Earth and Human Activity
- Climate
Warming temps could turn some blue lakes green or brown
Slightly warmer summers could cause thousands of blue lakes to become a murky green or brown, according to a tally of color in 85,000 lakes worldwide.
- Animals
Some spikes in malaria cases may be tied to amphibian die-offs
Amphibian deaths from a fungal disease may have led to more mosquitoes — and an increase in malaria cases in Costa Rica and Panama.
- Humans
What does charred ancient poop reveal about early animal-raising?
Evidence from the dung may push the onset of animal raising back 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.
- Animals
Watch: This red fox is the first spotted fishing for its food
Big fish in shallow water were easy pickings for this red fox. It’s the first of its species known to fish.
- Chemistry
No trees were harmed to 3-D print this piece of wood
How clever! Scientists used print-speed adjustments to control how flat, 3-D printed shapes morph into complex wooden objects.
- Materials Science
Laser light transformed plastic into tiny diamonds
The technique could be used to make nanodiamonds for quantum devices and other technology.
- Chemistry
No sun? No prob! A new process might soon grow plants in the dark
Teamwork makes green-work! Collaborating scientists came up with an electrifying farming trick that could make sunlight optional.
- Physics
Scientists Say: LED
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, light up TV screens, traffic lights and many other devices used in daily life.
- Climate
Heat waves appear more life-threatening than scientists once thought
This is bad news as a warming planet leads to growing numbers of excessive heat waves — and millions more people facing potentially deadly temperatures.
- Chemistry
Simple process destroys toxic and widespread ‘forever’ pollutants
Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down these PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other methods.
- Earth
Uplifting 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.
- Animals
Some Greenland polar bears are surviving with very little sea ice
The ‘glacial mélange’ on which they’ve come to rely — a mix of ice, snow and slush — could be a temporary refuge for some polar bears.
