All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Paleontology
Ancient slowpoke
A 1-centimeter-long, 505-million-year-old fossil from British Columbia represents a creature that joins two lineages of marine invertebrates from that era that scientists previously hadn't linked.
- Earth
Subglacial lakes may influence ice flow
The flow of water into and out of massive, ice-covered lakes in Antarctica may influence the speed at which the overlying glaciers move toward the sea.
- Health & Medicine
A cornea that’s got some nerve
Researchers have developed a technique to grow corneal tissue that includes nerve cells, an advance that may enable them to test consumer products in lab dishes rather than live animals.
- Ecosystems
Warming Sign? Larger dead zones form off Oregon coast
Unprecedented recent changes in the yearly pattern of ocean currents off North America's West Coast have wreaked havoc on aquatic ecosystems there, another possible symptom of Earth's warming climate.
- Earth
Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning
The lumps of glass created when lightning strikes sandy ground can preserve information about ancient climate.
- Earth
From Bad to Worse: Earth’s warming to accelerate
Global warming is real and will continue, and there's strong evidence that people are to blame, an international panel of scientists has concluded.
- Ecosystems
An unexpected, thriving ecosystem
A diverse group of creatures beneath an Antarctic ice shelf could give pause to researchers who infer past ecological conditions from fossils found in such sediments.
- Earth
Corn, a new sensor of carbon dioxide
Scientists have developed a way to use corn plants to monitor and map human-generated emissions of carbon dioxide.
- Tech
Wrinkle, wrinkle, little polymer
Scientists have developed a cheap and easy way to create specific patterns of tiny wrinkles on the surface of a flexible and commonly used polymer, a technique that could be used to fabricate an assortment of microdevices.
- Materials Science
Microstructures make a beetle brilliant
Engineers looking to make a variety of surfaces whiter and brighter could learn a few things from a lowly beetle.
- Earth
Sudden Chill
Today's combination of nuclear proliferation, political instability, and urban demographics increases the likelihood that humankind could suffer a devastating nuclear winter.
- Paleontology
Ancient Glider: Dinosaur took to the air in biplane style
About 125 million years before the Wright Brothers took to the air with their biplane, a 1-meter-long dinosaur may have been swooping from tree to tree using the same arrangement of wings.
