The Natural History Museum in London holds a yearly contest for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. This year, the contest had 49,957 entries from around the world. Here are some of this year’s best pictures, and the stories behind them.
Published in “Science”
On September 27, the European Court of Human Rights heard a case that could force 32 European countries to take stronger action on climate change. The case was brought by six young people from Portugal.
People in Paris, France are growing concerned about a problem that has worried people for centuries: bedbugs. With more and more reports of bedbugs being found, politicians are starting to worry about getting rid of the insects before Paris holds the 2024 Olympics next summer.
On Monday, the Nobel Prize in medicine was given to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman - two scientists whose work led to the development of mRNA vaccines. Their ideas about mRNA were a huge scientific breakthrough, and saved millions of lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
Scientists have reported that Antarctica's sea ice is at a record low level. That's worrying because the sea ice is an important part of the Earth's cooling system. It's not yet clear if the low sea ice level is temporary, or part of a changing climate pattern.
On Sunday, a capsule carrying samples of a distant asteroid landed safely in the desert in Utah. The samples, collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, are the largest amount of asteroid material ever returned to Earth.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has set a new record for the longest spaceflight by an American. As of today, he has been in space for a full year, working on the International Space Station. Dr. Rubio broke the old record of 355 days in early September.
Over the weekend, people around the world turned out in huge numbers to protest the burning of fossil fuels. The protests - the largest since before the coronavirus pandemic - were meant to send a strong message to political leaders: "Take climate action now."
On August 21, a cargo ship traveling from Singapore to Brazil became the first to try out a new kind of sail. The sail is expected to save fuel and cut pollution. If it works well, similar sails could become common on cargo ships over the next few years.
On August 29, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a huge change in the rules designed to protect America's wetlands. The EPA was forced to change the rules because of a Supreme Court decision that took away protection from most wetlands.
Recently, fans of self-driving cars have gotten some good news, followed by bad news. Two self-driving taxi companies were given permission to expand their work in San Francisco. But a string of accidents has led to new concerns about how safe the cars actually are.