All Stories by Douglas Fox
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AnimalsLiving mysteries: This critter has 38 times more DNA than you do
The genomes of salamanders are bloated with genetic “parasites.” That extra DNA slows down their lives and strands them in perpetual childhood.
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ClimateUplifting Antarctic shores point to accelerating loss of glaciers
It appears the Pine Island and “Doomsday” Thwaites glaciers are losing ice — and shrinking faster — than at any time in the past 5,500 years.
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EarthA bold plan to save the planet turns carbon dioxide into stone
Scientists hope that capturing carbon dioxide this way will limit both further warming of our planet and an escalation of extreme weather events.
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LifeLiving mysteries: Why teeny-weeny tardigrades are tough as nails
Tardigrades often live in cool, damp moss. Their cushy life has somehow prepared them to survive the lethal radiation of outer space.
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EarthStrange lake belches flammable gas in the high Arctic
Lake Esieh is bubbling out surprising amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas. Scientists wonder if it’s one of a kind, or a warning of more to come.
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ClimateThe big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack
Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice 3 to 6 times as quickly as in the 1980s. And by 2100, the rate of loss could increase another 10-fold.
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EarthWhy Antarctica and the Arctic are polar opposites
Antarctica and the Arctic are shaped by different forces. And in the face of global warming, these cold climates are morphing in different ways.
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EarthClimate change cripples planet’s glaciers and ice caps
The world’s glaciers and ice caps hold far less ice than Antarctica and Greenland. But as they shrink, they’re impacting sea levels and water supplies.
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AnimalsLiving Mysteries: This complex beast lurks on lobster whiskers
A tiny animal discovered on a lobster’s whiskers shows that the smallest animals on Earth can be surprisingly complex.
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AnimalsLiving Mysteries: Meet Earth’s simplest animal
Trichoplax is the simplest animal on Earth. It has no mouth, stomach or brain. Yet it can teach how these and other organs evolved.
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PlanetsA trail of cosmic dust may lead to alien life
Liquid water can be found even in the cold reaches of the outer solar system. Some hidden oceans may harbor warm oases cozy for living things.
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EarthHow ancient African fish feed today’s Amazon
Many of the world’s lushest tropical forests would starve if winds didn’t bring them nutrient-rich dust from across an ocean.