Science & Environment

Victoria Gill Science correspondent, BBC News Victoria Gill/BBC When the clocks went back an hour, this affected the sled dogs’ strict routine If you have ever struggled with the sudden shift in routine imposed by the seasonal “springing forward” and “falling backward” of the clocks, spare a thought for the sled dogs of Ontario, Canada. Researchers say the time shift …

You may hear about a large asteroid headed toward Earth. Don’t panic. Just after Christmas Day, astronomers spotted something zipping away from Earth: a rock somewhere between 130 feet and 330 feet long that they named 2024 YR4. Over the next few weeks, they simulated its possible future orbits. They now say, based on the most up-to-date information, that there …

The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency, where he will be charged with executing President Trump’s orders to dismantle major environmental regulations, and possibly parts of the 55-year-old agency itself. The Senate voted 56-42 to confirm Mr. Zeldin, a former House member with little experience in environmental regulation. He is expected to …

One line of questioning that senators might pursue are the legal payments that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received in recent years for consulting and referring clients to Wisner Baum, a Los Angeles personal injury law firm. Public records show that this business arrangement has been worth about $2.5 million since 2022 — with the potential for more to come. Mr. …

Alison Francis Senior Science Journalist NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Asteroid Bennu is a 500m-wide pile of boulders, rocks and rubble The chemical building blocks of life have been found in the grainy dust of an asteroid called Bennu, an analysis reveals. Samples of the space rock, which were scooped up by a Nasa spacecraft and brought to Earth, contain a rich …

Our solar system contains planets, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets — but only one world is known to harbor life. Scientists have long debated whether Earth is truly unique. Perhaps our planet just happened to have the right combination of ingredients, conditions and timing to allow life to emerge. But a pinch of grit from a distant asteroid collected by …

President Trump last week formally nominated Michael Kratsios, a member of the first Trump administration with no degrees in science or engineering, to be his science adviser. Science policy experts say that Mr. Kratsios’ wide experience in private and public technology policy and management is what makes him an attractive candidate. His expertise includes a central role in early federal …

In a post on X on Tuesday evening, Elon Musk said President Trump had asked his rocket company SpaceX to bring home “as soon as possible” two NASA astronauts who have been on the International Space Station since June. SpaceX, in fact, is already scheduled to bring those two astronauts home, but no earlier than late March, along with two …

In a post on X on Tuesday evening, Elon Musk said President Trump had asked his rocket company SpaceX to bring home “as soon as possible” two NASA astronauts who have been on the International Space Station since June. SpaceX, in fact, is already scheduled to bring those two astronauts home, but no earlier than late March, along with two …

Star Wars is back, with an executive order from President Trump that the White House said “directs the building of the Iron Dome missile defense shield for America.” The order, issued on Monday night, didn’t quite do that. It was more a vaguely worded set of instructions to accelerate current programs or explore new approaches to defending the continental United …