Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Garden of Eden’: the Spanish farm growing citrus you’ve never heard of

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:14:19 +0000

Todolí foundation produces varieties from Buddha’s hands to sudachi and hopes to help citrus survive climate change

It was on a trip with a friend to the east coast of Spain that the chef Matthew Slotover came across the “Garden of Eden”, an organic farm growing citrus varieties he had never heard of. The Todolí Citrus Foundation is a nonprofit venture and the largest private collection of citrus in the world with more than 500 varieties, and its owners think the rare fruit could hold the genetic secrets to growing citrus groves that can deal with climate change.

As Adelaide rolls out the welcome mat to cycling world for Tour Down Under, I feel ashamed | Maeve Plouffe

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:01:04 +0000

Australia’s WorldTour race on my local roads fills me with pride, but as the years go on it feels like hosting international friends in a house that is visibly on fire

Sweat rolls off my brow as my legs roll powerless beneath me. Eyes fixed on my glowing bike computer screen, watching as my heart rate climbs faster than the power that can be produced by my legs. 150, 160, 170bpm. How long has that been? I wipe the bead of sweat obscuring the timer. Only five minutes.

Are our bodies full of microplastics or not? There’s a way to resolve this debate, and scientists must hurry | Debora MacKenzie

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:00:56 +0000

This week’s furore is microplastics researchers’ ozone moment. If they fail, the powerful plastics lobby will step into the breach

Debora MacKenzie is a science journalist and author of Stopping the Next Pandemic: How Covid-19 Can Help Us Save Humanity

Extreme rainfall inundates South Africa and Mozambique

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:16:29 +0000

Flood warning raised to highest level with roads washed away and rain forcing evacuation of Kruger national park

Large areas of north-eastern South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique have been inundated for several days with exceptionally heavy rainfall. Some locations in South Africa recorded hundreds of millimetres of rain over the weekend, such as Graskop in Mpumalanga, where 113mm fell in 24 hours, and Phalaborwa, which recorded about 85mm of rainfall. Rain has continued to fall across the region since the weekend.

Water restored to most Kent and Sussex homes after six days’ disruption

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:10:11 +0000

Up to 30,000 customers of South East Water had no supply or low pressure at height of incident

Water has been restored to most homes across Kent and Sussex after almost a week of disruption.

South East Water (SEW) said the outage, which began on Saturday, was the result of Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts.

Sydney awaits ‘soggiest weekend of summer’ as Victorian authorities defend flash flood warnings

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:50:43 +0000

Floods predicted for NSW south coast after severe storms dumped 180mm in six hours on Victoria’s Lorne and Wye River, washing cars into the sea on the Great Ocean Road

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Week in wildlife: monkey spa day, a frisky kākāpō and a camouflaged owl

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:00:04 +0000

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

BP accused of ‘insidious’ influence on UK education through Science Museum links

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:00:01 +0000

Campaigners claim firm has bought sway over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths

Campaigners have accused BP of having an insidious influence over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) in the UK through its relationship with the Science Museum.

Scientists found the soil secret that doubles forest regrowth

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 03:31:47 +0000

New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how quickly trees return. Faster regrowth also means more carbon captured from the atmosphere. The study points to smarter reforestation strategies that work with nature rather than relying on fertilizers.

Pesticides may drastically shorten fish lifespans, study finds

admin — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 19:00:48 +0000

Even low levels of widely used agricultural chemicals were linked to accelerated ageing, research suggests

The lifespan of fish appears to be drastically reduced by pesticides, a study has found.

Even low levels of common agricultural pesticides can stunt the long-term lifespan of fish, according to research led by Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.