Science & Earth

The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC listed the Fraser River stretch between Mission and Hope as one of B.C.'s most endangered in 2026, citing urbanization and development; conservation groups have made land purchases recently but ORCBC says a coordinated conservation plan is lacking.

Researchers at the University of Guelph, partnered with Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada, are developing an AI-driven hybrid greenhouse and vertical system to grow strawberries year-round and are finalists in the Weston Family Foundation's Homegrown Innovation Challenge.

The Vancouver Aquarium opens a permanent gallery called "Amazing Axolotls!" on Jan. 11, 2026, expanding its axolotl display to showcase the species' biology, cultural roots and conservation. The IUCN reports there may be roughly 50–1,000 axolotls left in the wild, now surviving naturally only in the canals of Xochimilco.

Environment and Climate Change Canada laid 52 Fisheries Act charges against Terrapure Environment for alleged discharges into the St. Lawrence Seaway between 2020 and 2023, and the City of Sainte‑Catherine faces 38 related charges; both are due in court on Feb. 19.

University of Calgary researchers showed second-harmonic generation in diamond by using tiny crystal defects, and the results were published in December 2025.

Canada updated travel advice warning travellers to Australia about severe heat and humidity; Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has active heatwave and fire-weather warnings through Jan. 11 in several regions.

NASA postponed a planned ISS spacewalk after a crew member developed a medical issue; the astronaut is reported to be in stable condition and mission control is assessing whether to end Crew 11’s mission early.

Pandora is a small NASA satellite, stowed on a SpaceX rocket that could lift off as early as this Sunday, built to observe known exoplanet-hosting stars in both visible and infrared light. Its dual-instrument approach is designed to help separate genuine atmospheric signals from variability in the parent stars.

XRISM resolved the iron Fe Kα emission from the molecular cloud G0.11-0.11 and identified X-ray fluorescence, which the authors report indicates past strong X-ray flares from Sagittarius A* a few hundred to around a thousand years ago.

Pawsitive Inc.'s PawsitiveTouch pairs the TouchOne wearable with software that uses neuroscientific principles and artificial intelligence to interpret and influence dogs' emotional states, and the company says the patented system delivers curated vibroacoustic stimuli intended to promote calmness.

A team measured masses for four close-in planets around the young star V1298 Tau and found they are very low-density "super-puff" worlds; the researchers report that stellar stripping over time can shrink such planets into the hot super-Earths that are commonly observed.

Three people are unaccounted for as bushfires in Victoria burned large areas and authorities declared a 'catastrophic' fire danger, with evacuations, school closures and a state-wide fire ban put in place.

Canada's OSIRIS instrument on Sweden's Odin satellite has collected upper-atmosphere measurements since 2001, observing ozone, aerosols and nitrogen dioxide between about 7 and 90 km altitude.

A nearly six-metre-high snow pavilion made from Clear Lake ice blocks will open this weekend at Riding Mountain National Park and is intended to support winter activities and year-round tourism.

A judge set aside the province's approval of the Skeena forest licence transfer after finding the government failed to uphold the 'honour of the Crown' toward the Gitanyow; the court ordered the province to reconsider the transfer with deeper consultation.

A Canadian-led team using ALMA observed SPT2349-56 about 12 billion years ago and found a compact infant cluster of more than 30 galaxies surrounded by gas far hotter than models predicted.

A new study using the LakeM2ARS model finds that small, seasonal ice covers could have insulated lakes on early Mars and slowed evaporation, helping explain Curiosity’s evidence of past liquid water despite a fainter young Sun.

Université Laval researchers ran a human predator‑prey game in Éco‑Laurentides, dividing participants into prey, mesopredators and apex predators to run 30‑minute simulations; their paper, published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, found players often used strategies similar to wild animals. The team and outside scientists say the exercise is a useful teaching and exploratory method but cannot replace field observations of real animals.

Congress's 2026 appropriations do not support the existing Mars Sample Return program and allocate $110 million for Mars-related technology development; the plan for returning Perseverance's cached samples is undetermined at this time.

The Met Office issued a rare red warning for parts of southwest England as Storm Goretti approached, and the government sent emergency cell-phone alerts to people in affected areas.

UBC Okanagan researchers describe a dual-layer membrane that in laboratory tests removed nearly all microplastics and captured more than 98 per cent of nanoplastics from landfill leachate, and the membrane can be cleaned and reused.

Catania authorities have suspended or restricted guided excursions to Mount Etna after recent eruptions, prompting local guides to strike; Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology says lava fronts are cooling and not advancing.

Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than Feb. 5, 2026, with four crew including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen; the mission will fly around the Moon on Feb. 10 and return Feb. 15 and could surpass Apollo 13's decades-old distance record.

The article reports a U.S.-Canadian moon mission is preparing for a February launch amid international tensions. It recalls Canada's human spaceflight history, including Marc Garneau's 1984 flight and Chris Hadfield's missions.

U.S. authorities say they took control of two Venezuelan-linked tankers, including the Marinera, and that the crews may face prosecution; maritime analysts say more seizures of shadow-fleet vessels are likely.

The writer used Hipcamp to book cabins and yurts across Hawaii's Big Island, staying near Naalehu, Hilo and Kealakekua; nightly rates were about $90–$180 compared with much higher resort prices.

City staff were notified on Jan. 5 of an oil spill near Duke Point ferry terminal after oily residue was found in a storm drain, and a Transport Canada flight estimated 350–1,600 litres of sheen on the water while cleanup is underway.

A Nature Communications paper led by Paul Byrne reports that models of Europa's seafloor show little to no active faulting today, which would limit the formation of hydrothermal vents and the chemical energy such vents provide; NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUICE missions will gather further observations to clarify the moon's interior.

A Brampton homeowner received a video showing shots fired at his house and a separate demand for $500,000; Peel police say their Extortion Investigations Task Force is probing the case. The homeowner and his family have left the residence.

The XRISM Collaboration combined nearly three months of high-resolution X-ray spectra to search galaxy clusters for unidentified emission lines that could indicate decaying dark matter; sterile neutrinos are cited as one candidate for such lines.