Science Daily

• Scientists put the “recycling is a distraction” claim to the test

  Recycling, greener diets, and other personal climate choices do not seem to distract people from supporting major environmental reforms. A four-year study of nearly 2,800 Australians found that these habits neither increased nor reduced later political engagement.

• Ancient ape fossil in Egypt challenges the story of human origins

  A newly identified fossil ape from northern Egypt is reshaping ideas about where the ancestors of modern apes first emerged. Analyses place it closer to living apes than any known East African species of the same age, pointing to North Africa and the Middle East as a possible birthplace and crossroads for the ape lineage that eventually produced gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans.

• Sweden’s hidden rare earth deposits could help break China’s grip

  Sweden could become an important source of rare earth elements needed for magnets and green technologies. Instead of extracting one target metal, researchers are cataloging everything contained in Swedish mineral deposits. They will then develop magnets using those naturally available combinations, potentially reducing pollution, waste, and reliance on China.

• Orcas filmed smashing giant sunfish into thousands of pieces

  Researchers in the Gulf of California have documented a dramatic orca behavior never described before. In two separate encounters, one orca gripped a dead sunfish by the fin while another charged into it at high speed, blasting the carcass into thousands of pieces.

• Antarctica may give the world decades to prepare for rising seas

  Scientists may be able to reliably forecast Antarctic ice loss through the middle of this century, offering governments a vital head start on sea level rise. After that, unstable ice retreat could accelerate dramatically, making the future much harder to predict.