All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Earth
Firm evidence that Earth’s core is solid
Faint yet distinct ground motions recorded by a large network of seismic instruments in Japan in early 2006 are the strongest, most direct evidence that Earth’s inner core is solid.
- Life
Humans aided, constrained by fossil fuels
Maintaining long-term population will require alternate energy sources.
- Climate
Forecast: Gullywashers
Climate simulations are underestimating how often intense rainstorms occur at warm temperatures, a hint that episodes of extremely strong precipitation and flooding will strike more often as the global average temperature rises.
- Earth
Naked planet
Scientists officially launch OneGeology, a project that will produce a single digital map of the planet’s geological formations.
- Life
Time to chill
Well-preserved fossils deposited in an Antarctic lake about 14 million years ago pin down when a large part of the now-icy continent most recently dipped below freezing.
- Paleontology
Soft tissue in fossils still mysterious
New research suggests modern biofilms could contaminate ancient fossils.
- Earth
Seafloor chronicles
Survey of ocean floor reveals long history, from a geological fault to the wreckage of the Lusitania.
- Oceans
Death by magma
Widespread extinctions in the world’s oceans millions of years ago may have been triggered by massive underwater volcanic eruptions that created much of the Caribbean seafloor.
- Climate
Another climate ailment
Global warming may turn out to be more than just a pain in the neck: Rising average temperatures could trigger an increased prevalence of kidney stones.
- Earth
Howdy, neighbor!
About 800 million years ago, East Antarctica, now one of the coldest regions on Earth, abutted what is now Death Valley, Calif., one of the hottest.
- Earth
Precious little gems
Ancient microdiamonds embedded inside ancient zircons found in western Australia suggest that life may have existed on Earth up to 4.25 billion years ago.
- Physics
Layers in a Stradivarius
Slight differences in the wood from which violins are made might be what distinguishes a mellow-toned Stradivarius from an ordinary instrument.
