The most distant world ever explored 4 billion miles away finally has an official name: Arrokoth. That means “sky” in the language of the Native American Powhatan people, NASA said Tuesday. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past the snowman-shaped Arrokoth on New Year’s Day, 3 ½ years after exploring Pluto. At the time, this small…

The world’s thirst for oil will continue to grow until the 2030s, with climate-damaging emissions climbing until at least 2040 — and consumers’ insatiable appetite for SUVs is a big reason why. Mounting demand for plastic is another factor. So is increasing plane travel. And the upcoming population boom in cities across Africa and Asia.…

Students at the University of Guelph have won an international award for creating a sensor that can detect antibiotics in animal products like milk and honey. The team of 33 students created VioSensor, a diagnostic test that detects tetracycline, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in animals. The student researchers say it’s important to be…

Fisheries and Oceans Canada was forced this fall to cancel a core oceanographic survey used to monitor climate change because it could not find a ship capable of handling ocean conditions in the North Atlantic. The scrapped mission is another example of fallout from Canada’s aging fleet. The 56-year-old Canadian Coast Guard science ship Hudson normally…

New research says major climate threats to Arctic communities, ecosystems and infrastructure could come much sooner than expected as vast areas of permafrost continue to thaw.   The study, published in Nature Climate Change, says permafrost thaw in the region will likely drive “abrupt” climate change that will happen with “little or no warning.” Most alarming, the…

A tiny deer-like species not seen by scientists for nearly 30 years has been photographed in a forest in southern Vietnam, a conservation group said Tuesday. Images of the silver-backed chevrotain, commonly called the Vietnamese mouse deer, were captured in the wild by trap cameras, Global Wildlife Conservation said. It said the rabbit-sized animal is…