Earth & Environment

Do you pay rent with a credit card? Soon, you may not have the...

From October 1, businesses will no longer be able to add surcharges to payments made on the EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard networks, following reforms...

This Tiny Floating Spinner Could Help Us Navigate Without GPS

A tiny spinning device that can keep rotating for more than 10 hours without being powered could eventually help vehicles navigate in places where...

Scientists Find Cleaner Way to Recover Gold from Electronic Waste

Discarded phones, computers and other electronics contain valuable metals, including gold. Recovering those metals, however, often requires large amounts of chemicals that can create waste...

Scientists Find a Cheaper Way to Extract Valuable Magnesium from Seawater

The world's oceans contain enormous amounts of magnesium, and scientists have developed a new method that could make it cheaper and more sustainable to...

Solar Panel Waste Could Become a $1 Trillion Recycling Opportunity

The global boom in solar power is helping countries move toward cleaner energy, but it is also creating a growing waste problem. New research suggests...

Blood Test Shows How Dirty Air May Raise Lung Cancer Risk

People cannot always see the pollution they breathe, but a new study suggests that long-term exposure may leave traces inside the blood. Scientists found changes...

2-Billion-Year-Old Rocks Could Rewrite a Key Chapter in Earth’s History

Around 2 billion years ago, Earth was going through one of the most important transformations in its history. Oxygen was becoming abundant in the atmosphere,...

Air Pollution Leaves a Lung Cancer Warning in Blood

studies of lung cancer prevention and early detection. If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk,...

Dolphins Learn How to Use Tools to Hunt for Fish from Their Mothers

From spears and the invention of the wheel to smartphones and robots, human societies have been building and using tools from the beginning. Human tool...

Air Pollution Could Worsen Rheumatoid Arthritis Quickly

Rheumatoid arthritis can worsen even when patients are taking their medicine, and sometimes the reason for a flare is difficult to identify. New research suggests...

Small Dinosaur Fossil Reveals a More Diverse Prehistoric Coast in Japan

A small dinosaur bone discovered in Fukushima Prefecture more than 25 years ago is giving scientists new clues about the variety of plant-eating dinosaurs...

The American Dream Is Slipping Away in Orange County, Poll Finds

For many people living in Orange County, California, the American dream is starting to feel increasingly out of reach, especially when it comes to...

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Cost to plug and abandon US Gulf of Mexico wells estimated at $30 billion

The United States has thousands of unplugged oil and gas wells, both onshore and offshore, that present potential environmental and financial risks to the...

Ancient amber holds clues to prehistoric Tsunamis

Scientists have uncovered a fascinating link between ancient amber deposits and tsunamis that swept across northern Japan over 100 million years ago. This groundbreaking research,...

How brown rats left ships and took over north American cities

Once upon a time, before the bustling streets and towering skylines of modern North American cities, a quiet invasion was taking place. It was not...

Making sense of student loan repayment options

Student loans can feel like a heavy weight, especially when it’s time to start repaying them. If you’re like millions of others who took out...
Low ocean oxygen levels can blind sea creatures

Low ocean oxygen levels could blind sea creatures

Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, have found that low oxygen levels in seawater could blind...

Why a new wave of solar panels may lose their spark too soon

The newest photovoltaic systems may promise the most efficient ever produced, but question marks about their longevity mean they risk proving a false economy. Did...

How will JetBlue’s $3.8B acquisition of Spirit Airlines affect consumers?

After a months-long bidding war, JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. The deal, which was announced Thursday, would create the...

Olives have been essential to life in Italy for at least 6,000 years—far longer...

How far back does the rich history of Italian olives and oil stretch? My new research, published in the American Journal of Archaeology, synthesizing and...