Author: Grace Johnson

Bali faces its deadliest floods in ten years as at least 14 people have died across the island. Torrential rains triggered rivers to burst their banks, submerging homes and roads. Authorities report the rain has stopped, but rescuers continue searching for survivors. Two people remain missing in Denpasar, where eight deaths occurred. Widespread Evacuations and Infrastructure Damage Since Tuesday, hundreds of residents evacuated their flooded homes. Landslides have blocked major roads, and authorities report at least two damaged bridges. Residents describe the scene as shocking. Tasha, a Bali local, said the flooding overwhelmed the island’s drainage system. The provincial government…

Sustainability and food researchers Joseph Poore, Hannah Ritchie, and Charles Godfray examine how shrinking farmland has allowed nature to return. They explore how far this trend could continue. Throughout the 20th century, human activity demanded more land, causing massive losses of natural forests and grasslands. Today, humans farm around half of the world’s land, growing crops or grazing animals. However, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that global agricultural land use peaked in the early 2000s. Since then, farmland has slowly declined, replaced by grasslands, trees, and bush. Wild animals have returned to abandoned pasturelands, reclaiming areas they…

Apple has finally changed the way iPhones look. For years, new models mostly looked the same, even though the technology inside improved. The iPhone 17 series now offers fresh designs and choices for users who want something different. The iPhone Air is the most talked-about model. It is much thinner at 5.64 mm, compared to 7.95 mm for the standard iPhone 17 and 8.75 mm for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. While the difference in numbers seems small, it feels very noticeable in the hand. The Air also has a slightly larger screen at 0.2 inches but weighs…

A vaccine designed to protect Australia’s endangered koalas from chlamydia has received regulatory approval for rollout for the first time. Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) spent over a decade developing the jab to halt the disease ravaging wild populations across eastern Australia. Peter Timms, a lead researcher, said some wild colonies face infection rates as high as 70% and edge closer to extinction every day. With regulatory approval secured, the team now seeks major funding to distribute the vaccine to wildlife hospitals, veterinary clinics, and koalas in the wild. “It has been a long road with…

The global mining industry is set for one of its biggest shake-ups in years as Anglo American and Teck Resources join forces. The two companies announced a merger worth $53 billion, creating one of the world’s largest copper producers. The deal is expected to transform the industry but may also bring job cuts as overlapping operations are reduced. The agreement marks a bold move for Anglo American, the London-listed miner, which has spent the past year resisting takeover attempts from its larger rival BHP. Instead of being absorbed, the company chose to restructure and take control of its future. By…

A Mediterranean atmosphere in the desert In Tempe, Arizona, a new neighbourhood called Culdesac is reinventing urban life. It bans private cars and invites visitors to enjoy plazas, paseos and Mediterranean-style architecture. When resident Sheryl Murdock walks to her apartment, she feels as if she has landed on a Greek island. She enters the central plaza, where traffic noise disappears. Instead, she hears the clinking of glasses, cheerful conversations and the thud of a cornhole game. She strolls through narrow lanes lined with white buildings and fairy lights. Murals and magenta bougainvillea add bursts of colour. “It’s like being in…

A refuge for endangered great apes The young orangutans tried to delay bedtime. One grabbed a long leaf through the bars, begging for play. Then came a classic toddler trick: suddenly needing the toilet. Finally, the youngster climbed onto a wooden jungle gym. The floor was scattered with sticks and scraps of wood. The little ape curled into a hammock and pulled a big leaf over its body as a blanket. In the wild, orangutans build new nests each night. They weave branches and leaves in the forest canopy. But this was not the wild. It was the site of…

Ocean Acid Weakens Top Predators’ Weapons Scientists warn that some of the ocean’s fiercest hunters may lose their bite. Rising acidity makes shark teeth weaker and more prone to break, threatening their hunting ability. Sharks famously replace their teeth continuously, growing new ones as old ones wear out. This regeneration helps them capture prey efficiently, supporting survival at the top of the marine food chain. New research suggests this natural tooth replacement may not be enough. Rising ocean acidity could make teeth brittle faster than sharks can grow them. Researchers in Germany tested shark teeth under different acidity levels and…

Human activity leaves visible marks on endangered whale sharks off Indonesian Papua, but small changes in fishing practices could protect them. Whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, hold endangered status on the IUCN Red List. Populations have fallen over 50% globally in the last 75 years and by up to 63% in the Indo-Pacific. These sharks take up to 30 years to reach sexual maturity, which slows recovery from hunting, habitat loss, and fishing net entanglement. Human Activity Causes Most Injuries Researchers recently studied whale sharks in the Bird’s Head Seascape of West Papua. They found that 62% carry scars…

Insect protein offers health benefits and sustainability. Yet it now sits at the center of a wide-reaching conspiracy theory. Insects on the Menu for Thousands of Years Humans have consumed insects throughout history. Ancient cave paintings in Altamira, Spain, dating back 30,000 BC, depict people gathering bees. Today, many people in Latin America, Asia, and Africa eat insects regularly. In Mexico, boiled and fried grasshoppers, known as “chapulines,” serve as popular bar snacks and increasingly appear in gourmet restaurants. Despite their nutritional and environmental advantages, insects remain largely absent from American and European diets. This hesitancy has grown in recent…