The summer solstice is here. What to know about the longest day of the year
20 June 2025 - Peak sunshine has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere -- the summer solstice. Friday [20 June] is the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer. It's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and winter will start. (more)

Indian-origin professor wins Godel prize for breakthrough in computer science research
19 June 2025 - Indian-origin professor Eshan Chattopadhyay, along with David Zuckerman, won the 2025 Godel Prize for their 2016 paper, 'Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions'. The IIT-Kanpur alumnus solved a major open problem in his field. The Godel Prize honours groundbreaking research in theoretical computer science and is one of the field's most prestigious accolades. (more)

Two major US food producers to remove artificial dyes from products sold domestically
18 June 2025 - Two major food producers say that they will be pulling artificial dyes from their U.S. products starting in 2027. The shift comes nearly two months after U.S. health officials said that they would urge foodmakers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors. (more)

A long-standing puzzle of 'missing' ordinary matter in the universe may be solved, astronomers say
17 June 2025 - Astronomers have used mysterious fast radio bursts, or millisecond-long bright flashes of radio waves from space, to help them track down some of the missing matter in the universe. ... 'If you add up all the stars and planets and cold gas that you see with your telescopes, it only amounts to less than 10 percent of ordinary matter in the universe,' said Liam Connor, assistant professor of astronomy at Harvard University. (more)

Scientists find universe's missing matter while watching fast radio bursts shine through 'cosmic fog'
16 June 2025 - Half of the universe's ordinary matter was missing -- until now. Astronomers have used mysterious but powerful explosions of energy called fast radio bursts (FRBs) to detect the universe's missing 'normal' matter for the first time. (more)

The women at the center of Somalia's construction boom
13 June 2025 - Construction is booming in Somalia's capital city ... giving unexpected opportunities to women like Fathi Mohamed Abdi and Saadia Ahmed Omar. The two young female engineers have been overseeing the construction of a 10-floor apartment complex in Taleh in the city's Hodan District. ...The two are among the most recognised female engineers in Mogadishu, having overseen more than 30 multimillion-dollar projects. (more)

High Seas Treaty gains momentum as 18 new countries pledge support
12 June 2025 - Eighteen countries ratified the High Seas Treaty on Monday [9 June], bringing the total to 49 -- just 11 short of the 60 needed for the ocean agreement to enter into force. The surge in support, occurring during the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, France, adds momentum to what could become a historic shift in how the world governs the open ocean. (more)

Best Scottish Standing Stones 2025: Here are 8 ancient stone circles in Scotland ideal for celebrating the Summer Solstice
11 June 2025 - With the Summer Solstice just around the corner on June 21, many are searching for meaningful ways to mark the longest day of the year. While Stonehenge may draw thousands, Scotland's ancient standing stones offer a more peaceful alternative, set against breathtaking landscapes and with fewer crowds. (more)

What you need to know ahead of solstice celebrations
11 June 2025 - Thousands of people are set to mark the summer solstice, which signifies the end of spring, and for many is a spiritual celebration at dawn. Each year, people journey to Stonehenge in Wiltshire to witness the first rays of sunlight piercing through the ancient stone archways. (more)

When is the summer solstice in 2025? It depends on your time zone.
10 June 2025 - Each year on the summer solstice, revelers at Stonehenge in England stay up all night to celebrate the dawn of the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with many images streamed live. But this year, there's a twist: The summer solstice there will occur on a different day than the solstice in North America, due to time zone differences. (more)

Colombia reports 33 percent drop in deforestation in early 2025, with major progress in Amazon parks
7 June 2025 - Colombia saw a 33% drop in deforestation in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, the environment ministry said Thursday. Speaking at a press conference, Environment Minister Lena Estrada Anokazi said deforestation fell from 40,219 hectares in early 2024 to 27,000 hectares this year. (more)

California's Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
6 June 2025 - Roughly 73 square miles of ancestral homelands once belonging to California's Yurok Tribe have been returned to them more than doubling the tribe's land holdings, according to a deal announced Thursday [5 June]. Completion of the land-back conservation deal along the lower Klamath River -- a partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy and other environmental groups -- is being called the largest in California history. (more)

Rare red sprites captured lighting up the Tibetan night sky like jellyfish-shaped firework
5 June 2025 - Red sprites are as beautiful as they are elusive. These large-scale flashes occur up high in the sky, above thunderstorm clouds. ...Experienced astrophotographers have devoted themselves to study this phenomenon enough to be at the right place at the right time to capture them. One such photographer is Dong Shuchang, who recently captured a red sprite over Tibet. His footage has even aided scientists in learning more about this unique weather phenomenon. (more)

Super-rare 'red lightning' above Tibet accidentally captured by photographers
4 June 2025 - On a beautiful night in May 2022, two astrophotographers camping near Lake Puma Yumco in Tibet witnessed something extraordinary after thunderclouds filled the once-clear skies overhead. As they pointed their cameras toward the heavens, they captured a spectacular series of fleeting red flashes illuminating the heavens above South Asia. (more)

A long-running experiment finds a tiny particle is still acting weird
3 June 2025 - Final results from a long-running U.S.-based experiment announced Tuesday show a tiny particle continues to act strangely -- but that's still good news for the laws of physics as we know them. ...The mysterious particles called muons are considered heavier cousins to electrons. They wobble like a top when inside a magnetic field, and scientists are studying that motion to see if it lines up with the foundational rulebook of physics called the Standard Model. (more)

Stressed? Sick? Swiss town lets doctors prescribe free museum visits as art therapy for patients
2 June 2025 - The Swiss town of Neuchatel is offering its residents a novel medical option: Expose yourself to art and get a doctor's note to do it for free. The project is based on a 2019 World Health Organization report that found the arts can boost mental health, reduce the impact of trauma, and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty, and 'premature mortality,' among other upsides. (more)

Owl wings glow pink and it could be sending a secret message
1 June 2025 - The long-eared owl, Asio otus, is a majestic raptor known for its perky horn-like ear tufts, and cryptic herringbone markings that help it meld into its arboreal habitat. But in certain light, scientists discovered, its dappled forest camouflage is betrayed by fluorescent, day-glo pink wing feathers. (more)

AP Photos: Dragon boats thunder through Hong Kong waters to mark ancient Chinese festival
31 May 2025 - Throngs of people flocked to southern Hong Kong on Saturday to watch the iconic dragon boat races, a highlight of a Chinese festival with over 2,000 years of history. Following their drummers' rhythm, crews powered their dragon boats through the water in unison, racing to become the first to reach the finish line. Residents and tourists cheered for them. (more)

Real art in museums stimulates brain much more than reprints, study finds
30 May 2025 - A neurological study in the Netherlands has revealed that real works of art in a museum stimulate the brain in a way that is 10 times stronger than looking at a poster. (more)

More than a long face: horses use 'rich repertoire' of expressions to interact
28 May 2025 - Horses pull a variety of expressions when interacting with each other, researchers have found. ...In horses, ear movements have long been viewed as important indicators of their internal state. However, the new work suggests there are many more signals to look out for. (more)

Bringing back the birds: the 'ghost woodlands' transforming England's barren sheep fells
27 May 2025 - A groundbreaking tree-planting program is uniting farmers and rewilders, as portions of common ground in the Yorkshire Dales national park are being restored to their ancient glory. (more)

Plants produce more nectar when they 'hear' bees buzzing, scientists find
26 May 2025 - Plants can 'hear' bees buzzing and serve up more nectar when they are nearby, scientists have found. The research suggests that plants are a more active partner than previously thought in their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. (more)

Meet Hercules and Ned, the border collies fending off wildlife at West Virginia's busiest airport
25 May 2025 - Hercules and Ned have quite the spacious office at West Virginia's busiest airport. Collisions between wildlife and planes are common at airports nationwide. The border collies and their handler make daily patrols along the milelong airfield to ensure birds and other wildlife stay away from planes and keep passengers and crew safe. (more)

CERN and the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest
23 May 2025 - In case you missed it, CERN featured in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. With Basel hosting the 2025 song contest, CERN was approached earlier this year to be one of the iconic Swiss locations featured in a 'postcard' - a short film shown before a performance. (more)