Earth
- Animals
When a species can’t stand the heat
When temperatures rise, New Zealand’s tuatara produce more males. With global warming, that could leave the ancient reptile species with too few females to avoid going extinct.
- Animals
Kangaroos have ‘green’ farts
The farts and belches of these animals contain less methane than do those from other big grass grazers. Microbes in their digestive tract appear to explain the ‘roos lower production of this greenhouse gas, a new study finds.
- Earth
The quake that shook up geology
North America’s biggest earthquake struck 50 years ago. Here’s what science has learned about Earth since the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake.
- Earth
Explainer: Telling a tsunami from a seiche
Waves that hit coastlines with ferocious power, tsunamis are one of the planet’s most devastating forces of nature. And seiches: They’re tsunamis little, but still potentially deadly, cousins.
- Environment
Burning to learn
Fires cause billions of dollars of destruction to homes and forests every year. But not all fires are bad, especially for forests. With a better understanding of fire, scientists can both help people prevent dangerous fires — and identify which ones it would be better to let burn.
- Environment
Explainer: How and why fires burn
A fire’s colorful flame results from a chemical reaction known as combustion.
- Tech
Branching out for safer water
Clean drinking water could be only a tree branch away, a new study finds.
- Earth
Earthquake-triggered lightning?
An experiment with beads offers support for the claim that a rare type of lightning may accompany some quakes.
- Earth
Intel STS finalist takes on arsenic poisoning
Concerned about arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, Intel Science Talent Search finalist Thabit Pulak invented an affordable filter to help people remove this toxic pollutant from their drinking water.
- Earth
Intel STS finalist brings earthworms to the big time
Earthworms and charcoal help plants resist infections, according to research by Anne Merrill, a finalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search.
- Environment
China exports pollution alongside goods
Many companies have moved the plants that make their products to developing countries, such as China. But the pollution linked to making those products can travel around the world.
- Animals
Birds versus windows
Buildings in the United States can be deadly obstacles to flying birds. A new study estimates that as many as 1 billion birds die every year after colliding with windows. And low buildings — not skyscrapers — account for most of those deaths.
