Earth

Physics

Explainer: Gravity and microgravity

The force of gravity holds us on the ground, keeps planets in orbit and extends throughout space. A very weak gravitational pull is called microgravity.

Science & Society

Let’s learn about the science of the Winter Olympics

From scientific innovations to climate change and weather, there’s plenty of science to be found among the feats of amazing athleticism.

Earth

Volcanic avalanches may be more destructive than previously thought

Pressures within these pyroclastic flows may be as much as three times as high as observations had suggested.

Animals

Living mysteries: Why teeny-weeny tardigrades are tough as nails

Tardigrades often live in cool, damp moss. Their cushy life has somehow prepared them to survive the lethal radiation of outer space.

Earth

The ‘Doomsday’ glacier may soon trigger a dramatic sea-level rise

The ice shelf that had kept it in place could fail within five years. That would speed the glacier’s slip into the ocean, boosting a rise in sea levels.

Environment

Recycling a climate-warming gas could make ‘greener’ farmed fish

Instead of warming the climate, methane gas can be collected to help farmers. Along the way, it may also save some fish.

Chemistry

Scientists Say: Silicon

The chemical element silicon is used to make everything from bricks to cookware to electronics.

Earth

Climate change is upping the height of Earth’s lower atmosphere

The upper edge of the troposphere, the slice of sky closest to the ground, rose 50 to 60 meters (165 to 200 feet) a decade from 1980 to 2020.

Animals

As the tropics warm, some birds are shrinking

Migratory birds are getting smaller as temperatures climb, studies had showed. New evidence shows dozens of tropical, nonmigratory species are, too.

Climate

Can scientists develop an icy sanctuary for Arctic life?

The final refuge for summer sea ice may also protect the creatures that depend on it. Saving it is an ambitious goal with many hurdles.

Materials Science

This glitter gets its color from plants, not a synthetic plastic

In the new material, tiny arrangements of cellulose reflect light in specific ways to create vibrant hues in an environmentally friendly glitter.

Life

From icebergs to smoke, forecasting where dangers will drift

Smoke drifts. Fish eggs float downstream. Where such drifting things end up may seem a mystery. But research can predict where they’ll end up.