Earth & Environment

Climate change could wipe out 20% of Colombia’s cocoa land by 2050, study warns

Colombia may lose nearly one-fifth of the land currently suitable for growing cocoa by 2050, according to a new scientific study. The research suggests that...

Why many middle‑aged Americans feel worse than previous generations

A growing number of Americans in their 50s and early 60s say they feel lonelier, more depressed, and physically weaker than people of the...

Why dance tracks dominate TikTok while love songs rule Spotify

What makes a song become a hit today? While listeners certainly play a role, new research suggests that streaming platforms and their algorithms also have...

US is less prone to oil price shocks than in past decades

Oil is a global market, so when prices rise in one place, they rise everywhere. The current war against Iran has already raised oil...

Scientists grow chickpeas in “moon dirt,” opening the door to farming on the Moon

As NASA prepares for future missions that could send astronauts back to the Moon, scientists are trying to answer an important question: what will...

Elephants steer clear of humans much more than other wildlife, study finds

Wild animals do not all react to human activity in the same way. A new study from Botswana shows that some species are much more...

Antarctica has lost ice the size of 10 Los Angeles cities in 30 years

A new 30-year study has revealed how Antarctica’s ice is slowly retreating along parts of its vast coastline. Scientists led by researchers at the University...

Did the first land plants accidentally trigger two ancient ocean extinctions?

Hundreds of millions of years ago, the first plants began spreading across Earth’s land. This major turning point helped transform the planet into the...

Fossil bite marks reveal ancient predator hunts 280 million years ago

New research suggests that large land predators were already hunting big plant-eating animals more than 280 million years ago, much earlier than scientists once...

Mars Express reveals a landscape filled with ancient craters on the red planet

A new image captured by the Mars Express orbiter offers a striking view of one of the most heavily cratered regions on Mars. The image...

Wildfire smoke may trigger more severe strokes

Air pollution is often thought of as a long‑term environmental problem, but new research suggests that even short bursts of polluted air may have...

Study finds doctors more likely to die at home

Many people wonder whether doctors make different choices about medical care at the end of life. Because physicians understand diseases, treatments, and hospital systems better...

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The smell of desert rain may be good for your health

Desert dwellers know it well: the smell of rain and the feeling of euphoria that comes when a storm washes over the parched earth. That...

New study reveals a hidden ‘mercury bomb’ in the Arctic

As the Arctic warms at a rate up to four times faster than the rest of the world, a hidden danger is emerging from...

Calming us down or revving us up, music can be good for the heart

Stuck in traffic, with a nasty storm making a stressful commute even worse, Joanne Loewy reached for the car radio. "I felt my heartbeat rise,"...

How climate change can harm your mental health

In recent years, more people have started feeling anxious about climate change. News reports often highlight rising temperatures, natural disasters, and the destruction of...

Why left-handed CEOs might be better at innovation—and business

Famous names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg are not just tech legends—they also have something else in common: they’re left-handed. While being...

Love in the dirt: How soil microbes might influence our emotions

Could the microbes living in soil have an impact on human emotions, relationships, and even feelings of love? Scientists from Flinders University in Australia think...

Smokers carry harmful compounds on their skin and clothes

In a new study, researchers found that people can carry hazardous compounds from cigarette smoke that cling to their bodies and clothes and then...

Scientists turn to Neandertals, an extinct human relative, for the answer of lower back...

Examining the spines of Neandertals, an extinct human relative, may explain back-related ailments experienced by humans today, a team of anthropologists has concluded in...