Science & Earth

The EPA intends to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding that linked greenhouse gases to risks to health and welfare; the move follows draft rules that would roll back related vehicle and power plant standards and is expected to prompt legal challenges.

A 10-year commercial fishing ban on the Yangtze, enacted in 2021, has coincided with increased fish biomass and a rise in several endangered species between 2018 and 2023.

Humpback whales migrate from Alaska to Hawaiian waters each winter and are most numerous in February; volunteers run scheduled counts and responders have freed entangled whales during the season.

A juvenile manatee nicknamed Melby was freed from an underground stormwater baffle box in Melbourne Beach on Feb. 9 after multiple agencies responded; the roughly 7‑foot, 410‑pound animal was taken to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation and is showing signs of recovery.

Two independent teams have each identified different candidate landing sites for the historic Luna 9 lander in Oceanus Procellarum, and follow-up orbital imaging is planned to test those claims.

The EPA plans to announce it will revoke the 2009 endangerment finding that linked greenhouse gases to harm to human health, a change that underpins many federal pollution rules. UCLA experts say the move raises legal and public-health questions.

Samples returned by NASA's OSIRIS‑REx from asteroid Bennu contained at least 14 of the 20 amino acids used by life and 19 other amino acids, and isotopic analysis indicates many of these compounds likely formed in cold, icy regions beyond the early solar system's snow line.

Researchers describe Tyrannoroter heberti, a football-sized tetrapod known from a 307-million-year-old skull found in Nova Scotia, and report tooth wear and palate teeth consistent with a plant-based diet. The authors say this suggests herbivory among early four-limbed vertebrates appeared sooner and in more groups than previously thought.

PET Milk, whose evaporated milk method was patented in 1884 and put into production in 1885, was supplied as rations to U.S. military forces and remains used today in dishes such as tres leches and flan.

A lab study in mice and in human tumor samples found a therapeutic HPV vaccine built with spherical nucleic acids slowed tumor growth and boosted T-cell responses; human clinical testing is still required.

On Feb. 11 China conducted a low‑altitude abort test of its Mengzhou capsule and a powered ocean splashdown of a Long March 10 first stage.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 will launch four crew members from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station for an eight-month mission aboard a reused Dragon spacecraft named Freedom to conduct science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance.

Researchers at UCLA reported in Small that they built a nickel-iron battery inspired by Thomas Edison using protein-derived materials and nanoclusters; the prototype recharges in seconds and lasted 12,000 cycles in tests, but it has lower energy capacity than lithium-ion cells.

Using JWST spectra and new analysis techniques, astronomers identified hydrogen sulfide in the atmospheres of four gas giants orbiting HR 8799, and concluded the sulfur was delivered as solid material during planet formation.

A paper in the journal One Earth reports that warming is accelerating and that the average global temperature over the last three years exceeded 1.5°C; the authors say key planetary tipping points such as Greenland ice-sheet melt and Amazon dieback are at heightened risk of triggering cascading changes.

Researchers dated sewn hide, cords and bone needles from Oregon caves to about 12,600–11,880 years ago and report the stitched hides may be fragments of clothing or footwear from the Younger Dryas.

NASA's Artemis II crew of four astronauts has been training at Johnson Space Center with flight simulators and dozens of scenarios as final preparations continue for an early February, roughly 10-day mission to loop around the moon and return.

A global analysis of more than 15,000 reefs found 51% experienced moderate-or-worse bleaching and 15% showed significant mortality; Australian aerial surveys also report widespread bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.

Quanta magazine reported that researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider detected so-called 'magic' top quarks which display high quantum entanglement. The report notes this entanglement could be useful for quantum information studies, while practical quantum computers remain technically challenging.

African wild dogs are increasingly sought-after by safari travelers, and camps and NGOs are channeling that interest into funding, monitoring and relocation efforts to support the species.

African wild dogs, estimated at about 6,000–7,000 in the wild, are drawing growing interest from safari travelers, and that interest is increasingly linked to funding, monitoring and relocation efforts across southern and eastern Africa.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a yellow cold weather health alert for Friday–Monday, and the Met Office forecasts sub-zero temperatures with lows around -4C in parts of Scotland while multiple warnings for rain, snow, ice and flooding remain in force.

A 2025 USGS study and field measurements around Molokai report that Hawaii's fringing coral reefs — part of more than 410,000 acres of reefs in the state — can reduce wave intensity by as much as 80%, and that reef health affects how much wave energy reaches the shore.

Updated guidance released in February 2026 outlines a shift toward clearer compliance obligations and stronger producer responsibility for packaging across Australia.

Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured and released a Sierra Nevada red fox near Mammoth Lakes in January after fitting it with a GPS collar, the department said. Fewer than 50 individuals are believed to remain in the Sierra Nevada population.

Weather experts say New York City's remaining snow and ice should finish melting by late next week as temperatures rise above freezing, with highs forecast mainly in the high 30s to mid 40s.

The White House said the EPA will take action on Feb. 12 to rescind the 2009 “endangerment finding” that identified several greenhouse gases as a threat to public health; the agency has said removing the finding would eliminate the legal basis to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Dozens of cold-stunned sea turtles rescued from Florida waters are receiving care in Tampa Bay-area aquariums; Clearwater Marine Aquarium admitted 36 and released 15 as water temperatures rebounded.

Caltech researchers report that a rove beetle, Sceptobius lativentris, copies velvety tree ant pheromones to live inside their colonies, and losing its own protective cuticular hydrocarbons appears to lock the beetle into that dependency.

Medicare began a six-year pilot in six states that uses artificial intelligence to review prior authorization requests for 14 services; researchers say it could reduce spending but also risks delaying or denying necessary care.