Economist: To study global warming and other subjects, scientists from 10 countriesâmdash;Norway, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, South Korea, India, and Chinaâmdash;have set up research stations in the Norwegian village of Ny-Alesund. In a lengthy article, the Economist discusses the rapid melting of sea ice and disappearing permafrost in the Arctic over the past century. Such changes to the landscape can be attributed to the growing number of greenhouse gases, including ozone and methane, and the soot from diesel exhaust and forest fires. Arctic warming is of concern because it can alter the temperature gradient in other parts of the world and thus affect weather patterns between the tropics and the poles.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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