Science

Dutch microbiologist Professor Henk Jonkers holds a sample of self-healing concrete, an innovation that uses bacteria to repair cracks automatically. Concrete is the backbone of modern civilisation, supporting everything from homes and skyscrapers to bridges, tunnels and dams. Yet even this remarkably strong material has a costly weakness. Tiny cracks inevitably develop over time because…

Elon Musk has expanded on his long-standing vision of making humanity a multi-planet species, arguing that a self-sustaining colony on Mars could serve as a crucial safeguard against civilisation-ending catastrophes on Earth. Responding to a debate on X (formerly Twitter), Musk said his views had been misunderstood, emphasising that he has never claimed Mars would…

A ship sails through the Lemaire Channel in Antarctica (AP file photo) A new study has found that several former Antarctic tour guides decided to leave their jobs because they could no longer balance their love for the continent with the environmental impact of the tourism industry. Researchers spoke to 25 former guides who said…

Astronomers have directly detected four previously hidden white dwarfs orbiting nearby red dwarf stars, solving a long-standing observational challenge and improving our understanding of how close binary star systems evolve. The newly confirmed stellar remnants lie within 20 parsecs (around 65 light-years) of the Sun and had remained concealed because their faint light was overwhelmed…

A tiny puffin chick has achieved something conservationists on England’s south coast had not witnessed in three decades. After 15 weeks of careful monitoring by National Trust volunteers and seabird expert Dr Richard Caldow, the chick was photographed emerging from a rocky crevice at Dancing Ledge on Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck. The sighting marks the…

China achieves 99% hybrid rice seed cloning with HUAXU gene, cuts annual seed costs China’s new hybrid rice can preserve its high-yield traits across generations, potentially allowing farmers to replant seeds instead of buying new ones every year.Scientists at the China National Rice Research Institute in Hangzhou have developed a self-cloning hybrid rice system that…

Maya Biosphere Reserve covers about 2.1 million hectares in Guatemala’s northern PetEn province Logging is one of the biggest reasons forests are disappearing. When trees are cut faster than they can grow back, wildlife loses its habitat, and local communities are impacted. But in northern Guatemala, one protected forest is showing that logging does not…

Mangroves-A forest that would not vanish across the globe Mangroves have long been considered one of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems. These dense forests along tropical and subtropical coastlines were steadily being lost to urban expansion, shrimp farming, agriculture, pollution and climate change. Each year thousands of hectares were lost, threatening wildlife, fisheries and coastal…

Unwritten social rules, not government oversight, help keep forest land sustainable Slash-and-burn farming was blamed for destroying rainforests, but a study of 18,000 forest patches found community rules can limit clearing and allow trees to return.Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research shows that unwritten social rules in small communities…

A new waterscape has been created on the Holnicote Estate in Somerset (National Trust photos) Just one year after work completing a river restoration project in south-west England, researchers say the restored landscape has reduced flood peaks downstream, improved water quality and created new habitats for many species.The project took place on the National Trust’s…