Feature Stories
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jun-2026 03:16 ET (12-Jun-2026 07:16 GMT/UTC)
13-May-2026
AI models reveal hidden climate patterns behind US winter precipitation
University of Virginia School of Data Science
AI is changing climate science — not just by improving forecasts, but by helping researchers understand why climate patterns happen. A researcher at the University of Virginia developed explainable AI models that can predict U.S. winter precipitation months in advance while revealing the climate mechanisms driving those forecasts. The study found the southern United States is significantly more predictable than northern regions and identified El Niño as the dominant source of seasonal forecasting skill. The work demonstrates how AI can move beyond prediction to become a tool for scientific discovery with applications for drought preparedness, water resource management, wildfire planning, and climate resilience.
13-May-2026
Driving smarter toward fuel savings
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Compiled by researchers at the National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the annual guide highlights new vehicle fuel economy and explains how driving habits and vehicle maintenance impact mileage and overall costs.
- Funder
- U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
13-May-2026
Geologists in films are the good guys but often die
University of GothenburgAfter 15 years, four geologists have brought one of the most unusual research projects at the University of Gothenburg to a close. In a scientific article, they analyse 141 feature films featuring geologists.
“On the silver screen, being a geologist is a risky job; a third of them die before the film ends,” says Erik Sturkell, geologist and research leader.
- Journal
- Geology Today
13-May-2026
Aiming to understand the addicted brain
Linköping UniversityA storyteller with a passion for popular education. Head of one of Linköping University’s strongest research environments. And a physician. Markus Heilig, professor of psychiatry, researches the biology of the brain in addiction, and always considers the whole person.
13-May-2026
Cool vaccines in rural Kenya: Solar solution has been awarded by UN
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
In May 2026, Tabitha Awuor Amollo is spending some weeks as a guest scientist at HZB, analysing perovskite thin films at BESSY II. The Kenyan physicist from Egerton University, Nairobi, was recently recognised for her achievements in research and teaching. For the development of a solar-powered refrigeration system for use in rural health centres, she has been awarded the 2026 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)-Elsevier Foundation Award. An interview on exceptional projects and daily struggles of a scientist. Questions were asked by Antonia Rötger.
13-May-2026
University of Tennessee professors collaborate to study magnetism of bees
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Tennessee, Knoxville researchers Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray teamed up to investigate bee magnetism after learning honeybees can sense Earth’s geomagnetic field. With Laura Russo, they tested 120+ bee species over six years and found nearly 90% are magnetic, expanding knowledge far beyond earlier limited studies.
- Journal
- Science Advances
13-May-2026
Brazilian technology helps NASA assess health risks for astronauts on mission to the Moon
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
The U.S. space agency used a device developed by a startup supported by FAPESP to monitor the sleep patterns, physical activity, and interactions of astronauts on the Artemis 2 mission.
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
13-May-2026
AI@HHMI: Lighting up Life inside cells with AI-designed proteins
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
What if scientists could watch a dozen proteins at work inside a cell at the same time? A new AI@HHMI project combines AI-driven protein design with bright dyes to build probes that could make that possible.
12-May-2026
[Research Article] AI-driven ensemble forecasting of extreme wind gusts: Random Forest modeling and case studies from the western Mediterranean
Big Earth Data
A new study published in Big Earth Data develops a stochastic random forest (RF) classifier to predict extreme wind-gust (WG) occurrences along the western Mediterranean coast by integrating instantaneous and trailing 24-hour meteorological variables across multiple height levels, enabling the model to capture both short-term evolution and immediate atmospheric forcing. It demonstrates strong forecasting performance with high precision, low false-alarm rates, and reliable uncertainty estimation, while identifying barometric-pressure tendencies and humidity as key predictors, highlighting the framework’s potential for early-warning systems, climate resilience, and disaster-risk management. UERRA reanalysis data can be downloaded from the Copernicus Climate Data Store platform: https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/. Supplementary materials supporting the findings of this study are openly accessible at the public GitHub repository: https://github.com/AI4OCEANS/.
- Journal
- Big Earth Data