Earth

Climate

Climate may have sent drift of the North Pole toward Greenland

This mid-1990s shift in the pole’s movement was driven by glacial melt. And that was triggered in part by climate change, a new study reports.

Earth

Only 3 percent of Earth’s land is unchanged by people

A sweeping survey of land-based ecosystems finds that very few still support all the animals they used to. Reintroducing lost species could help.

Agriculture

New technologies might help keep drought-prone farms green

After learning how much damage drought can do to crops, two teens designed ways to detect a thirsty plant and make sure it gets enough water.

Environment

Local glacier could be gone in a decade, young scientist finds

A teen calculated the volume of a glacier by drilling into it with jets of steam — then used that to estimate how long before all its ice will be gone.

Earth

Here’s how lightning may help clean the air

Airplane observations show that storm clouds can generate huge quantities of air-cleansing chemicals known as oxidants.

Ecosystems

Urchin takeover underlies California’s vanishing kelp forests

Some 95 percent of kelp forests along its northern coast are gone. Meanwhile, sea otters are helping slow the loss of surviving kelp farther south.

Chemistry

New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills

Recycling plastics is really hard — especially into useful materials. But new chemical tricks could make recycling easier.

Microbes

Several plant-like algae can morph into animal-like predators

Single-celled green algae swim through water as free cells. Most use only photosynthesis for their energy. But not all of them, a new study shows.

Physics

Light levitation might help explore Earth’s ‘ignorosphere’

A toy called a light mill inspired researchers to invent a new way to fly. They’re using light to levitate small nanotube-coated discs.

Earth

Earth as you’ve never seen it before

Earth is a sphere. Flat maps distort features on that sphere, usually by a lot. Now three scientists think they may have the best solution yet for flattening the planet.

Climate

Surfing the winds would make future jet travel greener

Simple route changes could drastically cut fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions, a new study finds.

Environment

The world wastes roughly a sixth of the food produced each year

A new United Nations report shows where wastes can be reduced, which would decrease hunger and emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases.