All Stories by Douglas Fox
- Microbes
Mystery microbes of the sea
Biologists find archaea a true curiosity. They make up one of life’s three main branches. The two better known branches are bacteria and eukaryotes (u KARE ee oatz). That last branch includes animals, plants and fungi. But archaea have remained mysterious. Very little is known about them. In fact, their unique status wasn’t even recognized until relatively recently, in 1977.
- Animals
Mud worth more than gold
Reed Scherer and Ross Powell have studied mud from all over the world. It is different in each place. Mud from the Sulu Sea near Borneo is as smooth as cream cheese. Mud from Chesapeake Bay, in the mid-Atlantic United States, clings to your skin like peanut butter.
- Earth
Explainer: Ice sheets and glaciers
Ice sheets and glaciers give scientists clues about climate change.
- Earth
Explainer: Antarctica, land of lakes
There are many, although they tend to be buried under rivers of ice.
- Animals
Animals under Antarctic ice?
Data suggest a web of lake organisms might thrive deep under ice; scientists struggle to make sense of the new report.
- Climate
The high life
The sky is full of microscopic life, some of which might even trigger rain or snow.
- Climate
Watching our seas rise
Satellites, coral reefs, ancient Roman fishponds and sinking cities help us understand how humans are changing sea level.
- Earth
The oldest place on Earth
Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life — a little of which still survives.
- Earth
A ghost lake
Scientists study an ancient lake that once covered much of Utah to learn lessons for the future.
- Earth
Big rocks’ balancing acts
Scientists study how balanced boulders resist falling over — and what that may say about earthquakes.
- Life
Full-body taste
Turns out that the tongue isn’t the only place where the body can taste what you ate.
- Environment
Pollution at the ends of the Earth
Chemicals are turning up in small Arctic villages far from factories and cities.
