Environment
- Environment
Rocket nozzle research propels teen to big win
A 13-year old won the top prize at this year’s Broadcom MASTERS science competition. She had determined the best shape for a rocket nozzle.
- Chemistry
Lab creates new, unexpected type of ‘firenadoes’
A newly discovered type of fiery vortex burns hot and generates little soot. Scientists suspect it could be a solution to cleaning up oil spills at sea.
- Environment
Scientists Say: Aufeis
Water keeps flowing underground even in the coldest Arctic winters. But when it comes to the surface, it chills out and forms large layers of ice — called aufeis.
- Climate
Volcanic rocks can quickly turn pollution into stone
A test program in Iceland injected carbon dioxide into lava rocks. More than 95 percent of the gas turned to stone within two years.
- Environment
Teens use science to worm through plastic waste
Some beetle larvae can eat plastic, which might be good for our pollution problem. But which types eat the most can vary a lot, these young scientists find.
- Environment
Fighting big farm pollution with a tiny plant
Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.
- Genetics
Why some frogs can survive killer fungal disease
A disease is wiping out amphibian species around the globe. New research shows how some frogs develop immunity.
- Environment
Uh oh! Baby fish prefer plastic to real food
Given a choice, baby fish will eat plastic microbeads instead of real food. That plastic stunts their growth and makes them easier prey for predators.
- Earth
Common water pollutants hurt freshwater organisms
The germ killers we use and the drugs we take don’t just disappear. They can end up in the environment. There they can harm aquatic organisms, three teens showed.
- Microbes
This microbe thinks plastic is dinner
The bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis chows down on one type of polluting plastics. That means it could become helpful in cleaning up environmental waste.
- Microbes
Microbes mine treasure from waste
Like miniature factories, bioreactors house microbes recruited to chew through wastes to clean dirty water, make chemicals or generate electricity.
- Environment
Not so sweet: Fake sugar found at sea
Sucralose — sold in stores as Splenda — has begun turning up in seawater. This raises concern about the fake sweetener’s impacts on the environment.
