Katy Stublen

Scientists mark a milestone in de-extinction research.

The dire wolf, long thought to have vanished some 13,000 years ago, has re-emerged thanks to breakthroughs in genetic science. In a secure U.S. facility, the first pups engineered through a combination of recovered DNA and surrogate breeding just turned one year old. Their survival marks a turning point in the field of de-extinction, raising both excitement and caution. These animals, once roaming the Pleistocene alongside mammoths and saber-toothed cats, now stand in flesh again. Their birthday is not only a milestone for the wolves but for the ongoing debate about humanity’s power to rewrite extinction.

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Her death leaves a legacy spanning science and humanity.

Jane Goodall’s passing at 91 has left the world reflecting on a lifetime devoted to understanding the natural world and protecting it. She became a household name not just for living among chimpanzees in the forests of Tanzania but for teaching us that animal behavior mirrors our own in profound ways. Her legacy stretches beyond science into activism, education, and global awareness. From the notebooks she carried into Gombe to the international institutes bearing her name, Goodall’s work continues to ripple through generations who learned to see animals as thinking, feeling beings.

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Two powerful storms could shift the coastline’s fate.

The Atlantic is staging a rare and unsettling act this week. Hurricane Humberto, once a Category 5 powerhouse, is still a sprawling storm system even as it slowly weakens. Not far away, Hurricane Imelda is gaining strength as it climbs northward. Their proximity has meteorologists talking about the Fujiwhara Effect, a phenomenon where two cyclones begin orbiting one another, altering their paths and potentially merging.

For residents along the Eastern Seaboard, from Florida to the Outer Banks and beyond, the hazards are already showing up. Dangerous rip currents, eroding beaches, and deadly surf have begun long before any storm makes landfall. The next two days may decide whether this unusual dance turns into a coastal crisis or a near miss.

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A young world is captured inside a cosmic cradle.

Astronomers have managed to do something that sounds almost impossible: take a direct image of a baby planet forming around a distant star. The world, called WISPIT 2b, sits inside a dusty ring of gas where new planets are born. The photo, while not the colorful portraits we might expect, shows a faint dot in a disk that confirms planet formation in action. Supported by NASA and European teams, this discovery offers an extraordinary chance to watch the earliest stages of a planet’s life unfold in real time.

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