How close was Nazi Germany to a working nuclear reactor?

U.S. Army Alsos Mission soldiers dismantling the German B8 experimental nuclear pile in a cave at Haigerloch, April 1945

Not very close, according to a new analysis. Germany’s last reactor experiment, the B8 pile that Werner Heisenberg’s team assembled at Haigerloch in 1945 using cubes of natural uranium suspended in heavy water, never reached criticality (a self-sustaining chain reaction). Heisenberg later said it needed only a modest amount of extra uranium, but researchers led … Read more

How low did Arctic sea ice get in 2026?

Satellite map of Arctic sea ice at its September 12, 2026 minimum, with a yellow line showing the 1981-2010 average

Arctic sea ice reached its 2026 annual minimum on September 12, covering about 4.6 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles). According to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, that tied 2008, 2010, and 2025 for the 10th-lowest minimum since satellite records began in late 1978. The smallest extent on record is … Read more

What is the largest crayfish in North America?

A blue-gray Big Sandy crayfish on a rock in an aquarium

The largest known North American crayfish is a Tennessee bottlebrush crayfish held in the Astacology Collection at West Liberty University in West Virginia. Collected in 2011 by Zac Loughman and West Liberty students, it measures 86.6 millimeters (about 3.4 inches) in body length, not counting its tail, claws, or antennae. The record comes from a … Read more