Earth and Human Activity
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Protecting deer with high-pitched noises
After her uncle crashed his truck into a deer, this teen decided to find out if there was a sound that would drive the animals away from roads.
- Animals
Ocean heat waves are on the rise — and killing coral
Ocean heat waves are becoming hotter and more frequent. And one can be blamed for the 2016 coral deaths on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Climate
Analyze This: Climate change could make food less healthy
Levels of important nutrients are lower in crops exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. How high? Try levels expected to be typical 30 years from now.
- Climate
Explainer: What is thundersnow?
Wacky weather produced lots of thundersnow during New England’s recent winter storms. Some scientists now suspect Mother Nature got some human help.
- Physics
Disabilities don’t stop these experts in science and tech
People with disabilities are as varied as the careers some of them pursue in science, technology, engineering and math.
- Earth
Antarctic ice shelf sheds Delaware-sized iceberg
Larsen C is a major ice shelf in Antarctica. An iceberg the size of Delaware has just splintered off of it in one of the largest calving events ever recorded.
- Climate
Ancient Arctic ‘gas’ melt triggered enormous seafloor explosions
Methane explosions 12,000 years ago left huge craters in bedrock on the Arctic seafloor. Scientists worry more could be on the way today as Earth’s ice sheets melt.
- Earth
Tiny air pollutants inflame airways and harm heart
New studies show how tiny bits of air pollution, called particulate matter, can lead to health problems ranging from chronic runny noses to heart disease.
- Animals
Nighttime lights can dim a firefly’s flash
Fireflies blink to attract mates. But when it’s too bright at night, the insects may stay away.
- Earth
Plastic trash rides ocean currents to the Arctic
Ocean currents can carry plastic trash far from the cities that shed it. Some plastic debris has made it all of the way to the Arctic Ocean, new data show.
- Earth
Some food-packaging pollutants mess with the thyroid
Chemical pollutants may hurt the ability of the thyroid gland to make an important hormone. Teens may be most at risk.
- Ecosystems
Cities drive animals and plants to evolve
Biologists are finding that some species have used genetic changes to evolve — adapt — to the pollution and other stressors that they encounter in cities.
