Earth & Environment
What it would have been like to experience the dinosaur‑killing asteroid Armageddon
A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air.
She picks up the scent from the carcass of a...
Shark embryos reveal ancient blueprint behind the faces of all jawed animals
Scientists studying shark embryos have uncovered evidence that the basic blueprint for building faces in jawed animals has remained largely unchanged for more than...
How ‘snowball Earth’ was a tug-of-war
Decades of research shows that Earth was once entirely or almost entirely frozen.
The episode is known as Snowball Earth, and though its occurrence is...
Scientists find major errors in global climate pollution database
A new study from researchers at Northern Arizona University has raised concerns about the accuracy of a widely used global greenhouse gas emissions database...
Ancient continents may have helped create the right conditions for life on Earth
Scientists have discovered that the rise of Earth’s first continents may have played a major role in making life possible.
According to a new study...
Climate change is quietly increasing stroke risk, experts warn
Many people think of climate change as something that affects the weather, the oceans, or wildlife. However, scientists are now warning that it is...
Rare metal helped ancient life thrive long before oxygen filled Earth
More than three billion years ago, life on Earth faced a difficult problem.
The planet’s oceans contained only tiny amounts of molybdenum, a rare metal...
From tree waste to clean air: How eucalyptus bark could help fight pollution
What if something usually thrown away could help solve some of our biggest environmental problems?
New research from RMIT University suggests that eucalyptus bark—often treated...
Vegan diet beats Mediterranean diet on emissions and metabolic health
Scientists have long known that what we eat affects our health. But now, new research shows that our food choices can also have a...
Scientists discover 75-million-year-old mammal that survived the dinosaur era
Scientists have discovered a new species of small mammal that lived at the same time as dinosaurs, offering fresh clues about how early mammals...
How the same genes shaped butterfly wings for 120 million years
Evolution is often described as a process full of chance and randomness.
But a new study suggests that it may be more predictable than we...
Why Strait of Hormuz crisis could quietly raise prices around the world
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has drawn attention mainly because of rising oil and petrol prices.
But focusing only on fuel misses a...
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How to vote safely during the pandemic
While an early voting surge has lightened the potential load on polling places, many people will show up at polling locations to cast ballots...
New fossils show life’s recovery after dinosaur-killing asteroid strike
A newly discovered collection of fossils reveals how life recovered after the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago at...
Earth can regulate its own temperature over millennia, MIT study finds
Our planet harbors a “stabilizing feedback” mechanism that acts over hundreds of thousands of years to pull the climate back from the brink.
Traveling farther away from home may boost your health
In a study from University College London, scientists found that traveling farther away from home may boost your health.
Scientists discover the oldest fortresses in the world
In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin, together with an international team, have unearthed ancient fortified settlements in Siberia that date back...
Los Angeles palm trees may be a major source of air pollution
Mexican fan palms, native to the deserts of northwestern Mexico, are a widely-planted ornamental throughout the Los Angeles basin.
They are contributing substantially to the...
Safe or not? New labels to show if your smart device protects your privacy
Think of a time when you bought a product that had a sticker or label on it, indicating that it was energy efficient or...
UV radiation can cause this eye cancer
In a new study, researchers found that ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause a rare type of eye cancer, conjunctival melanoma.
They found strikingly similar genetic...