Drumroll, please: The winner of Fat Bear Week 2025 is Chunk, a brown bear who overcame quite a bit to get his crown. Chunk, with an estimated weight of 1,200 pounds, has a broken jaw and previously seemed doomed to the runner-up position, having finished second place in the contest three times. “Despite his broken jaw, he remains one of the biggest, baddest bears at Brooks River,” said Mike Fitz, a naturalist for Explore.org, which helps host Fat Bear Week. Watch footage of Chunk in his habitat at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Are you walking and biking defensively? These underrated tips can keep you safe on the road
Culture
To Subtitle or Not to Subtitle? Why Many Young Viewers Are Reading While Watching TV
skynesher/iStock
Here’s an important question, at least for anyone who loves to curl up on the couch in front of the TV: Are you team subtitles or no subtitles? Your answer may reveal what generation you’re in. According to a recent poll, younger adults are more likely to turn on subtitles while watching TV or movies compared to older adults. The poll found that about 40% of adults under 45 use subtitles “always or often” when watching, compared to about 28% of those older than 45. As for the 60 and over crew, they were especially likely to say they “never” use subtitles, per the Associated Press. The theory is that younger viewers often rely on closed captions to keep up with content while doing other things (i.e., scrolling on their phone or tidying up). Sound editor and mixer David Barber explained to the outlet: “They’re catching bits and pieces of this, bits and pieces of that. I think they probably are half-listening and half-watching. It’s an interesting phenomenon.” On the other hand, older adults are more likely to use subtitles to understand accents or due to hearing difficulties. Still, no matter the age, plenty of people turn on closed captions for one simple purpose: to catch every word of fast-paced dialogue — something any fan of Gilmore Girls, West Wing, or Parks and Recreation can attest is often easier said than done.
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Science
Sunscreen Made From Pollen Could be the Next Big Thing in Eco-Friendly Skin Care
NTU Singapore
How do you prevent turning red — and keep things green for the good of the planet? The answer might be the world’s first sunscreen made from pollen, according to a new study. “We wanted to develop an affordable and effective natural sunscreen that is non-allergenic to humans and eco-friendly to the environment,” lead author Nam-Joon Cho said in a statement. And it seems they did just that, creating a formula derived from camellia flowers that delivers about 30 SPF, meaning it blocks around 97% of ultraviolet rays, without the cons of contributing to coral bleaching and ocean pollution. In experimental tests, the pollen sunscreen caused no harm to corals even after two months, whereas commercial sunscreens caused coral bleaching in two days and coral death within a week. Though more testing is needed regarding human safety and broader ecological impacts, Craig Downs, a forensic ecotoxicologist, told Live Science it could be commercially available in “five to eight years.” Until then, brush up on your sunscreen safety skills with a list of do’s and don’ts from the American Cancer Society.
Environment
This Tiny New Marsupial Species Was Accidentally Discovered in Peru
Pedro Peloso
This newly discovered mammal species may be just 4 inches long, yet it boasts immeasurable cuteness. Marmosa chachapoya, a red-furred, pointy-nosed creature from Peru’s Río Abiseo National Park, was first seen in 2018 — but scientists have only now identified it as a novel species of opossum. The critter has several distinct features: red-brown fur with black shading around the eyes (similar to a raccoon’s mask-like appearance); gaps between some of its teeth; a long, narrow snout; and an approximately 6-inch-long tail. Part of the Marmosa, or mouse opossum, genus, the new mammal is a close relative of Marmosa lepida, or Rufous mouse opossums. However, scientists identified that it has unique mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in addition to its external differences. Marmosa chachapoya was discovered by accident. Silvia Pavan, lead author of a new study on the findings, was on the prowl for an as yet unnamed squirrel species in the eastern Andes when she happened upon the marsupial near an archaeological site. One of several other new-to-science species found during the trip, the creature was located in a protected area with high diversity among mammals, but at an altitude where mouse opossums typically aren’t found. “I realized immediately that this was something unusual,” Pavan said in a statement. “We know very little about this species, including its natural history and distribution, and only one specimen has been collected so far.”
In Other News
A rare floral bloom is bringing new life to the driest desert on Earth (read more)
The MLB postseason is in full swing — here’s a guide for who to root for if your team didn’t make the cut (read more)
Life-size animal rock carvings dating back about 12,000 years were discovered in Saudi Arabia (read more)
Moon tea? Tea plants can grow just as well in simulated lunar soil as they do in Earth’s soil, per scientists (read more)
A juvenile great white shark was documented cruising off the Rhode Island coast — see the “majestic” predator (read more)
Inspiring Story
Second chances
California’s Pelican Bay State Prison has long been known for housing some of the nation’s “most dangerous” inmates — but now it’s also known for something else: its groundbreaking education initiative. Through Cal Poly Humboldt, the prison launched the first bachelor’s degree program inside a maximum security prison in California, aiming to reduce recidivism, promote a safer prison environment, and expand opportunities for incarcerated individuals upon release. “I want to see people come home healthy and whole and not hurt people,” said Mark Taylor, a former inmate who is now helping run the program. “And I think college is one way to do that.”
Photo of the Day
Apic/Getty Images
Pioneering primatologist, dedicated environmentalist, and all around beloved public figure Jane Goodall died yesterday at age 91. Goodall rose to prominence in the scientific community after spending the summer of 1963 studying chimps at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in modern-day Tanzania. The resulting account of her field studies “represents one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements,” according to the late evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould. But the decades following that fateful summer were no less prolific for Goodall, who continued her rigorous study of primates, published numerous articles and books explaining her science for the general public, and became a passionate conservationist, looking to protect the habitats of the animals she’d come to know quite intimately. Look back on her life in photos.
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🦥 Tamarins and sloths are rooming up at a Florida zoo
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Quote of the Day
“There is still so much in the world worth fighting for. So much that is beautiful, so many wonderful people working to reverse the harm, to help alleviate the suffering. And so many young people dedicated to making this a better world.”
