JAKARTA — Conservationists are racing to rescue orangutans from a fire-ravaged peat-swamp forest inside an RSPO-certified oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, with smoke still rising and the ground remaining dangerously hot. The 657-hectare (1,623-acre) forest, designated as a High Conservation Value (HCV) area inside PT Kayung Agro Lestari (KAL), is home to around 60 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), one of three orangutan species in the world and the only one found on the island of Borneo, according to conservationists. The forest was also used in October 2015 to release four orangutans rescued by the Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO working to establish and maintain sustainable orangutan populations. Nearly 11 years after four orangutans were released there, the peat-swamp forest that provided their habitat has itself been almost completely affected by fire, according to satellite analysis by technology consultancy TheTreeMap. This animation shows the progression of fire within and around the PT Kayung Agro Lestari concession in Ketapang (yellow lines), West Kalimantan, between 8 August and 12 September 2026. The sequence shows how fires progressively burned the HCV forests (turning from dark green to dark red) over the course of several weeks. Image courtesy of TheTreeMap/Nusantara Atlas. The analysis indicates that one of the major fires began on Aug. 8 along a canal at the edge of the oil palm plantation in Ketapang district, before spreading westward into the HCV forest. A team of conservationists, including staff from YIARI, is now trying to rescue orangutans still…This article was originally published on Mongabay

KUALA LUMPUR — Video editor Mohamad Haazim has lost count of how many times he refreshes Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API) website every day to check air quality in the city where he lives. It’s been hovering between “unhealthy” and “hazardous” in recent weeks. Haazim, who asked to be identified only by his given names for privacy reasons, lives in Kuching, the capital of Malaysia’s Sarawak state. It is known as one of the cities with the cleanest air quality in the country, but since last month, Kuching has earned a dubious distinction of being the world’s “most polluted major city,” according to IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality technology company. The culprit? Smog from Indonesia’s wildfires. “It has deeply disrupted my daily routine,” Haazim said of the haze. “Outdoor routines are completely on hold; morning and evening walks are out of the question.” An avid marathon runner, Haazim no longer runs five times a week outdoors. “I am now down to just two indoor runs,” he told Mongabay last week. At home and at work, he said he ensures windows are shut tight, with air purifiers running at full blast. Kuching riverside in the city center is shrouded in thick haze in Kuching, Sarawak state, Malaysia, on Sept. 4, 2026. Image by AP Photo/Xpin Voon. He can’t forget his long drive home from Lawas, a Sarawak town located between Sabah and Brunei, on Aug. 31. “The haze became much thicker as we went back to Kuching,” he said. “As we arrived…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Jeff Reed wasn’t raised to hate wolves. But as a child he bought into the Little Red Riding Hood myth regarding their villainous nature. You see one, you shoot it. But not on a night on his Montana farm some five years ago, a night that proved life-changing not only for Reed, but perhaps for the study and conservation of wolves. “I thought it was a large coyote,” Reed recalls. “It was standing broadside in my [pickup truck] headlights, like 10 yards away, this big, beautiful gray wolf. And he’s just looking at me. I open the door, grab my rifle, and he’s standing there … I’m pointing my barrel, looking at it. “Then all of a sudden — you can call it an Apostle Paul sees Jesus for the first time and goes blind moment — and I just go, ‘What the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this?’ So I shot over its back, like way high. It didn’t bolt. It just trotted right beside me … and kept going.” Reed heeded that night’s sacred call. It wasn’t long before wolf indifference morphed into obsession, and led to his linking up with the world’s leading long-term wolf research effort. Which may seem like an odd fit, Reed being a Ph.D. linguist who spent much of his career up to that point leading software engineering for Silicon Valley firms. But all that knowledge has intertwined perfectly: The Cry Wolf Project is grounded in bioacoustics and artificial intelligence…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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In mid-2025, a trio of male African wild dogs headed east through the open woodlands of Kafue National Park in west-central Zambia, away from the pack they’d grown up in. Roughly two weeks earlier, four of their sisters had also left the pack. One dog in each of the groups was wearing a GPS collar fitted and monitored by a team of researchers from the Zambian Carnivore Programme, Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and other partners. The tracking data showed that the females headed northward, into a game management area (GMA), a partially protected buffer zone adjacent to the park. But their brothers, known to the researchers as the Mayukuyuku males, entered an unprotected area east of Kafue, then turned north toward the cities of Kitwe and Ndola. The two dispersing groups were doing what wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) tend to do when they reach the age of around 3 years old. They break from their birth packs and head out in search of territory and mates to form packs of their own. But it’s also extremely risky behavior. “A good way to die, if you’re an African wild dog, is to leave your pack,” said Scott Creel, an ecologist at Montana State University in the U.S. and lead author of a new study recording these and other epic wild dogs movements across Zambia. But, he added, the alternative is also grim: “A good way to never reproduce is to stay in your pack.” African wild dogs in…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Plastic bags and bottles, aquaculture feed bags, nylon netting and ropes don’t sound like the makings of a healthy fishing haul. However, nets replete with these items are a near-daily reality for the majority of fishers interviewed by researchers during a recent study in Vietnam. Plastic waste causes small-scale fishers in Vietnam to lose an average of $3,421 per vessel, per year, in lost fishing time, reduced catch efficiency and damaged gear, the study assessing the economic impacts of plastic debris on fishing livelihoods found. This represents a 10-25% reduction in the annual income of vessel owners. Fishers interviewed for the study reported that they had significantly increased their fishing efforts in recent years in response to the combined pressures of overexploited fish stocks and plastic pollution. “Before, 6-7 hauls were enough [to turn a profit],” one interviewee told the researchers. “Now it takes 20-25 hauls.” The study also highlights how fishers could play a significant role in solutions tackling the plastic pollution crisis, including through “fishing for litter” programs that pay fishers modest financial incentives to bring back plastic bycatch for disposal and processing on land. “When you see firsthand the sheer volume of [plastic waste] in Southeast Asia, and how it directly impacts people’s lives and livelihoods, it crystallizes very clearly why we need to address this,” study co-author Michel Kaiser, a professor of fisheries conservation at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K., told Mongabay in an interview. “Fundamentally, turning off the source of the plastic is key, but…This article was originally published on Mongabay

In late August, the U.S. announced a historic oil deal that gives it access to more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves in Venezuela, with investment of up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure across the country. The deal has been billed as a way to secure “energy dominance” for the U.S. while driving Venezuela’s economic recovery. But observers say they’re concerned about the climate impact of fossil fuels, the deal’s lack of transparency, potential oil spills and other environmental risks. “Economic recovery cannot come at the expense of human rights relating to the environment,” said a Sept. 9 joint statement from the Venezuelan Program for Education-Action on Human Rights (Provea) and Clima21, an environmental NGO. “No economic interest takes precedence over the constitutional and internationally recognized right to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment.” The deal is structured through private company North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the second-largest Venezuelan oil producer, which has “100-year concessions for 17 oil fields,” according to the U.S. government. The U.S. has a “35% equity stake” in the company and can purchase 20% of its production, with a right of first refusal for the remaining 80% throughout the 25-year agreement. It’s part of an attempt by the U.S. to increase involvement in Venezuela following a January military operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro, who has been accused of narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. Throughout 2026, U.S. officials have visited Venezuela to discuss investment in the country’s natural resources, most notably oil and gas. Venezuela has one…This article was originally published on Mongabay

In January 2027, five of the nine Amazonian countries could be run by right-wing or far-right parties, posing new risks to the world’s greatest rainforest, experts warn. Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador have already elected presidents who explicitly favor agribusiness and mining over environmental conservation. Brazil, home to more than 60% of the Amazon, could be next. According to polls, the left-wing incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is neck and neck ahead of October’s ballot against Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right president he defeated in the last election four years ago. The elder Bolsonaro has since been convicted for an attempted coup d’état, imprisoned, and barred from running for office. Venezuela, run by a nominally socialist regime but now under economic intervention from the U.S., is facing mounting pressure from President Donald Trump to boost oil production and sign new mining deals, raising environmental concerns in the country. Together, these six nations cover up to 95% of the Amazon. Experts say Brazil’s election will have high stakes for the Amazon and other biomes, especially as the younger Bolsonaro looks set to revive his father’s policies. Opposition presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, left, greets El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Public Security, Hector Gustavo Villatoro, during a meeting, in São Paulo, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. Image by AP Photo/Andre Penner. “Even under a government that is somewhat committed to combating deforestation, the task is already very difficult,” Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Apple is turning paid iCloud+ storage plans into a much broader services bundle in more than 100 countries, adding Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and a new limited music offering called Apple Music Select at no extra charge. The change applies even to the cheapest 50GB tier and is rolling out through the end of September 2026.

The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western and Northern Europe — including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden — are not included. Russia is also left out.

What subscribers get

Every paid iCloud+ plan in the included markets now covers:

• Apple TV streaming, with access treated as equivalent to a standalone subscription

• Apple Arcade, including more than 200 games, with existing game saves and progress preserved

• Apple Music Select, a set of ad-free, Apple-programmed stations for lean-back listening, including regionally relevant mixes plus categories such as Top Songs, 80s, and 90s, available in the Home tab of the Music app

Full Apple Music is not included. Apple is instead offering a discounted upgrade path from iCloud+ to a complete Music subscription. In Mozambique, that discounted add-on was cited at $2.79 a month for Individual and $4.49 for Family. In India, the 50GB iCloud+ plan costs 75 rupees a month; adding discounted Music at 115 rupees can still undercut the old Apple One individual price of 195 rupees.

Family Sharing continues to work: storage, TV, and Arcade can be shared with up to five other people.

Standalone plans and Apple One are being wound downIn the affected countries, Apple will stop selling standalone Apple TV and Apple Arcade subscriptions. Existing standalone subscribers will be moved onto iCloud+ and keep uninterrupted access. Apple One is closing to new sign-ups in those markets, though current Apple One customers can keep their plans.

The strategy looks like a pivot: instead of pushing a premium multi-service bundle in price-sensitive markets, Apple is using cheap cloud storage as the hook and wrapping entertainment around it.

Apple TV’s map gets bigger

The same announcement expands Apple TV into 59 additional countries, bringing the service to 170 countries worldwide. Content and Arcade catalogs can still vary by region.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services and Health, said in a statement that the company is “excited to bring Apple TV and Apple Arcade to iCloud+ users in over 100 countries in one convenient subscription.”

There is no timeline for whether the same deal will ever arrive in the U.S. or other excluded markets.

Full list of countries and territories:

Albania; Algeria; Angola; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; British Virgin Islands; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Cayman Islands; Chad; Côte d’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominica; Egypt; Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; India; Iraq; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kosovo; Kuwait; Kyrgyz Republic; Lebanon; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Maldives; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Micronesia; Moldova; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nauru; Nepal; Niger; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Qatar; Republic of the Congo; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; São Tomé and Príncipe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

MacDailyNews Note: Availability of specific features, shows, and games may still differ by country, region, or device. Existing iCloud+ subscribers in the listed markets should receive TV and Arcade automatically as the rollout completes this month.

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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum traveled to Venezuela in March with over a dozen mining company executives, holding a meeting in Caracas with local officials to discuss creating a “legitimate mining sector” and removing the criminal groups that currently operate at many mine sites. The economic potential of Venezuela’s mining sector, he said, could be worth billions. Burgum’s trip came just a few months after a U.S. military operation removed then-President Nicolás Maduro and transported him to a detention center in the U.S. state of New York. Since then, officials have heralded a new era for Venezuela, and tried to make the mining sector more attractive to foreign investment: Passing mining reform laws, taking down leaders of criminal groups involved in mining, and raiding illegal mining sites. The U.S. is also considering an executive order aimed at improving access to critical minerals, Reuters reported. Yet at the same time, observers say the illegal mining crisis is getting worse, not better. Illegal mining has expanded this year, in some cases in protected areas, and criminal groups involved in mining have tightened their hold in many parts of the country, according to sources contacted by Mongabay. “[Since Maduro’s capture], nothing has changed in the criminal and legal ecosystem,” Cristina Burelli, founder of SOSOrinoco, an advocacy group studying the social and environmental impacts of mining in Venezuela, told Mongabay. “If anything, we have seen an increase in certain areas.” Vendors weigh and trade gold at gold-buying shops in El Callao, Venezuela.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Telescope Live gives astrophotographers access to world-class imaging data.

The post Your backyard telescope is just the beginning appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

At years old, Yeasmin Begum has lived near the Amin Bazar landfill on the outskirts of Dhaka her whole life. She says the stench often triggers allergies, including colds and coughing. “Sometimes it is quite difficult for us to breathe when waste collectors burn the waste under the open sky. Smoke and ashes envelop our home and surroundings,” she says. That’s a problem that could get worse under a plan by municipal authorities to burn trash on a much larger scale. A so-called waste-to-energy project would incinerate up to 3,0000 metric tons of trash daily to heat a boiler, which would then produce steam to drive a turbine, thereby generating electricity. This would be the first-ever waste-to-energy project in Bangladesh, part of an effort to tackle the increasing volume of municipal waste. But the 42.5-megawatt North Dhaka project has raised concerns among nearby communities that have long suffered from exposure to polluted air, water, and soil. Dhaka North City Corporation is the municipal authority overseeing the project, which is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation. Some of the total $467 million in total funding has been pledged by multilateral lenders including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, both headquartered in China. The project is due to be completed by December 2028, four years later than initially planned. For nearby residents like Yeasmin, the prospect of thousands of tons of municipal waste every being burned every day, potentially releasing toxic substances like heavy metals and dioxins,…This article was originally published on Mongabay

India’s consumer regulator has intensified its investigation into Apple’s software warranty practices after complaints that the iOS 18 update damaged iPhone screens and other functions, leaving users to pay steep repair bills, according to Reuters’ Aditya Kalra.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) told Apple in late July that it had “escalated” the matter for a detailed inquiry by its investigation wing. The case follows a large volume of complaints that the late-2024 iOS 18 rollout caused display problems — including green, pink or white lines on screens — and microphone failures. Because Apple’s software licence agreements state that iOS is provided “without warranty of any kind,” customers say they were forced to pay for repairs themselves.The estimated cost to replace a damaged iPhone 15 screen is about 27,900 rupees ($291), more than a third of the device’s retail price in some cases. The regulator has accused Apple of violating the rights of “consumers as a class” and of charging customers for problems that allegedly stemmed from the company’s own software update.

Apple has pushed back. In an August letter and a public statement, the company said it found no systemic issues or safety concerns with iOS 18 in India, that the software underwent stringent testing, and that the CCPA case rests on a relatively small number of complaints. Apple also noted that only about 11% of iPhones in India were still running iOS 18 by June 2026. It argued that a “no warranty” clause for software is standard across the electronics industry and that users are informed of the terms before installation. Treating every software problem as a breach of an absolute warranty, Apple said, would turn software makers into insurers against all technological risk.

The dispute comes as Apple rapidly expands manufacturing and market share in India, where iPhone sales rose to a 9% share last year from 4% in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. It also adds to existing regulatory pressure on the company in the country, including antitrust scrutiny.

If the CCPA ultimately finds violations, Apple could face fines and, more consequentially, orders to issue refunds or alter its warranty and disclosure practices. New Delhi-based consumer-law specialist Kirti Mahapatra said investigators can demand documents and hold hearings. The authority can require clearer information for customers and, in theory, changes to contractual terms—though she described the latter as unprecedented.

Apple said it would work with authorities to provide clarity on customer response to the software. The CCPA did not immediately comment.The outcome could set a notable precedent for how software updates and warranty disclaimers are treated under Indian consumer law.
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PENAJAM PASER, Indonesia — Indonesia’s escalating wildfire crisis has reached the outskirts of Nusantara, the new capital city under construction as the world’s fourth-most-populous country seeks to transplant its political heartland from a flood plain in Java to the island of Borneo. Fires in mid-September burned 30 to 40 kilometers (19 to 25 miles) from the perimeter of government buildings. The fires were reported at Wonotirto, near the main toll road, and at Bukit Tengkorak in the Bukit Soeharto protected forest. These wildfires were in the outer zone designated for Nusantara, authorities in the new capital said, but had stopped short of the construction site of the government complex. “Hopefully, it won’t reoccur,” Danis H. Sumadilaga, Nusantara authority spokesperson, said in a Sept. 9 statement. “We will have to conduct monitoring and patrols to ensure this fire doesn’t happen again.” On Sept. 14, forestry minister Raja Juli Antoni traveled to inspect the fires, along with the head of Indonesia’s disaster management agency and the lead of Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), the agency overseeing the new city, one of the world’s largest construction sites. Helicopters carrying giant buckets of water buzzed overhead as the officials surveyed the fragile landscape skirting the city. “It’s there again — where’s Manggala Agni?” the minister said, referring to the state fire brigade after spotting a suspected fire burning in the hills. “They need to get there, along with colleagues — there’s smoke again. “Please coordinate with the firefighters, army, police,” Raja Juli Antoni said on Sept. 14.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Read the stories in Mongabay’s series on offshore wind energy: Part One, Part Two and Part Three. Offshore wind has enormous potential as a source of renewable energy and is tipped to greatly expand in the next few decades. As this clean energy drive gathers pace, experts underline that new wind farms must be developed responsibly to minimize harm to ecosystems and support biodiversity. Mongabay spoke to experts to identify promising solutions that can make offshore wind farms work with nature, rather than against it. 1. Marine spatial planning during site selection The best way to avoid negative impacts of offshore wind farms is to carefully select sites using marine spatial planning. “That’s step one,” Marjolein Kelder, senior project manager at The Rich North Sea, a Netherlands-based nonprofit, told Mongabay in an interview. “Don’t put wind farms in your ecologically most valuable areas or in bird migration corridors.” Spatial planning can ensure ecosystems are preserved, account for the needs of coastal communities, and reduce conflicts with other uses of marine areas, like fisheries and shipping. Organizations are also developing “sensitivity” maps for species of birds and bats to aid planning. 2. Nature-friendly structures Research shows that wind farms can act as refuges for some marine species. Modifying wind farm structures can provide additional important habitat for fish and other marine life. Strategies include deploying artificial reefs, installing or using existing intentional gaps called water replenishment holes that are built into turbine foundations to allow the flow of water, deploying steel…This article was originally published on Mongabay

From above, the North Sentinel Island tribal reserve in India’s Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is a thick, unbroken patch of dark green — starkly surrounded by the shimmering coastal blue waters of its buffer zone. On these shores, Sentinelese people, who live in voluntary isolation protected by a strict government no-contact policy, spear fish, hunt turtles and collect mollusks in shallow reefs surrounded by mangroves. The coastal reefs are intact ecosystems rich in fish life, say biologists. “I have seen them [groups of men, women and children] foraging and collecting these food resources during low tide on several occasions,” says Manish Chandi, a tribal expert who has watched the island from afar. “The Sentinelese are aware of these as nutritious and sparsely available resources in such [mangrove] habitats, which are very few on and around the island.” The giant trees of the North Sentinel Island coastline are its first natural defense against storms and which hold its coastal soil together. The shore is lined with sandy beaches and rocky shores, while the foreshore is dotted with coral reefs and mangroves — excellent nurseries for marine biodiversity. Image by Manish Chandi. Like other tribal reserves on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the southeast of mainland India, North Sentinel Island is a biodiversity hotspot; and, like other tribal reserves, the isolated people who live there have attracted influencers and misunderstandings, says Chandi. “Curiosity and ignorance regarding the islanders is quite high and understandably so amongst outsiders and [government] bureaucrats who have…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Naserian, a giant ground pangolin, lived for about two years in Kenya’s last remaining stronghold for this animal, Nyekweri Forest. When researchers from The Pangolin Project began tracking her in 2025, they observed her threading her way through a landscape where forests, farms and fences increasingly intersected. Each night, she emerged from the darkness of Nyekweri Forest and moved through a shifting mosaic of woodland, farms and grazing lands on the western fringes of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. Researchers watched on computer screens from their outpost near the reserve, tracking Naserian’s GPS signal as she followed familiar paths across a patchwork of privately owned parcels of land. Then one night, the signal stopped. A team from the Kenya-based pangolin research organization headed to the site. Naserian lay dead beneath an electrified fence. After years navigating a changing landscape, a single charged wire had ended her life. A landscape closing in Giant ground pangolins (Smutsia gigantea) are endangered across their fragmented Western and Central African range, with their numbers decreasing. Kenya’s only known population resides in Nyekweri, but it isn’t the safest place for them. Since 2022, researchers have recorded 15 deaths in the area, including 14 by electrocution on electric fences. With fewer than 30 believed to remain in Kenya, every death carries outsized consequences. The giant ground pangolin — the largest of the eight species, all of which live in Africa and Asia — occurs naturally at low densities. They normally give birth to just one offspring at…This article was originally published on Mongabay

NASA has selected 12 new investigations to help support human explorers in space. Six will help advance the ability to produce food off-planet, while another six advance the understanding of how unique conditions associated with space exploration can impact the health and physiology of astronauts.  

The six food-focused investigations, supported by the agency’s Space Crops grants, advance NASA’s goal of harnessing the power of plants to enhance quality of life for humans in space, as well as to enable lunar and Mars exploration. Four of the space crops proposals focus on studies of edible plants and how their growth, physiology, and associated microbial communities are affected by environmental conditions in space or on other planetary bodies.

Another proposal involves understanding mechanisms by which certain plant species, called resurrection plants, can withstand extreme, dry conditions. The last space crops proposal builds on previous studies on the International Space Station to uncover functions of algal genes, segments of DNA controlling algae survival, whose expression is modified by spaceflight. Such studies can help scientists integrate biological-based solutions into space life-support systems.

The second set of six proposals fall under the agency’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division’s focus on precision health, which seeks to unravel the mechanisms by which space exploration affects health and well-being. One proposal studies how lunar dust exposure impacts respiratory, immune, and inflammation responses.  A second proposal identifies repurposed drugs that can mitigate the effects space travel has on health and physiology.

Two more of the research proposals look at how radiation combined with other stressors affects age-relevant characteristics seen in various organ and physiological systems. The final two proposals assess molecular and cellular changes induced by stressors in space that can alter gene expression or protein function. The research will identify ways to mitigate health issues and develop early-warning detection systems to notify crew of potential concerns.

The principal investigators who conduct the space biology studies come from 10 institutions across eight states. Nine of the awards are for investigators who are receiving funding from the Space Biology Program for the first time.

Selected Space Crops Investigations

• Jannell Bazurto, University of Minnesota
  Cultivating the Cosmos: Investigating Plant-Microbe Dynamics for Sustainable Space Farming
• Miranda Haus, Michigan State University
  Investigating Legume Crop Rotations and Microbial Interactions in Regolith Simulants
• Andrew Settles, NASA Ames Research Center
  Genetic Mitigation of Spaceflight Stressors on Production of Chlamydomonas
• Christopher Taylor, Ohio State University
  Hydroponic Microbes in a Low Carbon, High-Radiation Environment; Identifying the Genetic Determinants of Water- and Plant-Associated Microbial Survival in Extraterrestrial Environments
• Robert VanBuren, Michigan State University
  Leveraging the Natural Resilience of Resurrection Plants for Space Bioregenerative Systems
• Shuyang Zhen, Texas A&M AgriLife Research
  Environmental Optimization and Cultivar Selection to Enhance Dwarf Tomato Growth and Stress Tolerance for Space Agriculture

Selected Precision Health Investigations

• Archana Dhasarathy, University of North Dakota
  Epigenetic Memory as an Adaptive Mechanism to Microgravity and Radiation Exposure
• Andrij Holian, University of Montana
  Contribution of Aging to Particle-Induced Chronic Inflammation
• Mert Gur, University of Pittsburgh
  Probing Pathogenic Mutations Under Spaceflight-Relevant Stressors Via All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations
• Grace O’Connell, University of California
  Persistent Spine Health Impacts of Microgravity and Radiation Following Recovery
• Satoshi Okawa, University of Pittsburgh
  Investigating Space Flight-Induced Brain-Heart Axis Aging and Identifying Repurposed Drugs to Mitigate Its Effects
• Sanghee Yun, Ph.D., The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  Spaceflight-Relevant Hypercapnia Effects on Space Radiation- and Social Isolation-Induced Biological Aging: A Systems Biology Analysis of Multiple Aging Hallmarks

When fully implemented, more than $7 million in grant money will be awarded throughout fiscal years 2026-2030. These awards were made in response to research proposals submitted to ROSES-2024: Program Element E.9: Space Biology Research Studies (NNH24ZDA001N-SBR).

To learn more about NASA’s biological and physical research in space, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/

There is perhaps no other continent on earth that possesses as diverse an ecosystem, biodiversity and cultural diversity as Asia. Yet, biodiversity conservation in Asia is in constant crisis, due to uneven development after gaining independence from Euro-American colonization, capital intensive infrastructure growth with worsening inequality, heavy dependence on natural resources at different scales, from household to nation, high population density and distribution that overlaps with spaces with endangered wildlife, illegal trade in endangered species, and finally, war, genocide, militarization and political conflict. Conservationists in Asia, therefore, have a difficult mandate for the continent’s future: To tackle the biodiversity, climate, and cultural crisis at a much faster rate. Yet, the conservation space is strictly dominated by researchers and practitioners, donors and funders, policymakers and other intellectuals based in Western knowledge production systems. To cater to this, almost 500 conservationists, majorly from Asian countries assembled in Kathmandu, Nepal, during the first week of June for the 6th Conservation Asia Congress. The conference was organized by the Asia region of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), in partnership with the Nepal chapter of SCB and a Nepal-based community-centric organization, Burhan Community Regeneration and Conservation Foundation (BCRCF). Under the theme “Harmonizing Biodiversity and Human Well-being in Asia,” the Congress united global experts, early-career researchers, and community leaders to address the critical intersection of nature conservation, community stewardship, and evidence-based policy. Almost 500 conservationists largely from Asian countries assembled in Kathmandu during the first week of June for the 6th Conservation Asia Congress. Image…This article was originally published on Mongabay

NAIROBI — The decline of many migratory bird populations is a red flag that ecosystems around the world are under increasing pressure, conservation experts warn, adding it’s time for governments to come together and coordinate conservation efforts across national borders. Representatives from governments, conservation agencies, NGOs, financial institutions, and donors gathered in Nairobi from Sept. 8-11 for the Global Flyways Summit, hosted by BirdLife International in collaboration with Nature Kenya to address the growing threats facing migratory birds and the habitats they depend on. BirdLife presented the latest edition of its quadrennial “State of the World’s Birds” report, which reported that 45% of migratory bird species are declining, while about one in nine faces the threat of extinction. Shorebirds and seabirds were identified as among the groups experiencing particularly severe declines. A great snipe (Gallinago media) in Nigde, Türkiye. These near threatened snipes breed in Scandinavia and western Russia, and spend their winters at sites across West, Central, and East Africa. According to the IUCN, this species’ numbers are declining rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting pressure. Image © Koray Öğreten via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0). The Red List Index of species survival for migratory birds, with examples of species uplisted and downlisted and the main factors driving these changes. Image courtesy of BirdLife International, 2026. The conservation organization said the main pressures include loss of habitat, agriculture, hunting, pollution, and climate change. Stuart Butchart, BirdLife International’s chief scientist, said these threats cannot be addressed effectively in individual countries…This article was originally published on Mongabay

With the iPhone Duo, Apple has entered the foldable smartphone market years after Samsung, Google, Huawei, and others, and it is doing so with a $1,999 book-style device designed less as a novelty and more as a bid to change what mainstream buyers expect from a phone.

The iPhone Duo, unveiled September 9th, folds from a compact 5.4-inch outer display into a 7.6-inch inner screen — Apple’s largest iPhone display yet — while keeping the same aspect ratio on both panels. Closed, it is roughly passport-shaped. Opened, Apple says it is the company’s thinnest iPhone at 5.2 millimeters. Preorders begin October 16th, with stores getting the device on October 23rd.

That timing and price put the Duo in the same neighborhood as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google’s latest Pixel foldable, rather than in a category of its own. Foldables still account for only a sliver of global smartphone shipments. The question hanging over the launch is whether Apple’s combination of hardware polish, iOS software and ecosystem pull can expand that niche.

As Bloomberg News’ Edward Ludlow writes, that is precisely the test Apple is setting for itself: whether the Duo can shift consumer tastes, not merely win over people who already buy folding phones.

Apple spent years studying the complaints that have kept foldables on the fringe — visible creases, fragile hinges, awkward software and devices that feel like two phones taped together. The company is pitching a titanium hinge with more than 100 precision parts, a nano-texture finish meant to make the crease less noticeable, IP68 dust and water resistance, and an iOS experience built around split apps, fluid open-and-close transitions and later Apple Pencil support.

New CEO John Ternus has called the Duo the most transformational change to iPhone since the original, arguing that hardware and software engineered together can redefine what a foldable is for. Marketing chief Greg Joswiak has been blunter about rivals: existing foldables, in Apple’s view, were not particularly inspiring.

The compromises are still visible. The Duo is heavier than some Android competitors. It uses a side-button Touch ID rather than Face ID, drops a physical SIM slot and lacks the variable-aperture camera of the iPhone 18 Pro models. Higher storage configurations climb well above $2,000.

Those trade-offs make the first Duo look like a halo product — a statement device for early adopters and Apple loyalists rather than an immediate volume seller. Analysts and industry veterans have long argued that new form factors often need two or three generations before they become mass-market. Apple’s bet is that its installed base, developer influence, and reputation for finishing products can compress that timeline.

If the Duo works, Ludlow writes, it will not just give Apple a new high-end SKU. It will signal that foldables have left the enthusiast ghetto. If it remains a pricey curiosity, the category will stay what it has been for most of the past seven years: impressive, expensive and still waiting for the mainstream.
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MacDailyNews Take: Apple will sell every single iPhone Duo it has already made and can make for the foreseeable future.

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