Nature Hub

  By Matt McGrath Environment Corraspondent BBC Edited by - Amal Udawatta Environment correspondent Related T IMAGE SOURCE, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Image caption, This is how El Niño brought heat to the surface of the Pacific in 2015 Our overheating world is likely to break a key temperature limit for the first time over the next few years, scientists predict. Researchers say there's now a 66% chance we will pass the 1.5C global warming threshold between now and 2027. The chances are rising due to emissions from human activities and a likely El Niño weather pattern later this year. If the world passes the limit, scientists stress the breach, while worrying, will likely be temporary. Hitting the threshold would mean the world is 1.5C warmer than it was during the second half of the 19th Century, before fossil fuel emissions from industrialisation really began to ramp up. And breaking the limit even for just one year is a worrying sign that warming is accelerating and not slowing down....

  .From  Sky & Telescope  By - Arwen  The massive gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0647 acts as a cosmic lens to bend and magnify light from the more distant MACS0647-JD system. It also triply lensed the JD system, causing its image to appear in three separate locations. These images, which are highlighted with white boxes, are marked JD1, JD2, and JD3; zoomed-in views are shown in the panels at right. Science: NASA / ESA / CSA / Dan Coe (STScI) / Rebecca Larson (UT) / Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU); Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) New JWST images reveal that one of the most distant objects ever observed is actually two baby galaxies on a possible collision course Big galaxies like the Milky Way — a spiral disk 100,000 light years across containing some 200 billion stars — are thought to come from the celestial meet-and-greets of the first galaxies, which were originally little more than tiny clumps of stars. Now, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has imaged two bab...

  From - Earth Unreal, Edited by - Amal Udawatta, Mud Monster (Maasai Mara Kenya 2015) - As the winner of the Mammals Category in the esteemed European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition of 2017, the legendary Mud Monster etched its name into the annals of triumph. Unveiling a spectacle rarely witnessed or captured, the Mud Monster materialized—a lioness bedecked in a cloak of obsidian mud that enshrouded her entirety, leaving only her luminescent golden eyes ablaze with an otherworldly radiance. It was a sight that had eluded the lenses of explorers and the gaze of avid photographers alike, an ephemeral marvel that defied convention. Born from a primal struggle between a formidable pride of lions and a colossal buffalo, fate guided their tumultuous path into the clutches of a treacherous quagmire. Within this muddy arena, the Mud Monster emerged, an embodiment of regality embellished with the hues of the earth, captivating all who beheld her presence. However, capturing...

  By Michelle Roberts Digital health editor, BBC Edited by - Amal Udawatta, IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox Monkeypox is no longer a global public health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, almost a year after the threat was raised. The virus is still around and further waves and outbreaks could continue, but the highest level of alert is over, the WHO added. The global health body's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to "remain vigilant". It can be passed on by close contact with someone who is infected. What is monkeypox? Its official name is Mpox and it is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, although it is much less severe. Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles. Once the fever breaks a rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spr...