Author: Grace Johnson

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…

In Scotland, where deer populations are culled, eating wild venison can reduce carbon emissions. My last full meat meal happened seven years ago. My parents visited from Costa Rica, and we spent an evening exploring the menu of a small steak restaurant in London. For them, it was the final meal before flying home; for me, it marked a farewell to my most carnivorous days. Since then, I have mostly eaten vegetarian dishes, some seafood, and rare exceptions. My diet evolved alongside my work covering climate change. I choose animal products carefully: low-carbon options like mussels appear on my plate…

Days after India’s top court issued a new order, tensions over stray dogs have risen across Delhi. Animal lovers face hostility, and some even report violence, while others warn that stray dogs pose real dangers to the public. Residents confront dog feeders Megha Malhotra has fed stray dogs in her residential complex for nearly two years. Every evening, she places food at a temporary spot near her building’s exit gate. “I enjoy taking care of them,” she says. In recent weeks, she noticed growing unease among neighbours. Some have confronted her, insisting she stop feeding the dogs. Malhotra usually stays…

The Northern Lights lit up the UK sky for the first time this autumn on Monday night and may return Tuesday. From northern Scotland to north Wales, Norfolk, and Kent, people saw the vivid purples, greens, and reds of the aurora after a strong solar storm. Solar Storm Sparks Aurora Across the UK Space weather forecasters warned of possible aurora on Monday afternoon after satellites detected a coronal mass ejection on the Sun’s surface. This surge of solar energy entered Earth’s atmosphere, colliding with oxygen and nitrogen and creating the aurora’s bright colours. The Met Office Space Weather Centre predicted…

Foraging offers access to unusual foods and the experience of harvesting them directly from nature. But could it also cause harm? A Beachside Lesson in Seaweed On an unseasonably warm April evening, I lift a soggy lump of seaweed on a southern England beach. It smells sharp and tangy. The hard, flat fronds carry tufts of green vegetation, seawater, and sand. Our guide recommends frying this type of seaweed. I join a seaweed foraging course along the Jurassic Coast, and as we climb along the shoreline, the sun turns golden and mist rises above the sand dunes. Dan Scott gives…