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Julia Musto

Julia Musto is The Independent’s U.S. science and climate correspondent. In this role, she has reported on flash floods, tornadoes, and climate change impacts. She is particularly interested in covering climate change effects on Earth’s ecosystems and telling stories about communities on the front lines of the global crisis. Before joining The Independent, Julia was a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital. She is based in New York.

<p>One Facebook user posted a photo of waste they had found on a Delaware beach. Beaches in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware were closed to swimmers this week after large amounts of medical and other waste were found to have washed ashore on Sunday. The source of the waste remains under investigation. </p>
Health

Beaches close on East Coast after mystery medical waste washes up

<p>A pregnant woman hold her belly. Scientists across the country announced they have created the first-ever map of a human brain during the course of their pregnancy, finding revealing changes. </p>
Health

Pregnancy physically changes the brain, study finds

<p>The Grumpy dwarfgoby, known by scientists as <em>Sueviota aethon</em>, has a grumpy-looking mug and serious canine teeth. But, it’s incredibly small.</p>
Science

New ‘Grumpy’ fish species discovered in Red Sea

<p>The NOAA GOESEast satellite shows an aerial view of the storm, known as Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight, earlier this morning. A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of coastal North and South Carolina</p>
Weather

Carolinas slammed by tropical cyclone bringing flooding threats

<p>Attendees at this year’s ‘Lighting in a Bottle’ music festival in Kern County, California. Multiple people who went to the festival were infected with Valley Fever, eight were hospitalized. Valley Fever is a potentially fatal lung infection from a fungus that grows in the soil</p>
Health

Valley Fever cases are rising and scientists are finding out why

<p>A bird sits in front of the sun, obscurbed by smoke from wildfires in Brasilia National Park, Brazil, on Sunday. Smoke has choked cities while record wildfires and drought have ravaged the region</p>
Climate

Brazil faces record wildfires and drought — and it may only get worse

<p>Hurricane Beryl knocked down power lines in Houston’s Acres Homes neighborhood in July. The storm hit during scorching summer heat, leading to power outages for millions of residents</p>
Climate

Inside the weather catastrophe that may devastate cities

<p>NASA astronauts Sunisa “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore on the space station will be stuck on the ISS until Februray next year - and have spoken about the experience for the first time. </p>
Science

NASA astronauts react to Boeing Starliner controversy

<p>The outside of the Gilead Sciences, Inc. office in Foster City, California, in May 2018. The drugmaker said its twice-yearly injection shot lenacapvir had reduced the risk of HIV infection in subjects of a Phase 3 clinical trial by 96 percent</p>
Health

Gilead’s biannual HIV shot reduced risk of infections by 96 percent

<p>ER nurse Miles Crawford stands outside University Medical Center in New Orleans on Thursday. Crawford hurt himself freeing a man whose car was slowly submerging under floodwaters from Hurricane Francine on Wedneday</p>
Americas

Dramatic video captures ER nurse rescuing man from floodwaters

<p>Tokyo researchers said that pigs and rodents have the ability to breathe through their anuses. The researchers hope to be able to use a similar test on humans some day </p>
Science

Science’s wackiest discoveries celebrated at the Ig Nobels

<p>A drone captures an aerial view of a flooded trailer park in Patterson, Louisiana, on Thursday. Flooding is still possible elsewhere in the Gulf Coast on Thursday. Francine is expected to weaken more later in the day. </p>
Americas

Francine weakens to a tropical depression but flood dangers continue

<p>A map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows the earthquake’s center. The tremor was reported with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7, according to the agency. Multiple residents took to social media to share the news.</p>
Americas

4.7 magnitude Malibu earthquake shakes Southern California

Americas

4.7 magnitude Malibu earthquake shakes Southern California

<p>A map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows the earthquake’s center. The tremor was reported with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7, according to the agency. Multiple residents took to social media to share the news.</p>
<p>A person in a raincoat walks by the waves from Lake Pontchartrain as they crash against the seawall in New Orleans on Wednesday. Hurricane Francine made landfall late Wednesday afternoon. </p>
LiveAmericas

Hurricane Francine live: System downgraded to tropical storm

<p>NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for a photo on in space on June 13, 2024. They are in good health now. However, research shows extended spaceflights could lead to possible health risks of various natures. </p>
Science

Boeing Starliner returns - how long can its crew safely stay in space?

<p>A map shows the forecast path of Tropical Storm Francine. The cyclone is moving north near the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. The agency says it is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday </p>
Americas

Tropical Storm Francine mapped: Cyclone projected to become hurricane

<p>The feet of a newborn baby are seen on a bed. Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is responsible for the deaths of approximately 3,500 infants every year in the United States. Now, researchers across the country have identified certain metabolic biomarkers and SIDS. </p>
Health

Preventing SIDS deaths could be possible with metabolic data: study

<p>The feet of a newborn baby are seen on a bed. Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is responsible for the deaths of approximately 3,500 infants every year in the United States. Now, researchers across the country have identified certain metabolic biomarkers and SIDS. </p>
Health

Preventing SIDS deaths could be possible with metabolic data: study

<p>Firefighters watch as the Line Fire burns in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains on Sunday. The fire has forced evacuation orders for thousands of Southern California residents. Several school districts canceled school on Monday. </p>
Americas

California Line fire rages, National Guard comes to aid in evacuations

<p>A satellite image of Hurricane Beryl as it approaches the Texas coast on July 7. Beryl, the first major hurricane of the 2024 season, became the earliest Category 5 hurricane observed in the Atlantic. </p>
Americas

Four storms are brewing in the Atlantic as hurricane season peaks

<p>A visitor wipes sweat from their brow at Death Valley National Park’s Badwater Basin last July. The National Park Service said that the park had seen its hottest summer ever, with peak temperatures in July. More extreme heat is forecast to bake much of Southern California, including Los Angeles County</p>
Americas

Death Valley sees hottest summer ever as Los Angeles braces for heat

<p>A reconstruction shows the life form of Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra</p>
Science

Scientists discover new species of titanosaur from 75m years ago

<p>A moose wading through a pond in Ontario, Canada. Wyoming officials said Wednesday that a moose had been found dead in the northern U.S. state following an anthrax infection. The last confirmed case of anthrax in Wyoming wildlife was confirmed in 1956</p>
Americas

Anthrax outbreak kills animals in Wyoming. Here’s what to know

<p>Pumpkins sit in a field in Colorado last October. Pumpkins like this one can contribute to the global climate crisis after decomposing in landfills</p>
Climate

How Halloween pumpkins contribute to the climate crisis

<p>An older man stretches before going on a jog (stock image). A new study, from Stanford University’s Department of Genetics, has identified biomechanical shifts that occur at specific points in the 40s and 60s </p>
Health

Age ‘waves’ could change how you live. Here’s what scientists say

<p>Joe Casey, far left, and his family pose in front of a wooded area. Casey, 51, is fighting for his life after contracting multiple mosquito-borne viruses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus, and St. Louis Encephalitis.</p>
Health

New Hampshire dad fighting for his life from mosquito-borne illnesses

<p>Pumpkins sit in a field in Colorado last October. Pumpkins like this one can contribute to the global climate crisis after decomposing in landfills</p>
Climate

How Halloween pumpkins contribute to the climate crisis

<p>An older man stretches before going on a jog (stock image). A new study, from Stanford University’s Department of Genetics, has identified biomechanical shifts that occur at specific points in the 40s and 60s </p>
Health

Age ‘waves’ could change how you live. Here’s what scientists say

<p>Joe Casey, far left, and his family pose in front of a wooded area. Casey, 51, is fighting for his life after contracting multiple mosquito-borne viruses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus, and St. Louis Encephalitis.</p>
Health

New Hampshire dad fighting for his life from mosquito-borne illnesses

<p>Nasa researchers work on a field test of the autonomous IceNode robot north of Alaska in March. Scientists at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are hoping to develop a fleet of these robots some day, to help better understand ice shelf melt rates. </p>
Climate

Much is a mystery about melting ice sheets. Can these robots help?

Climate

Much is a mystery about melting ice sheets. Can these robots help?

<p>Nasa researchers work on a field test of the autonomous IceNode robot north of Alaska in March. Scientists at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are hoping to develop a fleet of these robots some day, to help better understand ice shelf melt rates. </p>
<p>The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is seen from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will fly to the orbiting laboratory on a Dragon capsule next month and come back with the stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts in 2025 </p>
Science

NASA cuts crew from SpaceX flight to free seats for stuck astronauts

<p>A satellite image of wildfire smoke from Nova Scotia over the Atlantic Ocean last May. Canada’s wildfires produced approximately 640 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from May to September. </p>
News

Canada’s fires caused more emissions than almost every country in 2023

<p>A man walks a dog by a sign advising that the Massachusetts Town of Plymouth is at high risk for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus. There is a ban in effect for outdoor activity in the town between the hours of dawn and dusk</p>
Health

Second case of deadly mosquito virus detected in Massachusetts

<p>A Covid vaccine is given to an unidentified person on Sept. 21, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi. As updated vaccines start to roll out this fall, a new national survey found more Americans said they believe misinformation about the vaccines. </p>
Health

Number of Covid vaccine skeptics is only growing in US, survey finds

<p>A Covid vaccine is given to an unidentified person on Sept. 21, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi. As updated vaccines start to roll out this fall, a new national survey found more Americans said they believe misinformation about the vaccines. </p>
Health

Number of Covid vaccine skeptics is only growing in US, survey finds

<p>Emergency services at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello, southern Italy on August 20. Rescue teams and divers returned to the site of a storm-sunken superyacht Tuesday to search for six people, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 meters underwater. </p>
News

How could a tornado impact a superyacht?

<p>A tuber floats down the Comal River on Wednesday in New Braunfels, Texas</p>
Climate

Deadly Texas heat wave raises drought concerns, strains power grid

<p>A<em> culex pipiens</em> mosquito under a microscope. Culex pipiens are a species of mosquito that spread West Nile virus. </p>
Health

New York City spraying pesticides to help prevent spread of mosquitoes

<p>Volunteers from Saint Sabina Church distributed bottles of cold water to passing motorists at a busy South Side intersection in Chicago, Aug. 27, 2024</p>
News

Late-summer heat wave topples records, leaving 300,000 without power

<p>This photo of a fire station in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, shows members of Beacon Hose Co. rescuing people from the Brookside Inn in Oxford, Conn., on Aug. 18</p>
Climate

Floods have deluged the Northeast. Climate change will make them worse

<p>Tropical Storm Hone swirls over the central Pacific late Sunday night. The storm brought dangerous winds and flash flooding to the Hawaiian Islands, knocking out power for thousands of customers.</p>
News

Tropical Storm Hone soaks Hawaii and leaves thousands without power

<p>During a test on plywood, researchers showed how the new gel transitions from a hydrogel to an aerogel under heat from a gas hand-torch. The torch burned at a much higher temperature than would result from a wildfire. The breakthrough could save homes during worsening wildfire seasons </p>
Climate

This gel could help save homes during wildfire season

<p>Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Governor Tim Walz celebrate after Harris delivered her speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. The speeches both had a similar theme: freedom. </p>
Climate

Why aren’t Harris, Walz talking about climate?

<p>A massive tornado is seen Wednesday near Mount City, South Dakota. Twisters tore through the Dakotas, bringing forceful winds to the region</p>
Americas

Videos show massive tornadoes tear through Dakotas

<p>Kennedy, who suspended his presidential campaign last week, is under fire from environmental groups over claims he sawed off the head of a dead whale in the mid-1990s</p>
US politics

RFK Jr accused of breaking wildlife laws after whale head claims

<p>An adult pale-throated sloth hangs from a tree. Sloth virus spreads through the bite of infected midges (pictured). Oropouche virus was first detected in 1955. </p>
Health

Sloth fever has arrived in the US. Here’s what you need to know

Health

Sloth fever has arrived in the US. Here’s what you need to know

<p>An adult pale-throated sloth hangs from a tree. Sloth virus spreads through the bite of infected midges (pictured). Oropouche virus was first detected in 1955. </p>
<p>Steven Scott Perry was identified as New Hampshire’s first death from Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in a decade. States across the eastern U.S. are on high alert for the disease.</p>
Health

New Hampshire man is state’s first EEE virus death in 2024

<p>A female Anopheles mosquito is engorged while feeding on human blood. Several Massachusetts communities are under voluntary curfew this monthfollowing the threat of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in local mosquitoes. </p>
Health

A deadly mosquito virus has put Massachusetts towns on high alert

<p>A medical professional gives a man a vaccine shot (stock image). New Covid vaccines were approved by US regulators last week. </p>
Health

The new Covid vaccine is available. What to know

<p>A Cattail mosquito is held up for inspection at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in South Portland. New Hampshire saw its first case of the mosquito-borne Eastern Equine Encephalitis this week. </p>
Health

New Hampshire resident dies after contracting encephalitis virus

<p>A Cattail mosquito is held up for inspection at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in South Portland. New Hampshire saw its first case of the mosquito-borne Eastern Equine Encephalitis this week. </p>
Health

New Hampshire resident dies after contracting encephalitis virus

<p>A young female mountain lion struggles outside a Colorado home in 2023. This mountain lion was the first documented case of staggering disease in North America. </p>
Science

New virus discovered in US that can kill pet cats and those in wild

<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new round of COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, amid a summer surge of infections </p>
Health

Here’s why Covid cases are spiking again and how it could affect you

<p>Tropical Storm Hone swirls over the Pacific Ocean on Friday morning. Hawaii’s Big Island is bracing for impacts from the storm</p>
Americas

Hawaii braces for tropical storm that could bring flash floods

<p>Gwen Walz looks on as her husband, Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks at a campaign event in Pennsylvania last weekend. </p>
Health

Vance hits Walz on fertility: What makes IVF and IUI different?

<p>A new study found 60 percent of infant and toddler foods in the U.S. currently fail to reach nutritional recommendations</p>
Health

Sixty percent of baby foods on grocery store shelves are unhealthy

<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that pet turtles of any size can carry salmonella germs in their poop </p>
Health

Tiny turtles are linked to salmonella outbreak in small children

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