Dino Grandoni

Jane Goodall has died at 91.

Her startling observations about chimpanzee behaviors revolutionized not only scientific understanding of the capabilities and inner lives of primates, but also long-held notions about what it means to be human. https://wapo.st/476clLO

What sound does a fish make? The answer is weirder than you may think. Scientists using new ways to eavesdrop on fish have captured a cacophony of thumps, honks, burps and grunts in underwater recordings.

Scientists using new ways to eavesdrop on fish have captured a cacophony of thumps, honks, burps and grunts in underwater recordings. wapo.st/3IAhN03 via @dinograndoni.bsky.social

New look at ancient skull challenges timeline of human evolution Researchers digitally reconstructed a crushed skull and concluded our species is 1 million years old, igniting a debate over the start date of Homo sapiens.

But other researchers are unswayed, saying DNA suggests a much more recent origin for us

Full story here:
www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

NEW: This million-year-old skull was badly broken💀🔨

So researchers decided to digitally reconstruct it, and came to a startling conclusion: Our species may be much older than once thought

These birds won’t stop singing, and it’s our fault A sweeping analysis of more than 4 millions recordings has found birds tweet for nearly an extra hour a day in areas disrupted by light pollution.

Hear that? It’s 2 a.m. You’re in bed. The sun hasn’t risen, but the robin has. It is 🎶-ing at an unnatural hour, waking you.

If this has happened to you, you’re not alone. Artificial light is prompting birds to tweet for nearly an extra hour a day on average.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

These crabs probably saved your life. Can we save theirs? The medical world relies on horseshoe crab blood in the production of vaccines and equipment. A synthetic is available, but companies have been slow to adopt it.

🦀🦀🦀Read the full story here🦀🦀🦀
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Now, finally, the crabs are catching a break

A key group that sets standards for drugmakers has officially OK'd a human-made alternative

But so far, only a handful of drugmakers have begun to adopt it

But bird lovers say modern medicine’s dependence on this bloodletting is upending a globe-spanning ecosystem

Birds bulk up on fatty crab eggs on the East Coast before migrating north

This is a horseshoe crab

For decades, we've relied on an extraordinary chemical in its blood to protect medical equipment from contamination, saving untold lives

Scientists say they’ve solved the mystery of starfish that turn to goo Sea star wasting disease has killed billions of starfish and destroyed kelp ecosystems. In a study published Monday, researchers say they found the culprit.

Knowing why they're wasting is key to breeding resistant starfish and restoring ecosystems. But not every scientist agrees the bacterium is behind the disease.

Even if it is, it will take a lot of work to bring them back (3/3)

Read more here:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

For more than a decade, scientists didn't know what was causing billions of sea stars to melt away from Alaska to Mexico

Now, they say they've finally found the culprit: a bacterial cousin of the pathogen behind cholera (2/3)

It starts with a twist. One arm pretzels in on itself. Then another... and another...

Before long, the arms detach and crawl away zombielike

By the end, the starfish is nothing more than a puddle of goo (1/3)

These glowing axolotls may hold the secret to human limb regeneration The adorable salamanders are helping scientists investigate a serious question: Could the human body be coaxed to regrow a lost arm or leg?

These smiley little friends might teach us how to regrow arms and legs but they're critically endangered in the wild let's not kill them please

From @dinograndoni.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we? Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions.

It's almost summer, and the 🦟🦟🦟 are coming

But it may be within our grasp to suppress some mosquitos out of existence with powerful gene-editing tools

The big question now: Should we? Or is it ever ethical to deliberately drive a species extinct?
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Overjoyed and honored to be a part of this team, which was a Pulitzer finalist for national reporting!

In North Carolina, there was before Helene. This is the after. “A hundred years from now, they will be talking about this flood,” said one resident in Western North Carolina, where the extent of the disaster is only beginning to emerge.

The Post’s staff also received a Pulitzer finalist nod in national reporting for coverage that helped awaken the nation to the disaster of Hurricane Helene, revealing the scale of the destruction and human toll for the climate-fueled weather calamity.

75 percent of North America’s bird species are in decline, study says Birds are rapidly vanishing from North America, with dramatic population losses in places that were once thought safe.

NEW: A sweeping new study finds three-fourths of North America's bird species are in decline

Scientists say it should be a wake-up call for us since some of the pressures on birds — climate change, pollution, etc. — aren't good for people, either
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

They are:

🟢Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni
🟢Ironwood Forest
🟢Chuckwalla
🟢Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
🟢Bears Ears
🟢Grand Staircase-Escalante

Trump officials consider shrinking 6 national monuments in the West Interior Department officials are considering scaling back the boundaries of national monuments in the West to encourage energy development on public lands.

NEW: The Trump administration is considering scaling back at least 6 national monuments in the West, with an eye toward encouraging more energy development on public lands

From me & Jake Spring:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Trump moves to allow commercial fishing in vast protected ocean reserve The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument comprises more than 490,000 square miles of some of the Earth’s last pristine maritime environments.

NEW: A decade ago, Obama created the world’s largest protected marine reserve in the Pacific

Now, Trump is about to open it up to commercial fishing
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump officials say destroying endangered species’ habitats isn’t ‘harm’ A proposed rule would narrow the definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act and could open the door to more mining, construction and other activities.

NEW: In a major move, the Trump administration is aiming to redefine what it means to "harm" an endangered species

The regulatory rollback opens the door to more logging, mining, oil & gas drilling, home construction and other ecologically damaging ventures
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Trump team cites wolf ‘de-extinction’ as it seeks to cut endangered species list The interior secretary hailed a biotech company’s claim to have brought back the dire wolf, while the administration and GOP push to roll back species protections.

“If we’re going to be in anguish about losing a species, now we have an opportunity to bring them back,” Interior Sec. Doug Burgum told employees.

“Pick your favorite species and call up Colossal.”

Read more here:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

NEW: Claims of bringing back extinct dire wolves caught a lot of attention — including the Trump administration's

Now, Trump's team is trumpeting the wolf as an argument for slashing regulations around still-living endangered species

Trump team cites wolf ‘de-extinction’ as reason to cut endangered species list The interior secretary hailed a biotech company’s claim to have brought back the dire wolf, while the administration and GOP push to roll back species protections.

Don't miss this story from my colleague Dino Grandoni, looking at how a company's claims of dire wolf "de-extinction" (which scientists question) are being interpreted as a reason to scale back legal protections for endangered species: wapo.st/3R88Yvc

A huge iceberg broke off Antarctica. What scientists found under it startled them. Crustaceans, snails, worms and fish are among the dozens of creatures that deep-sea explorers discovered under a massive Antarctic ice shelf.

Your daily dose of delight: this survey of the astonishing creatures dwelling in the darkness beneath an Antarctic iceberg, from @dinograndoni.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...