Coca-Cola and Pepsi are sued over plastics pollution

The Earth Island Institute asked for unspecified damages and an order for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle USA, Procter & Gamble and six other companies to clean up plastic waste that the group says has created a global pollution crisis.

Luxembourg Just Made Public Transportation Free

Luxembourg has become the first country in the world to make public transportation free. The European country made the move to reduce car traffic, as cars account for nearly half of travel for work, and 71% of travel for leisure.

Canada Has Lost Half Of Its Ice in the Last 16 Years

Thousands of glaciers in the northern Ellesmere Island Canadian territory of Nunavut have shrunk, losing an estimated 1680 km, in the past nearly 20 years.

The story of a golden nugget

Follow the story of golden atoms from their birth in stellar explosions via incorporation into formation of our planet to their coming together in a golden nugget and appearance in the Earth's crust.

Rising Sea Levels Are Displacing Villagers in Myanmar

Millions of people in Myanmar are threatened by flooding and rapid soil erosion caused by rising sea levels. One village of 1,500 residents had to relocate entirely, moving further inland to escape the rising water, and abandoning farmland in the process.

Astronomy student discovers 17 new planets

US astronomy student Michelle Kunimoto has discovered 17 new planets, including a potentially habitable, Earth-sized world, by combing through data gathered by NASA.

Two commercial satellites link up for first time

A robotic servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an aging satellite over the Pacific Ocean. It accomplished the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space, and the first docking with a satellite that was never designed to receive a visitor.

3D Printing of Body Parts Is Coming Fast

In the last few years, the use of 3D printing has exploded in medicine. Engineers and medical professionals now routinely 3D print prosthetic hands and surgical tools. But 3D printing has only just begun to transform the field.

Washington State in U.S. To Ban Bottled Water Extraction

This legislation would help protect the state’s water resources, helping keep the limited freshwater supplies in the state. It would ban the extraction of local water supplies in plastic bottles shipped out of watersheds and around the country. 

Exoplanet could have the right conditions for life

Astronomers have found an exoplanet more than twice the size of Earth to be potentially habitable, opening the search for life to planets significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

Surprising science from InSight Mars mission

InSight is the first mission dedicated to looking deep beneath the Martian surface. Findings reveal a planet alive with quakes, dust devils and strange magnetic pulses. However, the lander's mole is still stuck and scientists are working on getting it digging again.  

Eating nuts, vegetables, soy linked to lower stroke risk

According to most recent study, vegetarians have a 48% lower risk of overall stroke than non-vegetarians, a 60% lower risk of ischemic stroke and a 65% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson dies at 101

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson did more than just calculate rocket trajectories for early space missions. Her story, when it was finally told, completely changed people's perceptions about who has been and who can be important in history. 

The world's fastest camera

Wang, Bren has developed a new camera that can take up to 1 trillion pictures per second of transparent objects. The camera technology can take video also of more ephemeral things like shockwaves and possibly even of the signals that travel through neurons.

Scientists create an empathic robot

Japanese scientists have created a robot that can "feel" pain. Scientists hope that the pain sensors will help robots to develop empathy for humans and to act as compassionate companions.