Earth and Human Activity
- Plants
Light pollution could be supercharging your pollen allergies
Light pollution in North American cities seems to be tricking plants into releasing pollen for longer periods each year.
- Ecosystems
Hurricane Katrina shaped this coastal ecologist’s life and work
Surviving Hurricane Katrina inspired Elliott White Jr.’s scientific journey to studying how humans and climate change impact wetlands.
- Climate
Rockin’ farm fields suck up tons of CO2
Called enhanced rock weathering, spreading crushed basalt on crop lands can deliver farmers yet another bonus: bigger harvests.
- Environment
Antarctica faces a green and weedy future
Warming is allowing alien species to invade a land that had been isolated for 30 million years. They now threaten local ecosystems unique to Antarctica.
- Animals
Radioactive animals don’t glow — but do show the power of radiation
Wild species exposed to nuclear contamination help show how radiation affects living things — including its risks to people.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution might harm children’s eye health
Scientists used machine learning to understand air pollution’s role in eye health and vision. They found children have better eyesight in cleaner air conditions.
- Climate
Global coral die-offs signal Earth’s first climate tipping point
The corals offer a dire warning, scientists say, and suggests that more such catastrophic points of no return could occur soon — some within a decade.
- Tech
Let’s learn about lab-grown meat
Lab-grown meat may still be several years away from your local grocery. But such alternatives to farmed or free-range meats are on their way.
- Space
Scientists Say: Space junk
High-velocity space junk threatens space missions today. And the problem is growing.
- Environment
During heat waves, trees spew chemicals that worsen air pollution
New data point to how heat waves and other climate change will make it harder to curb ozone and other types of toxic air pollution — even outside of cities.
- Animals
Save the sharks to save the ocean
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction, but it’s not too late to turn the tide. At stake is the health of the entire ocean.
- Environment
See how aerosols fly through Earth’s skies
These small airborne particles may offset one-third of human-caused climate warming. But the cooling influence of aerosols is fading.
