Deep underground in a Canadian mine, scientists have cooled a massive refrigerator to nearly 1,000 times colder than outer space, a key milestone in the search for dark matter. The achievement enables Texas A&M-designed detectors at the core of the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment at SNOLAB in Ontario to reach the extreme sensitivity needed to spot interactions from elusive “light dark matter."

A new study revealed that the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), a large-scale tropical disturbance that travels eastward through the tropics every 30–60 days, significantly influences climate conditions in Hawaiʻi. Their research showed that during active MJO phases, rainfall increases across the islands, especially on windward slopes. In contrast, suppressed MJO phases tend to produce drier conditions.

Conventional knowledge suggests gardeners should avoid including cultivated plants, bred for aesthetics, in pollinator gardens. Plant biologists studied how well these cultivated plants attract pollinators, compared to wildtype plants. Native wildtype plants always attracted insect pollinators, but some cultivated varieties performed just as well, showing they have ecological value in gardens. While other cultivated varieties were less attractive to pollinators, gardens with flowering plants that attract pollinators are better than grass lawns.