Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

New research led by the University of Oxford has uncovered an unexpected ability in bees. They can change how much they eat depending on the balance of essential amino acids in their food. This feeding behavior may protect them from consuming excessive amounts of certain amino acids when pollen does not provide the nutritional mix they need. The findings, published in Current Biology, also show that many types of pollen contain essential amino acids in proportions that do not closely match the needs of bees. Essential amino acids are protein building blocks that animals cannot produce themselves and therefore must…

Wildlife conservationist Bill Konstant has spent more than four decades helping build species-conservation programs, connect field biologists with funding, and support threatened wildlife around the world.Konstant argues that successful conservation often depends on strong local leadership, committed species champions, diverse teams and relatively small, strategically targeted grants that can launch or sustain field projects.He sees the growth of career biologists and conservation organizations in primate range countries as one of the field’s most encouraging changes, even as habitat loss and wildlife population declines remain persistent problems.Konstant spoke with Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2026 about his career,…

There is something profoundly wrong when the company behind Grenfell Tower’s flammable cladding paid more compensation to its shareholders than to victims of the disaster. Of Arconic’s £86m in Grenfell-related settlements, all but £1.5m was covered by insurers. Hardly enough to make a multinational think again. The company whose product the inquiry found was the “primary cause” of the fire’s rapid spread has ended up paying only a fraction of the wider social cost, while the multibillion-pound bill for making hundreds of buildings safe falls largely on the state. In June 2017, 72 people – including 18 children – died…

Prince Harry, his wife, Meghan, and their children are moving back to Britain in the upcoming weeks, according to two people familiar with their decision. The move comes six years after they left for the United States amid a clash with other members of the royal family.The surprise announcement ends a self-imposed exile for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that began amid anger and recriminations that brought international attention to warring factions inside Buckingham Palace.Prince Harry was stripped of his honorary military titles and royal patronage appointments in 2021, a year after announcing that he and his wife would…

Though Somali pirates so far have seized relatively few ships by sheer numbers, it represents another threat to shipping companies already severely strained by recent attacks on vessels around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea, said Brett Erickson, managing principal of the consultancy Obsidian Risk Advisors.“We’re now looking at multiple vectors that are increasing pricing for maritime companies, forcing companies to de-risk entirely, and posing a huge threat to the global economy,” he said. “The threat from Somali pirates doesn’t need to be significant on its own, but because it compounds with all the…

Elon Musk is expected to spend big to boost Republicans in the midterms this November, according to Trump officials briefed on the matter.The precise amount could change, but the officials expect Musk to spend around $100 million to $200 million with a focus on voter turnout in key races, including Texas, where the fate of Republican nominee Ken Paxton could determine which party controls the US Senate.The planned cash injection—or any in-kind contribution relating to voter turnout—would be a boon for Paxton, who has been vastly outraised in contributions. According to the latest FEC filings, James Talarico had raised roughly…

Oracle on Tuesday announced the release of 943 new security patches as part of the August 2026 Critical Security Patch Update (CSPU), its third monthly security rollout. The company’s advisory mentions more than 1,000 unique CVEs across two dozen products, including over 460 vulnerabilities that can be exploited remotely without authentication. The patches for dozens of vulnerabilities address additional security flaws. More than 150 of the security defects are critical-severity bugs, and nearly 90 of them have a CVSS score of 9.8 or higher. Fusion Middleware and Hyperion received the largest number of new security patches this month, at 262…

U.S. President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to pass the Clarity Act on Wednesday — and also hinted that the government may accumulate more bitcoin.  After gathering with crypto executives at the White House, President Trump said that getting the Clarity Act over the line would keep the U.S. ahead of China.  Lawmakers were hoping to get a vote on the crypto market structure bill, or Clarity Act, in August. A vote will now go ahead in September. The bill will establish a framework for distinguishing between digital assets that are securities, commodities or payment stablecoins.  BREAKING: 🇺🇸 President Trump when…

Machines and engines are all around us. They power everything from cars and boats to airplanes and even rockets. Mechanics are experts who know how machinery works, especially engines, and how to fix them. When you think of a mechanic, you might picture someone working on cars. But mechanics can be experts on all kinds of machinery. At NASA, mechanics perform a variety of functions. For example, aerospace mechanics maintain the airplanes studied at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. These might include research planes studying the environment or experimental aircraft testing new wing designs. At NASA’s Kennedy…

A denim-clad rancher poses on horseback, crimson-red shirt against a hazy blue sky. A farmer in a T-shirt stands surrounded by his crop, leaves bending toward weathered hands. “Real Americans wear cotton,” reads bold text over a photo of a sprawling white field. This Americana-laden imagery came in an X post from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, uploaded in late May. The post — and its subsequent reply by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — accompanied the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Great American Cotton Plan,” an initiative with sweeping promises of reviving American cotton…