Science & Earth

Officials announced a Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and the Department of Energy to pursue a lunar fission reactor with a target date of 2030, and agencies have awarded three $5 million contracts to industry teams. The next formal procedural step under the MoU was not specified.

A preprint led by NASA research biologist Niki Parenteau lists data priorities to collect before analyzing Habitable Worlds Observatory observations, highlighting gaps in gas spectroscopy, visible/near-infrared measurements of industrial and surface materials, and more precise stellar composition and age estimates.

Regional staff say a supply shortfall in the Mannheim Service Area is reducing available water capacity and limiting new servicing agreements and development support; officials say there is no immediate impact to residents' water quality or consumption.

A decade-long study found Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie penguins have begun breeding earlier by roughly 10–13 days on average, a change the authors say is highly correlated with rising Antarctic temperatures and reduced sea ice.

A study published in Current Biology documents an Austrian pet cow, Veronika, using sticks and a deck brush to scratch different body areas; controlled trials showed she selected brush ends and adjusted her grip depending on the target area.

Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasts 2026 will likely be among the four hottest years on record, projecting a global average about 1.35–1.53°C above pre-industrial levels and a 12% chance of exceeding 1.5°C.

A trial opens for five men accused in the November 2023 killing of Kichwa leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado, and prosecutors are seeking life sentences; the case is being watched as a test of Peru’s ability to prosecute violence against environmental defenders.

NASA is entering final preparations for Artemis II, rolling the Space Launch System and Orion to Launch Pad 39B and completing integration and tests ahead of a planned February–April circumlunar flight.

Recent milestones in China and Canada and growing private investment have advanced fusion research, but commercial reactors are not yet available.

Researchers from Meijo University found a new UV‑blocking molecule, GlcHMS326, in thermophilic cyanobacteria from a Thai hot spring; it is produced under UV and high‑salt stress and shows strong antioxidant activity.

Bill McKibben installed new solar panels and said rising U.S. electricity prices and federal actions against renewables could hurt Republicans; U.S. average electricity costs rose about 12.8% over ten months, the article reports.

Coastal First Nations in British Columbia maintain opposition to a proposed bitumen pipeline; scientists report 2025 was the third warmest year on record after 2024 and 2023.

EU and Mercosur leaders signed a free trade agreement in Paraguay on Saturday after 25 years of negotiations; the pact now needs consent from the European Parliament and ratification by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will serve as mission specialist on NASA's crewed Artemis II flight that plans to fly around the moon and return, with launch dates identified between February and April 2026.

The High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) enters into force internationally while Canada has signed but not yet ratified it; Fisheries and Oceans Canada says work on ratification is ongoing without a timeline or budget.

Analyses of basalt and regolith returned by China's Chang'e-6 in June 2024 show isotopic evidence that a large early impact heated deep lunar material and altered volatile element abundances on the Moon's far side.

National Geographic Live: Cosmic Adventures with NASA engineer Tracy Drain will be presented at the Vancouver Playhouse on Feb. 12, and tickets are on sale.

A CERN experiment irradiated an iron meteorite and found metal-rich asteroid material can absorb more energy and may strengthen rather than fragment.

Hubble has released a gallery of visible and infrared images of protoplanetary disks and protostars that show jets, nebulae, shadows and dusty disks; NASA reports the telescope remains active and is expected to operate into the 2030s.

Mississauga’s mayor says recycling pickup in Peel Region is operating better after a troubled transition produced more than 2,000 complaints in one day; the change moved recycling responsibility to Circular Materials, which subcontracted collections to GFL.

Residents in rural parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick report unreliable cell coverage that can hinder emergency help, while Build Nova Scotia says 17 towers have been upgraded and 10 more are expected by the end of 2026.

A recent article reports that union materials encourage Ontario elementary teachers to teach climate justice beyond conservation, and a seventh-grade guide links climate harms to colonial and capitalist systems and says impacts fall disproportionately on Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

Kew Gardens is relocating plants from the historic Palm House ahead of a planned five-year renovation that aims to make the Victorian glasshouse carbon-neutral. The work includes temporary 'decant' houses, specialist moving and propagation, and a physical rebuild scheduled to begin in 2027.

Okanagan Humane Society says it has taken in 42 dogs in the first two weeks of 2026 and reports its low-income spay and neuter program has reached its monthly capacity, which staff say is stretching shelter resources.

Researchers report 2025 was the second‑worst year for glacier loss in western Canada with about 30 gigatonnes of ice lost, and mountain guides say shrinking ice and changing conditions have altered routes and increased hazards.

New research estimates an Earth-analog at TRAPPIST-1e would receive about 0.9% of Earth's photosynthetically active radiation, and a simple scaling gives roughly 63 billion years for a Great Oxygenation Event; accounting for spectral and physiological factors reduces that estimate to about 1–5 billion years.

A recent commentary reports that global warming is likely to exceed the Paris Agreement goals and that Canada is assessed as a country with mixed outcomes — some new agricultural and shipping opportunities alongside increased climate-related risks and geopolitical pressures.

The Columbia Basin Trust is investing nearly $670,000 through its Climate Adapted Community Spaces Grants to support nine Basin projects that adapt parks, streetscapes and green spaces to changing climate conditions, including tree-canopy mapping and a tree-planting plan in the Village of Silverton.

A mass fruiting of native rimu trees has prompted increased breeding among New Zealand's roughly 236 kākāpōs, and officials expect more than 50 chicks to hatch.

Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said parts of the pro‑Trump media ecosystem, including some online hosts and outlets, are pulling back or criticizing recent developments, and hosts and platforms are responding in ways tied to audience and business considerations.