A new way to find geothermal energy. For hundreds of years, humans have drilled for oil and used it as a source of energy to heat our houses and light our streets. Now, scientists are looking to transition to more renewable energy sources. One such source is geothermal energy, which uses heat from the Earth to make steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. To aid in the transition to renewable geothermal energy, researchers from Utah State University have adapted technology originally developed by the oil industry. Read about it here.

Dying stars create new elements. Marvel movie and comic book fans may be familiar with the story of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which was forged with metal from the heart of a dying star. While no one will be granted the powers of the god of thunder anytime soon, some of the heavy metals around us may have come from long-dead stars. Researchers found that the outer layers of white dwarfs, which get thrown off when they collapse, initially form light elements, but later become neutron-rich and form heavier elements. Read about it here.

A treasure trove of Cambrian fossils. The history of all animal life, including humans, began 540 million years ago in the Cambrian period. The earliest animals didn’t have skeletons, so paleontologists studying this period rely heavily on rare fossils that preserve organs and other soft internal body structures to learn about these ancient creatures. Researchers from Yunnan University and Oxford University discovered exceptionally well-preserved fossils from a previously overlooked group of Cambrian rocks in China. These fossils include a new subset of deep-water animals and reveal insights into the earliest forms of animal life. Read about it here.

Aerogels for oil spills. When thick oil from tanker or pipeline accidents spreads across the ocean, cleaning it up often creates more waste than it removes. Traditional synthetic tools like polypropylene pads and oil-dispersants are made from chemicals that are toxic and slow to break down. To offer a greener alternative, scientists at the National University of Singapore created a strong, highly porous solid that can clean up oil spills using sustainable and reusable materials. Read about it here, or watch the video here.

How quickly can forests recover from wildfires? Wildfires kill vegetation and release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists in the past found that regrowth of this vegetation can recapture as much as 80% of the carbon dioxide on a regional scale. They’ve studied post-fire recovery periods and what factors affect local regrowth, but they haven’t yet assessed these on a global scale. Researchers from China and Sweden recently modeled worldwide forest productivity before and after wildfires. They found that plant regrowth depended on the type of biome and how much water was available. Read about it here.