Basic Research

Inside the Fukushima nuclear plant 12 years after catastrophic meltdown

By Miles O'Brien

Japan will soon begin the process of releasing radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. As final preparations are being made, Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien has a rare look inside the facility.

Continue watching

How the Hawaii fires will take a toll on the state's natural treasures

By Doug Glass, Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press

Experts say the fires are likely to transform the landscape in unwanted ways including hastening erosion, sending sediment into waterways and degrading coral that is critically important to the islands, marine life and the humans who live nearby.

Russia launches its first mission to the moon in almost 50 years

By Jim Heintz, Emma Burrows, Associated Press

A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on the lunar south pole before a spacecraft from India gets there.

Antarctic sea ice at record lows as global temperatures rise

By William Brangham, Shoshana Dubnow

As temperature records fall all over the planet this summer, scientists are also increasingly concerned about what’s happening to the sea ice around Antarctica. William Brangham reports.

Continue watching

A billion-dollar coastal restoration project begins in Louisiana. Will it work as sea levels rise?

By Kevin McGill, Associated Press

If the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project works as intended, solids in the river water will settle out in the basin and gradually restore land that has been steadily eroding for decades.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flies its first tourists to the edge of space

By Susan Montoya Bryan, Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has now taken seven trips to space since 2018, but this was the first with a ticket-holder.

Scientists look for additional factors beyond climate change and El Nino in July heat wave

By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

Researchers say by far the biggest cause of the recent extreme heat is human-caused climate change, with a smaller contribution from a natural El Nino. But some scientists are searching for an additional factor.

The race to rescue corals from a blistering marine heat wave

By Michael Childress, The Conversation

While corals can recover from mass bleaching events like this, long periods of high heat can leave them weak and vulnerable to disease that can ultimately kill them.

For insects that glow, artificial light is killing the vibe

By Bella Isaacs-Thomas

Recent research shows how artificial light can disrupt courtship among glow-worms and fireflies that rely on bioluminescence to find mates.

Astronauts get first look at the Artemis II spacecraft that will fly them around the moon

By Associated Press

The U.S.-Canadian crew inspected the capsule during a visit to Kennedy Space Center late Monday and Tuesday. NASA plans to send the four around the moon and back late next year.