Author: Grace Johnson

The U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey team is gearing up for the 2026 Winter Olympics with a goal to reclaim gold. The squad combines experienced players with rising stars, creating a balanced and competitive lineup. Coaches have emphasized building momentum through intensive training, exhibition games, and team-building activities. Their strategy focuses on both offense and defense, ensuring the team can handle any opponent at the Olympics. Veteran players provide leadership on and off the ice. Their experience in past international competitions helps guide younger teammates and strengthens team chemistry. This mix of talent aims to maintain high energy and focus throughout…

Wildlife experts report progress in a project to bring elk back to wetlands in Nottinghamshire. The animals once thrived in the UK but became extinct around 3,000 years ago, largely due to hunting. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire wildlife trusts secured £15,000 in funding from Rewilding Britain earlier this year to explore the feasibility of the elk’s return. Assessing the Risks Janice Bradley, from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, said a disease risk assessment, expected by early next year, marks a major milestone. As head of nature recovery, she described elk as a “very important megaherbivore.” “They act as keystone species and shape entire…

Despite being no larger than a Post-It note, tiny fiddler crabs can ingest and break down microplastic particles, researchers report. Scientists reveal these small crabs play an unexpected role in reducing plastic pollution in coastal ecosystems. Crabs thrive amid plastic pollution A new study in Global Change Biology monitored fiddler crabs in a highly polluted mangrove forest on Colombia’s northern coast. Years of urban and agricultural expansion have damaged the mangroves, producing some of the world’s highest plastic concentrations. Researchers discovered that the crabs are thriving despite these harsh conditions. The animals ingest and break down significant amounts of microplastics…

Wind power has surged across Europe, raising concerns about billions wasted through weak grid investment. Many countries now produce more clean electricity than their systems can handle. Last year marked a major win for the UK renewable sector. Project approvals reached record levels. Offshore wind farms delivered almost 17 per cent of national electricity output. On 5 December 2025, wind generation hit a historic peak. Turbines produced 23,825 megawatts of electricity. That output could power more than 23 million homes. Yet Octopus Energy, one of Britain’s largest suppliers, says much of this power never reached consumers. The company created the…

Tracking seabirds off Cape Point On a small boat in the Atlantic, about 50 kilometers from South Africa’s Cape Point, bird watchers scan the horizon. They call out names of seabirds: “Atlantic yellow-nosed! Black-browed albatross!” The tour boat takes visitors from Cape Town to see endangered seabirds, including albatrosses, which rarely appear on land. It’s a warm summer day with clear blue skies, perfect for spotting birds. The skipper speaks on the radio, searching for fishing trawlers. Soon he spots one and steers directly toward it. As the boat—run by Cape Town Pelagics, a non-profit—approaches, more seabirds emerge. Hundreds trail…

Beaked whales remain among the least understood mammals on Earth. Scientists now use underwater sound to identify these secretive deep divers. The approach opens a rare window into lives hidden far below the surface. On a bright, calm day in early June 2024, Elizabeth Henderson stood aboard a boat off Baja California. She scanned the glassy sea with powerful binoculars. Her team balanced halfway up the mast and searched patiently. They hunted for beaked whales, animals famous for extreme diving. Some dive nearly three kilometres below the surface. They stay underwater longer than any other mammal. When they surface, their…

Great white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea face a growing threat of extinction, researchers warn. Illegal fishing contributes heavily to their decline, putting one of the ocean’s top predators at risk. US scientists, collaborating with the UK-based Blue Marine Foundation, conducted research revealing that some of the most threatened shark species are being sold openly in North African fish markets. Great whites belong to more than 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, making it illegal to fish or trade them. Despite these protections, researchers monitoring ports along the North African Mediterranean coast documented at least 40 great white…

A year of reckoning awaits the world’s oceans. After tidal shifts in 2025, 2026 will test whether promises to protect distant seas turn into action. From the High Seas Treaty and deep-sea mining to international ocean summits and EU marine policy, this year could define the future of our blue planet. Euronews reviews the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. High hopes for the high seas On 17 January 2026, the high seas will gain a legal framework that finally curbs decades of lawlessness. The High Seas Treaty, formally known as the BBNJ Agreement, comes into force. It promises to…

Ben Martill often watches deer roam outside his window. “In the past few years, there have been loads of them,” he says. But Ben does not live in a forest. He lives in a block of flats on a busy road in Horsham, West Sussex. Deer now appear on the main streets and traffic islands at night. “There are herds running up Crawley Road,” he adds. “Loads congregate at night on the traffic island of the bypass.” Ben, 33, works as a gardener. Some of his customers have faced deer breaking fences and stripping tree bark. He has also had…

From napping while flying to taking four-second catnaps to survive parenting, animals have evolved astonishing ways to sleep. Every animal with a brain needs sleep – and even some without brains sleep. Humans sleep, birds sleep, whales sleep, even jellyfish sleep. “Sleep is universal, even though it is very risky,” says Paul-Antoine Libourel of the Neuroscience Research Center in Lyon, France. When animals fall asleep, predators can strike. Yet the need for sleep forces every creature to rest, even in dangerous situations. Animals in extreme environments sleep in unusual ways: they steal seconds for parenting, doze during long migrations, or…