Tech News

Governments in Canada, the U.S. and abroad and some companies are all eyeing nuclear power to meet a growing demand for electricity and climate goals at the same time. Here’s a closer look at why there seems to be renewed interest in nuclear, despite the rise of cheap wind and …

A 3.3-metre oarfish — an elusive deepsea creature shaped like an eel — washed up earlier this month in California. Also known as a “doomsday fish,” this is the third one to wash ashore in as many months.  Sometimes mistaken for sea serpents, oarfish are known in Japanese mythology as …

In this week’s issue of our environmental newsletter, we look at ways to make boring but important climate terms easier to understand, see what can be made out of construction waste and find out how to cool buildings more sustainably. Also: How to cool buildings sustainably. Our planet is changing. …

One might be tired of the same old tale: another year, another position on the top 10 warmest years, a podium on which we definitely don’t want to stand. But the past two years have been different. And climate scientists don’t understand why. NASA climate scientist says it’s ‘frustrating’ not …

Luke Iseman and Andrew Song have a plan to cool the planet, inspired by a science fiction novel, using balloons full of heat-reflecting sulfur dioxide launched into the Earth’s stratosphere. But some scientists aren’t buying it. Some believe there is more research needed into geoengineering, while others are strongly opposed. …

Constructing buildings takes a lot of wood, metal, concrete and other valuable resources. Demolishing them generates a huge amount of waste and carbon emissions. But there’s another way – what if they were “deconstructed” so the materials could be reused and recycled? Taking apart and separating valuable materials allows them …

Ball pythons — long believed to be solitary creatures, and often kept as solo pets — seem to enjoy each other’s company, according to a new study out Ontario’s Wilfrid University. Ball pythons, long thought solitary, repeatedly chose to eschew individual shelters and coil up together. There’s no single agreed …

The first surface samples retrieved from the dark side of the moon show that there used to be erupting volcanoes there, just as there were on the near side billions of years ago, according to new research. Fragments of volcanic rocks date back 4.2 billion years. The first surface samples …

Halifax is exploring ways to limit the salt ending up in the region’s waterways, after new data showed high levels of salinization in more than a dozen freshwater lakes. 10 lakes exceed national salt guidelines, including Lovett, Banook, Micmac. Halifax is exploring ways to limit the salt ending up in …

Not only does Mary the Asian elephant prefer to shower herself, but she’s really good at it. So good, in fact, that her dexterous bath-time ritual is the subject of a new study about animal tool use.  Scientists aren’t sure if the younger elephant’s hose-kinking behaviour is pettiness or play. …