35 h. ago Scientists hope a newly discovered flower will return after rain in West Texas

Scientists who want to learn more about a tiny, newly discovered flower in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area

Science

3 d. ago Scientists hope hungry weevils from Louisiana can tackle South Africa's invasive water plants

South Africa is unleashing weevils imported from the United States in a bid to fight off the sprouting growth of Salvinia minima, an alien species of aquatic plant native to South America that is choking up dams and rivers

Events

3 d. ago ‘The physics community has never split like this’: row erupts over plans for new Large Hadron Collider

Ambitious project could soak up funding for subatomic physics for decades, say opponentsScientists are refining plans to build the world’s biggest machine at a site beneath the Swiss-French border. More than $30bn (£23bn) would be spent drilling a 91km circular tunnel in which subatomic particles would be accelerated to near light speeds and smashed into each other. From the resulting nuclear debris, scientists hope they will then find clues that would help them understand the detailed makeup of the universe.It is an extraordinarily ambitious project. However, it is also a controversial one – for many scientists fear the machine, the Future Circular Collider (FCC), could soak up funding for subatomic physics for decades and leave promising new research avenues starved of resources. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Weather tracker: Heavy rain alerts in Queensland as floods cut off towns

Wettest March day for 15 years in some parts of northern Australian state, while storms and hail hit MediterraneanMore heavy rain has hit Queensland, Australia, just weeks after the devastation of Cyclone Alfred. Much of north and central Queensland was put under severe weather alert for heavy rainfall earlier this week, as six-hourly rainfall totals of 30-60mm were anticipated, with risk of seeing a total of up to 120mm locally in this time frame.In the north-west of the state, this rain allowed waters in the Haughton River to rise rapidly, with levels reaching 2.68 metres on Wednesday night, exceeding the 2.5-metre major flood level. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Is Yellowstone's supervolcano about to erupt? Scientists discover a newly opened volcanic vent spewing steam into the air

Yellowstone has never erupted within recorded human history. But a new discovery has highlighted just how active this seemingly dormant volcano really is.

Politics

1 week ago Scientist bluntly blasts Musk’s hope to go to Mars in the coming years: It’s not going to happen

A NASA advisor says billionaire’s ambitious timelines for Martian travel does not adding up with reality

Politics

2 w. ago A mysterious millionaire and the quest to live under the sea – podcast

Before billionaires dreamed of setting up communities on Mars, the ocean was seen as the next frontier in human habitation. Reviving this dream is Deep, a project backed by an anonymous millionaire to the tune of more than £100m that aims to establish a ‘permanent human presence’ under the sea from 2027. Guardian Seascape editor Lisa Bachelor visited the project just outside Chepstow on the Welsh border, and tells Madeleine Finlay what scientists hope to learn about the ocean by spending extended periods living underwaterSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Inside the race to save the fewer than 100 ocelots left in the US

As the wild cats cling to survival, scientists hope they’ve found a fix

Politics