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A new study from Northern Arizona University is raising red flags about a widely used global emissions database from Climate TRACE, a consortium co-founded by Al Gore. Researchers found that the database may be dramatically undercounting carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks in cities—by an average of 70% across 260 U.S. cities, with some cities showing gaps of more than 90%.
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The race to build data centers in space is gaining momentum as AI drives unprecedented demand for computing power. Orbital facilities could tap into abundant solar energy and avoid many of the environmental challenges faced on Earth. Yet space remains a harsh and expensive place to operate, with major hurdles including cooling, maintenance, radiation exposure, and orbital debris.
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A historic lack of snow in the Gila River watershed has left Arizona’s San Carlos Reservoir less than 1% full, triggering a massive fish kill and an indefinite closure. Despite the bleak conditions, heavy summer rains could help the reservoir rebound.
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Astronomers may be closing in on a long-standing cosmic mystery: why some of the universe’s biggest galaxies seem to have far fewer stars than expected. Using NASA- and JAXA-supported XRISM observations of a galaxy called NGC 4151, researchers found strong evidence that supermassive black holes can unleash powerful winds that blow away the raw material needed to make new stars.
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Plague was already a deadly killer 5,500 years ago, long before cities, farming, or the rat-infested conditions usually linked to historic outbreaks. By analyzing ancient DNA from hunter-gatherer cemeteries in Siberia, researchers discovered early plague strains in nearly 40% of the individuals studied and found evidence of rapid family-based outbreaks that wiped out many children and young teenagers.
