchers analysing hardened dental plaque from eight people buried at the Umeda cemetery in Osaka identified 38 dietary proteins from 17 types of…

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Meet Varshini Gandreddy, Dhiti Koyya and Raaga Bukkaraju, Texas students turning toxic Martian soil into fertile ground for astronauts |

Representative Image of astronauts converting Martian regolith into a growing medium for crops inside a Mars habitat (AI-generated image) Three Texas students have designed a system they believe could help future astronauts grow food on Mars using material already sitting on the planet’s surface. Varshini Gandreddy, Dhiti Koyya and Raaga Bukkaraju developed the project, called…

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In 1940, actor James Cagney bought hundreds of acres of California grassland; decades later the remaining 417 acres became a protected wildlife corridor | World News

For decades, the grasslands outside Ramona, California, looked much as they had for generations: open country, seasonal pools and wide stretches of native vegetation broken by grazing land. As reported by the local news report, The San Diego Union-Tribune, among the people who once owned part of this landscape was Hollywood actor James Cagney, who…

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Joe Anderson: US mayor Joe Anderson dies mysteriously at 45 after sudden collapse on Colorado hike

Colorado politician Joe Anderson suddenly collapsed on Colorado hike and died shortly thereafter. (Photo: Instagram @nypost) Joe Anderson lost consciousness and was not breathing while hiking on the lower slopes of Quandary Peak in Summit County, according to local authorities. Sheriff’s deputies were called at about 6.40am after other hikers had already begun CPR.Deputies and…

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In 1934, Black cave guide Matt Bransford sold his 14-room Mammoth Cave hotel and land for just $3,000, far below market value; the family then moved 20 miles away as the national park took shape

Matt Bransford and a glimpse of Mammoth Cave National Park Deep below the forests of Kentucky is a world of water, stone and centuries-old human history. Mammoth Cave National Park has the world’s longest known cave system, but its story is about far more than underground passages. It’s also a story about indigenous exploration, enslaved…

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In 2024, a developer paid $4 million for 83 acres outside Yosemite; two years later the US is considering a land swap for a private access road through the park

The National Park Service is examining whether a land exchange can be carried out under federal law A Nevada-based developer is seeking a land exchange that could allow a private road to be built through Yosemite National Park, giving access to an 83-acre property just outside the park. The Trump administration is considering the proposal,…

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Sneako’s New York attack takes new turn as he claims suspect was ‘finally arrested’ for aggravated assault | World News

Sneako’s New York attack takes new turn as he claims suspect was ‘finally arrested’ for aggravated assault Streamer Nico “Sneako” has claimed that the man who attacked and pepper-sprayed him during a New York livestream has finally been arrested. Sneako shared the update on X, saying the person was taken into custody on an aggravated…

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