Science & Earth

The 64-acre Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area has had tens of thousands of native trees and shrubs planted since 2017 and is on track to open to the public in May.

A coalition of health and environmental groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after it revoked the 2009 endangerment finding; the suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

A city report found about 75% of monuments at Lasalle Cemetery need attention, and staff say limited trust-fund interest and safety concerns keep the municipality from taking on large-scale repairs; the report estimates nearly $9 million would be needed to fix all monuments over five years.

The City of Nanaimo opened a coastal values survey running Feb. 17 to March 13 as part of 'Our Coastal City,' a project to develop a Sea Level Rise Management Plan that builds on a 2018 study.

Credit Valley Conservation says rain and melting snow could raise water levels near the Credit River starting Wednesday and has issued a flood outlook in effect until Friday; officials warn people to stay away from rivers, streams and other watercourses.

A 62-year-old recently widowed traveller joined a friend on a northerly trip, learned to boondock and drove the Dempster Highway, and later swam in the Arctic at Tuktoyaktuk.

Palli Fleischer Lyberth sold his house to fund a vertical hydroponic greenhouse in Sisimiut near the Arctic Circle, growing mizuna, lettuce and microgreens for cruise ships, hotels and supermarkets; the venture is not yet profitable and he is seeking a government subsidy.

French officials met with the Whale Sanctuary Project in Paris to review a proposal to relocate two captive orcas to a coastal refuge in Nova Scotia, and said a final decision will be made by the end of March.

A CanLEAD‑FWI Version 1.0 dataset on the Open Government Portal provides daily projections of six Fire Weather Index components and annual fire season length for Canada from 1950 to 2100 under the RCP8.5 scenario.

Analyses of Chang'e-6 samples show material tied to the South‑Pole Aitken Basin dates to about 4.25 billion years and prompt a recalibration of some crater ages by roughly 340 million years, leading authors to describe a gradual decline in impact frequency rather than a clear spike at 3.9 billion years.

Colossal Biosciences reports its three dire wolves — Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi — have reached adult size and are hunting together while living as a pack under close supervision.

A PLOS One study found that adding Martian-like perchlorates to regolith simulant, together with the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii and guar gum, produced bricks with more than double the compressive strength of samples without perchlorates.

Analysis of OSIRIS-REx samples from the 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu found amino acids and isotopic evidence suggesting some formed in ice exposed to radiation rather than in liquid water; the Penn State-led study compared Bennu results with the Murchison meteorite and found distinct formation signatures.

The Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative has granted $500,000 to investigators at UT Southwestern and UTMB to fund a randomized, double-blind pilot trial testing transcutaneous auricular neurostimulation (tAN) with Spark Biomedical's Sparrow Link in patients with non‑surgical chronic subdural hematoma.

Rep. George Whitesides asked a House committee to request that NASA study whether the International Space Station can be preserved in orbit instead of being deorbited; the committee advanced the proposal unanimously and the measure still faces additional legislative steps.

On Cormorant Island, the 'Na̱mg̱is community faces changing winters, frequent storms and regular power outages while leaders work to restore fisheries and press for greater recognition of their sovereignty.

Conservationists bred and released more than 10,000 greater Bermuda land snails into protected habitats over seven years, and teams report confirmed breeding and growing numbers.

China's CMSA carried out the first ignition flight of the Long March-10 and an in-flight abort test of the Mengzhou crew capsule on Feb. 11 at Wenchang, with both the capsule and the rocket's first stage recovered at sea. Officials said the flight validated key ascent and return profiles for the system.

The article reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to scrap a landmark U.S. emissions policy, and it also reports that China's emissions have begun to fall; climate data show global temperatures remain high, with 2024 reaching about 1.55 °C above pre‑industrial levels.

Rosy-faced lovebirds, native to the Namib Desert, have likely established a pet-derived colony in Phoenix that may number about 2,000 birds; the species is noted for forming strong lifelong pair bonds and mutual grooming.

Researchers at the University of Sydney used an AI system called AMIGO to correct detector distortions and restore the James Webb Space Telescope's interferometric infrared images.

An annular solar eclipse will pass across Antarctica on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with annularity touching only a narrow 616‑kilometer track on the continent and partial views reaching parts of southern South America, southern Africa and Madagascar.

Janice Kennedy, a retired journalist, writes that older adults resent patronizing language and stereotypes and that many remain socially active while also experiencing loss and vulnerability.

The article reports extensive damage to Gaza's historic sites, including the Great Omari Mosque and Pasha Palace, and describes local recovery work by Palestinians and heritage groups after a ceasefire halted most large-scale fighting.

The father of the Tumbler Ridge shooter issued a public statement expressing sorrow and asking for privacy, and police say officers previously visited the residence and that firearms were once seized and later returned.

A study in Astrobiology examined large organic molecules (decane, undecane, dodecane) that Curiosity detected in Gale Crater and found that known non-biological sources could not fully account for their estimated original abundance; researchers say more work is needed before any conclusions about past life can be drawn.

Rocket Lab announced a HASTE rocket mission named Cassowary Vex for the Defense Innovation Unit, scheduled no earlier than late February from Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island. The flight will carry Hypersonix's DART AE scramjet and is described by the company as its fourth hypersonic test mission in under six months.

Rocket Lab is preparing to launch a hypersonic test mission for the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit, using its HASTE hypersonic test launch capability. The company describes a range of launch vehicles and spacecraft services and says it has supported more than 1,700 missions.

The EPA revoked its 2009 'endangerment finding' that identified greenhouse gases as a danger to public health and welfare, and environmental groups are expected to challenge the decision in court.

UNESCO's IRCAI placed Whale Seeker's Cetus among its top 100 AI projects, marking a second recognition for the Montreal startup; Cetus uses AI and high-resolution satellite imagery to detect and classify whales and other large marine mammals to support conservation and routing efforts.