A 16-year-old student from Sarasota, Florida, Sophia Haakman began growing butterflies at just 7. Over the years, her love for nature and its beings has evolved into a serious conservation effort. Haakman sought to find out if the hundreds of hours she spent rehabilitating local ecosystems were truly beneficial to wildlife. So she created her…

Paleontologist John Moretti (left) and caver John Young after exploring Bender’s Cave. Image Credit: John Moretti The discovery beneath Bender’s Cave in central Texas began in an underground stream where fossils lay hidden beneath the water. John A. Moretti, a palaeontologist at the University of Texas in Austin, and caver John Young investigated bones preserved…

Restoring damaged oyster reefs can bring back the small marine animals that depend on them. A study examined restored, living, and dead oyster reefs in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon to track how their macroinvertebrate communities changed after restoration. The researchers collected 20,087 marine invertebrates representing 41 species from 14 families. Over time, the communities on…

Shehbaz ministers warn of energy crisis as Pakistan fuel prices surge Pakistan is facing a widening energy crunch as disruptions around key Gulf shipping routes push up global oil prices, fuel costs surge and the government weighs measures to curb petroleum consumption.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is facing pressure on multiple fronts, with ministers…