Earth
- Environment
Ultrasound waves can help remove polluting microplastics in water
The innovative process concentrates microplastics within a flowing liquid. A two-step process then removes the potentially toxic bits.
- Ecosystems
The Amazon is in trouble. Here’s why — and why it matters
Challenges from human-caused climate change, deforestation and degradation leave the fate of this vast forest uncertain.
- Earth
The sun shines brightest in South America’s Atacama Desert
Solar rays in this high-altitude desert at times rival the light intensity on Venus.
- Tech
With tech, farms can double up to produce both food and power
Agrivoltaics merges agriculture with photovoltaic panels, which generate electricity from sunlight. The combo produces clean energy and edible crops.
- Agriculture
Crops are being engineered to thrive in our changing climate
Plants are already the best carbon catchers on Earth. New research could make them even better.
- Animals
Toothed whales use their noses to whistle and click
Much as people do, toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, make noises in three different vocal registers.
- Earth
Take candy core samples with this science activity
Act like a geologist as you drill ‘core samples’ from candy bars using a straw. Can you identify the type of candy bar just from a sample?
- Agriculture
Cow dung spews a climate-warming gas. Adding algae could limit that
But how useful this is depends on whether cows eat the red algae, a type of seaweed — or it gets added to their wastes after they’re pooped out.
- Climate
Let’s learn about why summer 2023 was so hot
Human-caused climate change has played a big role in this summer’s historic heat.
- Oceans
Summer 2023 is when the ocean first turned ‘hot tub’ hot
Unfortunately, scientists worry that this atypical sea warming may actually be the beginning of an unwelcome new ‘normal.’
- Tech
Gravity ‘batteries’ might help a weighty renewable-energy problem
To store the energy generated by wind and solar power, researchers are looking at mammoth systems that raise and lower weights.
- Tech
High-tech solar ‘leaves’ create green fuels from the sun
Chemists make a liquid alternative to fossil fuels from carbon dioxide, water and the sun. Their trick? They use a new type of artificial leaf.
