What is a downburst? These winds can be as destructive as tornadoes − we recreate them to test building designs

May 01, 2025 09:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

From a distance, a downburst can look like a torrent of heavy rain. But at ground level, its behavior can be far more destructive. When a downbursts winds hit the ground, they shoot out horizontally in all directions,...

Drug pollution in water is making salmon take more risks – new research

Apr 12, 2025 09:57 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Out of sight, out of mind is how we often treat what is flushed down our toilets. But the drugs we take, from anxiety medications to antibiotics, dont simply vanish after leaving our bodies. Many are not fully removed by...

Thousands of satellites are due to burn up in the atmosphere every year – damaging the ozone layer and changing the climate

Mar 22, 2025 05:32 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The worlds first artificial satellite, the Soviet Unions Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957. Just three months later, it fell out of orbit. As Sputnik hit the upper atmosphere at incredible speed, the friction would...

We combed through old botanical surveys to track how plants on Australia’s islands are changing

Mar 22, 2025 05:24 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

More than 8,000 continental islands sit just off the coast of Australia, many of them uninhabited and unspoiled. For thousands of species, these patches of habitat offer refuge from the threats they face on the mainland....

Fungi are among the planet’s most important organisms — yet they continue to be overlooked in conservation strategies

Mar 18, 2025 15:12 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Fungi are among the most important organisms on Earth. Even though most of the worlds described 157,000 fungal species are only visible with a microscope, these organisms are essential to our ecosystems, our societies and...

What’s so special about Ukraine’s minerals? A geologist explains

Mar 11, 2025 15:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Nature

Ukraines minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them. But what are these minerals exactly and why are...

Parasites are ecological dark matter – and they need protecting

Mar 11, 2025 14:59 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The two species of African rhinoceros are conservation icons. Large, charismatic, and vitally important for their ecosystems, to lose either species would be a devastating blow. But what of their parasites? If the black...