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  • The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, glows in infrared light in this August 2011 image from NASA鈥檚 Spitzer Space Telescope. A broad, irregular cloud of green, yellow and orange gas fills the center, surrounded by wispy red clouds against the blackness of space. Hundreds of bright blue-white stars are scattered throughout the image.

    Two rockets set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range

    October 16, 2026

    Two sounding rockets will launch from Poker Flat Research Range as early as next week on separate missions studying some of the smallest particles in space and the deaths of stars.

  • A person in a darkened room gestures to sunlit barley stalks.

    Moving beyond Alaska Grown

    October 16, 2026

    Although I am a lover of Fairbanks, I am not particularly in love with mid-October Fairbanks. Fall's yellow, shimmering leaves are now browning and dissolving underfoot, and my garden is crisped with old tomato vines and a few intrepid kale leaves, still reaching for the weakening sun.

  • A person is talking to a group of people at a data center.

    New guide helps Alaskans shape data center conversations

    October 14, 2026

    As data centers and artificial intelligence raise new questions about energy, water, land, infrastructure, jobs and community priorities across Alaska, a new report offers a different way to approach the conversation.

  • Close-up of a European green crab with dark green and yellow mottled shell held in two hands outdoors, showing its claws, eyes, and textured carapace.

    Registration opens for 2026 Alaska Invasive Species Workshop

    October 13, 2026

    The 2026 Alaska Invasive Species Workshop, a forum for land and invasive species managers and scientists to discuss current issues, will be held October 27-29, 2026, in Juneau.

  • A group of people smiling and standing on a docked metal boat in the rain.

    Arctic LENS connects NASA science with community-based monitoring

    October 12, 2026

    New funding will expand a 30-year community-based monitoring and education outreach program across Alaska, helping bridge local observations with learning from NASA Earth science missions.

  • A black dog with some white markings sits in front of a birch tree with yellow leaves on the ground.

    Time capsule: Hardwood, softwood, fuelwood

    October 09, 2026

    After finally cleaning my stovepipe last weekend, it feels like woodstove season at my cabin can officially (and safely) begin. Carla Helfferich wrote this wood power-focused Alaska Science Forum column on Oct. 3, 1990.

  • Srijan Aggarwal, UAF professor of environmental engineering, works with laboratory equipment used in his research on critical mineral recovery. Aggarwal is part of a $6 million National Science Foundation collaboration investigating how biological processes and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of rare earth elements from waste materials.

    UAF joins $6M NSF critical minerals effort

    October 05, 2026

    UAF researchers are joining a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation effort to explore how microorganisms and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of critical minerals from coal waste.

  • New interactive Alaska tsunami hazard map helps communities prepare

    October 02, 2026

    A new and interactive tsunami hazards tool created by the Alaska Earthquake Center brings evacuation information, hazard maps and other community-specific resources into a single online location.

  • A fox with a snowshoe hare in its mouth walks across a snowy landscape

    Time capsule: The secret life of a red fox family

    October 01, 2026

    At the start of every walk, my dogs try to sneak away to "fox town," a fox den on the other side of the pond near my cabin, and we often see the adult foxes trotting through the neighborhood. Hearing one of them bark the other evening, I was reminded of this March 26, 2020, story by Ned Rozell. He recently reported that foxes still use the den, but did not occupy it in summer 2026.

  • Doctoral student Morakinyo Labiran stands at ACUASI鈥檚 ice tower beside his planned test item, a small rotor assembly mounted on metal rails and surrounded by wiring. He wears a heavy blue winter coat and gloves inside the translucent plastic-lined, scaffold-supported enclosure.

    Drone research gets a lift from UAF ice tower

    September 30, 2026

    The ice tower of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, ACUASI, at the 久久热视频 Geophysical Institute is where research into wintertime drone flight happens.

  • A black and white bird with a long and curved beak

    An update on fishhook chickadee beaks

    September 25, 2026

    Over 26 years ago, my friend Ned Rozell wrote about a startling new deformity seen in Alaska鈥檚 black-capped chickadees: 鈥淚n 1991, a man living in King Salmon noticed three black-capped chickadees with beaks curved like fishhooks,鈥 Rozell wrote. 鈥淪ince then, hundreds of people from Southcentral Alaska have seen chickadees with overlong beaks that make it difficult for the birds to feed. The drastic increase in sightings has biologists worried that something is very wrong in Southcentral.鈥

  • New vegetation emerges across a recently burned Alaska landscape. Research led by Ben Gaglioti shows that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to future wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. Photo by Ben Gaglioti.

    Research finds past burns can limit Alaska wildfire spread

    September 24, 2026

    UAF-led research found that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. The effect can persist for decades, although hot, dry and windy conditions make fires more likely to cross into younger burn scars.

  • Person wearing parka standing on jumbled sea ice looks towards sun low on horizon.

    Indigenous observations make Arctic Ocean models more accurate

    September 18, 2026

    Working with Indigenous observers on Alaska's northern coast, a research team has developed a way to improve the modeling of oceanic changes.

  • ACUASI鈥檚 yellow, white and blue Windracers ULTRA drone carrying chilled human blood samples takes off from Nenana Municipal Airport on Aug. 19, 2026. The twin-engine aircraft climbs with its landing gear still extended against a bright blue sky with thin clouds.

    UAF drone program tests long-distance blood sample delivery

    September 17, 2026

    Alaska's drone research program successfully completed a 1,000-kilometer test flight carrying human blood samples for the International Testing Agency, which investigates doping by athletes at the Olympics and other major sporting events.

  • Two people look at a map in an office

    Mapping tsunamis, building trust

    September 17, 2026

    While taking a quick shower before her son's fourth birthday party on Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami scientist Elena Troshina heard the phone ring. Deciding it was worth jumping out, she picked it up -- with kids, you never know.

  • Black-and-white historic photo of Kennecott Mines, with railcars piled high with copper ore awaiting shipment on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Mine buildings, conveyors and other structures rise on the hillside behind the train.

    Getting to the bottom of copper's rise to the top

    September 10, 2026

    Kennecott has been spruced up quite a bit since my last visit there nearly 30 years ago.

  • An illustration of an American cheetah

    Ancient 'cheetah' adapted to a fish-based diet to survive

    September 04, 2026

    When the now-extinct American cheetah was enduring the last ice age, a glaciated barrier broke up its territory into two distinct territories -- one in central North America and another much farther north. Analysis from the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility helped an international research team uncover how the ancient carnivore survived in those distinct regions. American cheetahs in the southern range hunted terrestrial prey like pronghorn antelope. Their counterparts in the Arctic adapted to their environment by making fish a staple of their diets.

  • Wild plants with pink and green leaves growing among tall grasses and shrubs.

    Time capsule: Color guard

    September 04, 2026

    The weekend trip closed with a drive home through the Alaska Range, and the steep scenery around Isabel Pass looked as glorious as it usually does -- except for one little flaw. Here and there, like pale flames along the creek banks, willows gleamed golden in the evening light. On the river's gravel bars and beside the road, dwarf fireweed leaves had turned a sunburned purple.

  • A group of children crowds against a wire fence to watch two reindeer in a green pasture as a staff member stands inside the enclosure, with autumn aspens visible in the background at the UAF Large Animal Research Station. One child holds a stuffed reindeer toy.

    LARS to host community event Sept. 12

    September 02, 2026

    The 久久热视频 Large Animal Research Station will celebrate the end of summer tour season with a Locals Day event on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • A person working on solar panels, while another person is standing by the panels.

    ACEP receives $3 million to advance energy resilience

    September 01, 2026

    The Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the 久久热视频 has received $3 million to study technology that can strengthen energy systems in remote and strategically important regions.

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