Science & Earth

NOAA issued a geomagnetic storm watch after an X1.5 solar flare and a coronal mass ejection aimed toward Earth; auroras may be visible in up to 10 northern U.S. states around the predawn hours of March 31, with a stronger storm possibly extending visibility farther south.

Ancient DNA and isotopic analysis indicate dogs were associated with humans more than 15,000 years ago, with specimens reported from Anatolia and the UK.

Paired images from Hubble (August 2024) and the James Webb Space Telescope (November 2024) give researchers a layered view of Saturn's atmosphere, revealing features from pale-yellow bands and bright rings to infrared details such as rings that glow blue and gray-green polar emissions at about 4.3 microns.

Pope Leo XIV told the Palm Sunday congregation in St. Peter's Square that Jesus is a 'King of Peace' and that no one can use God to justify war; he also prayed for Christians in the Middle East affected by conflict.

Pope Leo XIV led Palm Sunday services that recall the final Holy Week of Pope Francis, and he is scheduled to preside over Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday liturgies.

A Finnish Scientific Diving Academy course in northern Finland trains scientists and experienced divers to work beneath Arctic and Antarctic ice to study seafloor life. The training responds to rapid polar change, with the Arctic reported as warming about four times faster than the global average.

Soil quality affects plant health through structure, drainage, pH, nutrients and soil life, and the article highlights six common soil mistakes — including compaction, poor drainage, skipping soil tests, lack of mulch, disrupting soil biology, and planting invasives — that can hinder garden growth, experts say.

Arctic sea ice this winter tied the smallest measured winter peak at about 5.52 million square miles, and unusually warm March temperatures were reported across many regions.

NASA's four-person Artemis II crew — including a woman, a person of color and a Canadian — will fly a nearly 10-day out-and-back mission around the moon that will not land but will travel farther into space than Apollo flights and provide new views of the lunar far side.

Chefs say eight types of seafood dishes can signal problems with quality, sourcing, or safety.

Ben-Gurion University researchers used satellite imagery to identify about 28 stone-circle sites within 25 kilometers of Rujm el-Hiri, suggesting the famous monument is part of a broader regional tradition; the structures are circular, made from local basalt, and range roughly 50–250 meters across.

Two studies published in Nature report genetic evidence of domesticated dogs in Europe and Asia dating to about 15,800–14,000 years ago, roughly 5,000 years earlier than earlier genetic records suggested.

Four astronauts will live inside NASA's Orion for about 10 days on Artemis II to test whether the capsule can sustain human life during a lunar flyaround.

Robert H. Goddard (1882–1945) built and flew the first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926, and NASA named the Goddard Space Flight Center in his honor.

Project CETI researchers recorded a sperm whale giving birth off Dominica in July 2023 and documented Unit A family members jointly lifting and supporting the newborn; published analyses show coordinated movements and changes in click vocalizations.

On March 15, 2026, Arctic winter sea ice peaked at 5.52 million square miles, matching 2025 as the lowest maximum since satellite records began; researchers report thinner ice and a peak below the 1981–2010 average.

Erik Richards is mission manager for NASA's Near Space Network and is overseeing communications support for Artemis II and the Orion spacecraft. The Near Space Network, working with NASA's Deep Space Network, links the crew to mission control through launch, orbit, re-entry, and splashdown.

Arctic winter sea ice peaked at about 5.52 million square miles, roughly 525,000 square miles below the 1981–2010 average, while many regions worldwide reported unusually high temperatures and numerous record highs.

A blue-based earthtongue (Microglossum cyanobasis) was recorded for the first time in the UK at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve after DNA tests showed a 99% match with a Spanish sample. The specimens were first noticed by a fungi enthusiast and later verified with support from the British Mycological Society.

Monrovia residents protested after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife euthanized a local black sow known as Blondie following a swiping incident; her two cubs were moved to the San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center.

A semitruck carrying hundreds of commercial bee boxes overturned March 17 near Diamond Lake, Oregon, scattering hives and releasing millions of honeybees; beekeepers and volunteers worked over nine days to recover and rehome surviving colonies.

NASA has chosen 10 participating scientists to help plan surface science tasks for astronauts at the Moon's South Pole under the Artemis program, including instrument deployment and sample collection.

NASA's IXPE observed the supernova RCW 86 and released a composite image on March 24, 2026 that combines IXPE data with legacy X-ray observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton.

A blue-based earthtongue (Microglossum cyanobasis) was recorded for the first time in the UK at Kingley Vale national nature reserve in West Sussex; it is only the second such record in Europe and is seen as an indicator of high-quality habitat.

A Soyuz launch placed 16 Rassvet satellites into low orbit for Bureau 1440, and Isar Aerospace aborted a Spectrum test launch from Norway after an unauthorized boat entered the hazard area.

Researchers recorded a sperm whale birth in the Caribbean in July 2023 and observed multiple individuals, including non-relatives, taking turns keeping the newborn calf afloat for about three hours, findings now described in two scientific papers.

Legion Health will pilot an AI system next month in Utah that can renew certain lower-risk psychiatric maintenance medications after patient consent; the rollout starts with staged doctor oversight and requires a $20 monthly subscription.

A stranded humpback whale near Timmendorfer Strand freed itself and is now swimming in deeper water off Lübeck Bay after several days of rescue work, during which diggers were used to dredge a channel and boats escorted the animal.

AI-powered monitoring and legal protections accompany a rise in the white-headed langur population from just over 300 in the 1980s to more than 1,400 today, and 77.6 hectares of habitat have been restored.

DNA from a 110,000-year-old bone fragment found in Denisova Cave produced a full Neanderthal genome and shows two individuals from the same cave 10,000 years apart belonged to related lineages.