Seed Vault

GitHub just stored a full archive of all current public repository data in a frozen Norwegian mountain.Dubbed the GitHub Arctic Code Vault, the project was designed "to preserve open-source software for future generations" for the next 1,000 years.Similar to how you'd back up a disk drive, GitHub is archiving all…

In this week's issue of our environment newsletter, we look at the concept of seed preservation as well as more than a half-century of plastic accumulation.(Sködt McNalty/CBC)Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable…

Credit: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) A new study finds that proposal to create a "microbial Noah's ark" to protect the long-term health of humanity is feasible and should move forward into a pilot project phase, that would include installing infrastructure to store microbes in a site such as Norway…

IMAGE: A new study finds that proposal to create a 'microbial Noah's ark' to protect the long-term health of humanity is feasible and should move forward into a pilot project phase,... view more  Credit: Joana Carvalho IGC 2020 The Rutgers University's initiative will give an important contribute to the health of…

It was summer, and most of Australia was on fire. Seasonal bushfires have always been part of Australian life, but never like those that rang in 2020. Fire fronts met in regions so remote humans rarely visited, and roared towards cities, so hot they created their own weather systems and…

Join Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions! Subscribe Today! It seems inevitable that at some point the world as we know it will end. Considering the world events going on right now, some might even argue that it has already begun. In many cases there doesn’t seem to really…

Life during a global pandemic takes on a surreal quality. The ubiquitous presence of social media and a constant fire hose of depressing news can make it particularly hard if you're already feeling anxious. So, we've put together a little round-up of recent science news that we find inspiring, encouraging,…

Since the coronavirus has put a stop to my visits of exhibitions, conferences and festivals, I thought I’d use the pause as an opportunity to share with you some of the artworks that I keep babbling about whenever I give a workshop or a talk but that I never took…

Snow-capped mountaintops are the first thing visitors may spot from the airplane windows when they arrive in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard – that is, if they arrive during the bright half of the year, when the midnight sun can be seen nearly 24/7. During the other half of the…

A team of UK scientists has provided a new estimate for the amount of space rock falling to Earth each year.It's in excess of 16,000kg. This is for meteorite material above 50g in mass.It doesn't take account of the dust that's continuously settling on the planet, and of course just…