Nikk Ogasa is a staff writer who focuses on the physical sciences for Science News, based in Brooklyn, New York. He has a master's degree in geology from McGill University, where he studied how ancient earthquakes helped form large gold deposits. He earned another master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His stories have been published in Science, Scientific American, Mongabay and the Mercury News, and he was the summer 2021 science writing intern at Science News.
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All Stories by Nikk Ogasa
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Paleontology
This newfound birdlike dinosaur had surprisingly long legs
Early birdlike dinosaurs are mostly short-limbed and thought to have lived in trees, but Fujianvenator prodigiosus may have run or waded in swamps.
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Animals
Adult corals have been safely frozen and revived for the first time
Chunks of living corals could be frozen for safekeeping and revived later to restore reef ecosystems that are withering in warming seas.
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Climate
Some leaves in tropical forests may be getting too hot for photosynthesis
Climate change may be forcing some tropical leaves to stop photosynthesis and die. It’s still unclear what effect this will have on entire forests.
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Space
Recoiling black holes could move at nearly one-tenth the speed of light
Knowing black holes’ speed after being kicked by gravitational waves can reveal how much energy converging black holes can release.
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Climate
July 2023 nailed an unfortunate world record: hottest month ever recorded
Roughly 6.5 billion people, or 4 out of 5 humans, felt the touch of climate change via hotter temperatures during July.
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Climate
Here’s how much climate change increases the odds of brutally hot summers
Climate change made 2023’s record-breaking heat waves in the United States, Mexico, China and southern Europe much more likely, new simulations show.
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Climate
What’s causing this summer’s extreme heat waves?
Climate change and meandering jet streams are fomenting this summer’s extreme waves of heat.
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Climate
Last week was the hottest ever recorded — here’s why we keep smashing records
Global temperature records are being shattered as El Niño and climate change combine to push the Earth into uncharted territory, researchers say.
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Paleontology
This ancient, Lovecraftian apex predator chased and pierced soft prey
Half a billion years ago, Anomalocaris canadensis probably used its bizarre headgear to reach out and snag soft prey with its spiky clutches.
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Climate
The snow forest of North America may be about to shrink
From 2000 to 2019, the boreal forest’s northern boundary didn’t move while southern tree cover thinned due to climate change, wildfires and logging.
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Ecosystems
The Amazon might not have a ‘tipping point.’ But it’s still in trouble
Scientists race to foretell the fate of the vast forest facing deforestation and climate change.
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Environment
Rising groundwater threatens to spread toxic pollution on U.S. coastlines
Sea level rise is pushing groundwater into shallower layers of earth, threatening to spread hazardous chemicals from contaminated soils.