Hidden in plain sight – that’s how researchers describe their discovery of a new genus of large forest tree commonly found, yet previously scientifically unknown, in the tropical Andes.

The IAU has assigned names to fourteen geological features on the surface of Pluto. The names pay homage to the underworld mythology, pioneering space missions, historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in exploration, and scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. This is the first set of official names of surface features on Pluto to be approved by the IAU, the internationally recognised authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features.

Positive emotions are often seen as critical aspects of healthy living, but new researchsuggests that the link between emotion and health outcomes may vary by cultural context. The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, show that experiencing positive emotions is linked with better cardiovascular health in the US but not in Japan.

Hurricanes are the most violent storms on Earth. They form near the equator over warm ocean waters. Actually, the term hurricane is used only for the large storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite has been providing rainfall rates and cloud heights in tropical cyclones, and recently found towering thunderstorms that indicated strengthening in Tropical Storm Jose. Those "hot towers" were an indication the storm was strengthening and it later became a hurricane. 

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have invented a fast, affordable way for developing communities to test their drinking water for potentially deadly E. coli.

Unlike current tests that cost about $70 and can take up to three days to get back from the lab, the Waterloo invention uses paper strips similar to those in litmus tests to produce results in less than three hours at a cost of 50 cents.

Canadian scientists have discovered that certain lake predators are altering their behaviour due to climate change, revealing what the future may hold for these fish and their food.

For years scientists told tales of fish such as Lake Trout adapting their feeding behaviour as temperatures change, but no empirical evidence existed. Now, a recently completed 11-year study at IISD Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) in northwestern Ontario reveals that Lake Trout have a remarkable ability to adjust their behaviour in the face of changing water temperatures.

MIT and Harvard University researchers have engineered E. coli cells that can be used to study how bacteria at an infection site respond to antibiotic treatment, allowing scientists to learn more about how existing antibiotics work and potentially help them to develop new drugs.

In the new study, which appears in the Aug. 31 issue of Cell Host and Microbe, the researchers found evidence that some existing hypotheses about how bacteria respond to antibiotics are not correct.

NASA’s Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Katia as it was developing along Mexico’s east coast.  On Sept. 5, the thirteenth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season formed about 80 miles (125 kph) east of Tampico, Mexico, in the western Gulf of Mexico. 

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible-light image of the depression as it was organizing on Sept. 5 at 1:10 p.m. EDT (1710 UTC). The image showed that deep convection and thunderstorms were forming over the center. By 4 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center noted that the depression had formed.

The GPM core observatory satellite had an exceptional view of hurricane Irma's eye and found extreme rainfall within the Category 5 storm’s eyewall.