Science News / Earth Science

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In This Issue

It’s written all over your face: To potential mates, your mug may reveal more than you think
Team spirit: Working together, bacteria and other microbes can accomplish much more than they can alone. Now scientists hope to harness that ability by engineering their own microbial consortia.
For a big view of inner Earth, catch a few…Geoneutrinos
This week's table of contents

:: Earth Science

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Early asteroids unexpectedly crusty

Two meteorites retrieved from West Antarctica, fragments of an ancient asteroid, contain a type of rock commonly found in Earth’s crust but previously unseen in meteorites.
Found in: Earth and Earth Science
Warmer oceans would fuel more thunderstorms

Satellite data reveal more thunderheads forming as tropical sea-surface temperatures rise.
Found in: Climate Change, Earth and Earth Science
Comment: Obama administration should lead energy transition

R.K. Pachauri, an engineer and economist by training, is director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, India, and a corecipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his role as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC periodically issues consensus reports on the science of climate change. Senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with him about changes he hopes to see from the Obama administration.
Found in: Climate Change, Earth Science, Ecology, Environment and Technology
Surprise find taps into magma

In a scientific first, engineers drill into a subterranean pocket of molten rock.
Found in: Earth and Earth Science
Severe heat and cold top list of deadly natural hazards

Data compilation by region, type of hazards shows deaths from more frequent events accumulate into significant numbers. Lightning strikes also high on the list.
Found in: Earth Science, Environment and Science & Society
Science & the Public: Holiday Gifts: Blog Sites

Sample other blogs and let us know of notables that we missed that are also worth sharing.
Found in: Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Environment, Nutrition, Science & Society and Technology
Meteorites could have thickened primordial soup

New experiments show that extraterrestrial impacts that occurred early in our planet's history could have created the raw materials for life.
Found in: Atom & Cosmos, Earth, Earth Science and Life
Methane even escapes from freezing permafrost

An extended field season reveals that the autumn freeze in the arctic squeezes methane from some high-latitude wetland soils, a match even for summertime methane release.
Found in: Earth and Earth Science
See More In Earth Science

Sights and Sounds

Photography

Atom Flipping
New equations for better MRI

Blogs:

Science & the Public Big Increase Coming for NIH — Maybe
By Janet Raloff Dec 19th 2008

Columns:

Comment SESAME opens doors to international collaboration
By Herman Winick Jan 2nd 2009

Math Trek The Sudoku solution
By Julie Rehmeyer Dec 23rd 2008

Not to Miss:

2008: Science News of the Year

Thwarting tree poachers

Pulsars in a new light

Guest column from Steven Chu

SN Bookshelf:

Book Review: Food Bites: The Science of the Foods We Eat by Richard W. Hartel and AnnaKate Hartel
Review by Dina Fine Maron
Buy now | More Books

Book Review: Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett
Review by Bruce Bower
Buy now | More Books

Planet Earth: An Illustrated History
A photographic tribute to the glories of nature, including picturesque landscapes, stunning aer...
Buy now | More Books