All Stories by Nikk Ogasa
- Space
Lightning dances through Jupiter’s skies much like it does on Earth
Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft hint that Jupiter’s lightning extends in jagged steps as it does on Earth.
- Earth
One collision could have formed the moon and started plate tectonics
A hypothetical planet slamming into Earth 4.5 billion years ago might have set subduction into motion.
- Fossils
Ocean life may have bounced back after the ‘Great Dying’
Marine ecosystems may have been back in action just a million years after the most severe extinction event known.
- Earth
Rare earths’ hidden electrons make much of modern tech possible
Because of their unique chemistry, rare-earth elements can generate powerful magnetic fields and fine-tune light for a wide range of applications.
- Climate
Greenland’s inland ice is melting far faster than anyone thought
Inland melting of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream is accelerating — and may contribute far more to sea level rise than earlier estimates suggested.
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Chemistry
Lego-like way to snap molecules together wins 2022 chemistry Nobel
This so-called ‘click chemistry’ allows scientists to build complex molecules in the lab and in living cells.
- Earth
Not one, but two asteroids might have ended the age of dinosaurs
A craterlike structure found off the coast of West Africa might have been formed by an asteroid that struck around the time dinosaurs went extinct.
- Chemistry
Simple process destroys toxic and widespread ‘forever’ pollutants
Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down these PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other methods.
- Animals
Some Greenland polar bears are surviving with very little sea ice
The ‘glacial mélange’ on which they’ve come to rely — a mix of ice, snow and slush — could be a temporary refuge for some polar bears.
- Earth
Tiny gemstones show when Earth’s crust first started moving
Chemical hints observed in zircons suggest when the important process of plate tectonics first took off.
- Planets
Mercury’s surface may be studded with diamonds
Billions of years of meteorite impacts may have transformed much of Mercury's graphite crust into precious gemstones.
