"A new genetic study suggests that Polynesians made an epic voyage to South America 800 years ago."

"Rescued from Australia's fires, a small fleet of wild platypuses is launched back into their wetland home and into an uncertain future."

"Activists have condemned the arrest of a journalist in Indonesia for reporting on a land conflict between a palm oil company owned by a powerful tycoon and indigenous groups in Borneo."

"New data shows example after example of overheating and damage along the 1,500-mile natural wonder."

"SYDNEY, Australia — When Terry Hughes surveyed the Great Barrier Reef four years ago from a small plane, mapping the bleaching and death of corals from water warmed by climate change, he hoped such a rare and heartbreaking scene would not be repeated anytime soon.

"The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing another "mass bleaching event," according to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The government agency said that the widespread bleaching was caused by the high temperatures during Australia's record hot summer."

"The platypus is imperiled by habitat loss, predation by feral cats, and now drought and wildfires wrought by climate change."

"Torrential rain across Australia’s east could extinguish all remaining bushfires in the country’s most populous state by the end of the week, authorities said on Tuesday, raising hopes a deadly national crisis is almost over."

"Much of Australia’s wildfire-ravaged east coast was drenched on Friday by the biggest rainfall in almost 20 years, dousing some of the most dangerous blazes and providing welcome relief to farmers battling an extended drought."

"It was a lifesaving mission as dramatic as any in the months-long battle against the wildfires that have torn through the Australian bush. But instead of a race to save humans or animals, a specialized team of Australian firefighters was bent on saving invaluable plant life: hidden groves of the Wollemi pine, a prehistoric tree species that has outlived the dinosaurs."