Observations from the Little Bunker
A systematic observation of climate change, extreme weather events, and their cascading effects on society
🌍 Latest Environmental Observations
Oceans are supercharging hurricanes past Category 5
Deep ocean hot spots packed with heat are making the strongest hurricanes and typhoons more likely—and more dangerous. These regions, especially near the Philippines and...
‘They’re scared of us now’: how co-investment in a tropical forest saw off loggers
Low-cost tech and joined-up funding have reduced illegal logging, mining and poaching in the Darién Gap – it’s a success story that could stop deforestation...
A New Jersey Buyout Program for Flood-Prone Homes Is a National Model
In a state beset by sea level rise and flooding, the Blue Acres program has bought out and demolished 1,200 properties that were repeatedly inundated,...
Lessons on Scaling Gift Economies—and How It Can Help the Planet
Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “The Serviceberry,” offers ideas rooted in nature for creating sharing economies as a way to bind communities, offer purpose and...
Medial entorhinal VIP-expressing interneurons receive input from the thalamic anterior dorsal nucleus and are critical for spatial memory
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceInterneurons are classically viewed as essential components in the maintenance and regulation...
Fluctuation theorems for autonomous work
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificancePhysical systems exchange energy with one another. The second law of thermodynamics...
Cortical tracking of sign language: The role of language knowledge in tracking of different articulators
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceOur brain synchronizes with the rhythmic patterns of auditory speech, a phenomenon...
Rising rates of wildfire building destruction in the conterminous United States
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceHighly destructive wildfires are occurring more frequently across the globe, prompting debates...
Interstep compatibility of a model for the prebiotic synthesis of RNA consistent with Hadean natural history
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceRNA may have been the first informational molecule to support Darwinian evolution,...
Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke and mortality: Heterogeneous effects by exposure metric and across subpopulations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceAs wildfires become more frequent and severe, the harmful effects of wildfire...
Hormonal mechanisms of women’s risk in the face of traumatic stress
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceEstradiol, the primary estrogen produced by the ovaries, has long been thought...
Revealing tattoo traditions in ancient Nubia through multispectral imaging
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceWe conducted a systematic survey for tattoos among 1,048 individuals from Sudan...
Dynamic functional connectivity following cochlear implantation: Predicting speech outcomes and exploring brain network dynamics
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceA substantial proportion of cochlear implant (CI) users—nearly 30%—derive limited benefit from...
Five things to know about NSF’s new rules on merit review
Fewer outsiders, less feedback, and an uncertain fate for a new science board report
North Carolina Christmas tree farmers are optimistic after Hurricane Helene
More than a year after the storm ripped apart families and farms, growers are bullish about strength of their industryChristmas tree farmers in western North...
Warming substantially amplifies Antarctic coastal polynyas as key carbon sinks
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceAntarctic coastal polynyas, small open-water areas within sea ice, are revealed in...
Reviving Vavilov’s vision: The tragedy of biodiversity governance and principles for reform
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. This perspective addresses two of humanity’s greatest challenges: feeding a growing population...
The “machinal bypass” and how we’re using AI to avoid ourselves
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025.
Biomechanics of the mandibular middle ear of the cynodont Thrinaxodon and the evolution of mammal hearing
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 51, December 2025. SignificanceThe middle ear of modern mammals is detached from the mandible and...
Resolving the changing pace of Arctic rivers
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02512-wWhether rivers are speeding up or slowing down in a warming Arctic is unclear, but has implications...
Deforestation-induced emissions from mining energy transition minerals
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02520-wEnergy transition minerals (ETM) are essential for decarbonization, yet extractions often occur in carbon-rich forests and lands...
Rivers accelerate and slow as temperatures rise
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02508-6Whether erosion is accelerating or decelerating along Arctic rivers has been unclear, but each trend has distinct...
Overlooked toll of climate change on migrant children in the Americas
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02525-5Climate change drives displacement and migration across the Americas, particularly exposing Latin American and Caribbean children to...
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