Science

Japan prime minister pledges $19 billion to promote ecological businesses

By Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press

Suga, who took office in mid-September, set climate change as one of his main policy goals along with promoting a digital transformation of Japanese society — issues which were left behind by his predecessor.

From north to south pole, climate scientists grapple with pandemic disruptions

By Fedor Kossakovski

Researchers are working within the limitations and developing innovative solutions -- and some say they have new perspectives on how human health is connected to the health of the planet.

House votes to decriminalize marijuana at federal level

By Matthew Daly, Associated Press

The bill would reverse what supporters called a failed policy of criminalizing pot use and take steps to address racial disparities in enforcement of federal drug laws.

This biologist is figuring out how to short-circuit sperm as birth control

By Laura Santhanam

Tens of millions of people use some form of birth control in the United States, and innovation could expand non-hormonal options for those who have been unable to use conventional means.

U.S. plans oil, gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic refuge

By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press

Conservation groups criticized Thursday's announcement as rushed and based on environmental reviews that are being challenged in court as flawed.

Ex-presidents willing to get vaccine publicly to boost confidence

By Will Weissert, Associated Press

Three former presidents say they'd be willing to publicly take a coronavirus vaccine, once one becomes available, to encourage all Americans to get inoculated against a disease that has already killed more than 273,000 people nationwide.

Chinese moon probe begins return to Earth with lunar samples

By Associated Press

Chang’e 5, the third Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon and the first to take off from it again, is the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious missions for Beijing’s space program.

The essential COVID-19 vaccine FAQ

By Laura Santhanam

The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and the need for face masks, hand-washing and social distancing remain. But the largest vaccination campaign in United States history has also begun protecting its first recipients.

China’s space ambitions include a robot on Mars and a human on the moon

By Joe McDonald, Victoria Milko, Associated Press

China’s landing of its third probe on the moon is part of an increasingly ambitious space program that has a robot rover en route to Mars, is developing a reusable space plane and is planning to put humans back on…

Climate change damaging more World Heritage sites, report says

By Associated Press

Sixteen World Heritage sites have deteriorated since the last World Heritage Outlook was released three years ago, while only eight improved, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature.