Earth's Systems

  1. Health & Medicine

    Deadly heat: Expected by century’s end, it’s here already

    Instances of hot and humid conditions that threaten human lives are on the rise.

    By Jonathan Lambert
  2. Fossils

    The challenge of dinosaur hunting in deep caves

    Spelunkers aren’t the only people to find caves interesting. So do paleontologists. Though getting to work may be harrowing, they find it’s worth it.

    By John Pickrell
  3. Climate

    Did rain put the Kilauea volcano’s lava-making into overdrive?

    Scientists share strongly conflicting opinions about why Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano spewed an overabundance of lava in 2018.

    By Megan Sever
  4. Animals

    Minecraft’s big bees don’t exist, but giant insects once did

    Big bees buzz in Minecraft. In our world, blocky bees might starve and be stuck on the ground. Yet long ago, giant insects did roam our planet.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  5. Climate

    A rainforest once grew near the South Pole

    A forest flourished within 1,000 kilometers of the South Pole. That was a while ago, as in millions of years ago.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  6. Climate

    How to curb the climate heating by contrails

    Contrails are narrow clouds left behind in the sky by jets. They add to climate change. But a new study suggests a way to curb their contribution.

    By Stephen Ornes
  7. Environment

    Here’s one way to harvest water right out of the air

    Need water but you have no access to rain, lakes or groundwater? Materials known as metal-organic frameworks could be used to slurp that water from the air, new data show.

    By Sid Perkins
  8. Earth

    Newfound ‘dunes’ is among weirdest of northern lights

    There’s a new aurora dubbed the 'dunes.' It’s weird and joins the ranks of black auroras, STEVE and other odd natural light shows.

    By Maria Temming
  9. Climate

    Study appears to rule out volcanic burps as causing dino die-offs

    New data on when massive volcanic eruptions happened do not match when the dinosaur mass extinction took place.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  10. Physics

    How to temporarily ‘fossilize’ a soap bubble

    Here’s how to freeze a soap bubble in midair. Warning: The environment needs to be frosty, and even then it can take a certain amount of trial and error.

    By Matthew Cappucci
  11. Animals

    Australian fires have imperiled up to 100 species

    As massive wildfires consume huge swaths of Australia’s bush, untold species — many of them found nowhere else — are now threatened with extinction.

    By John Pickrell
  12. Climate

    5 things to know about the climate-saving benefits of tree planting

    A recent analysis of the benefits of massive efforts to plant more trees triggered a firestorm of controversy.

    By Susan Milius