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A convergence of drought, weather conditions, and insect infestations caused 

 in the western U.S., but that's not the only place burning this week. 

In Central Africa, fires were set intentionally for land management purposes. Each red dot represents a 

fire detected by the MODIS sensor on the Aqua NASA satellite

This weekend explore how the Ka'apor people fight to save their forest when government efforts fail to stop illegal logging; the human history of a robotic Barbie; and meet the world's heaviest insect, the tree weta.

The Amazon tribe protecting the forest with bows, arrows, GPS and camera traps

Taking the fight to illegal loggers with technology and confrontation, the 2,200-strong Ka'apor, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, are working to protect their forest. 

First nations stories preserve pan-generational memories of earthquakes and tsunamis and how to survive those disasters. 

Meet the insect that helped fuel Northern California's Valley fire destruction

Drought and beetles join forces to compound forest fire risks. 

Some plants feed on animals for their vitamin fix, while others develop symbiotic relationships with their fauna neighbors. 

Climate change is bringing more mosquitoes to the Arctic

The mosquitoes march north as the cold retreats, exposing caribou to new threats as the arctic climate changes. 


Take a familiar doll, add a bit of artificial intelligence, let a couple ex-Pixar engineers mix it up. A simple robot to be a manufactured friend. 


Do Humans Have a Future in Deep Sea Exploration?

Humans on the bottom of the sea? Squeezed between diminishing budgets and robot exploration, the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, home to the Pisces submersibles, faces the possible mothballing of their submersible fleet.  The value of direct human observation, interaction and experience is in the balance. 


Just 6% of the polled respondents ended up with a perfect score, how will you fare? The Pew Research Center's 

 offers a snapshot of scientific literacy. 

Meet the tree weta, the heaviest confirmed insect on earth

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory keeps a constant watchful gaze upon the sun, studying the energy it creates, observing the solar atmosphere, and monitoring space weather. There are regular obstructions of observatory view of the sun, but this was the first time both Earth and moon came into view at the same time.  

William Lager

Author

Take a look at the forest threats and the tenacious fights to protect them, the human history of a robotic Barbie, and meet the world's heaviest insect, the tree weta.

Backfire set to stop fast-moving wildfire

Forest defense and threats, robotic Barbie, and the world's heaviest insect: Your weekend reading list

Go Deeper.

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