All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Paleontology
Fossils of early salamanders found
A recent discovery of fossilized salamanders pushes back a milestone in amphibian evolution by more than 100 million years.
- Earth
Ssshhh! South Pole has a new seismic station
Seismometers recently installed near the South Pole reveal that the area is the quietest spot on the planet for eavesdropping on earthquakes.
- Earth
Dust up north
Strong northeasterly winds blowing across coastal regions of southern Alaska recently exposed by melting snow launched massive clouds of dust over the Gulf of Alaska.
- Earth
Newfound gas is greenhouse powerhouse
Scientists have detected in the atmosphere for the first time a gas that traps heat more effectively than any other previously found there.
- Paleontology
Was T. rex just a big freeloader?
A new study suggests that an ecosystem like today’s African savanna could provide sufficient carrion to nourish a scavenger the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Earth
More Arctic clouds may lessen warming
Nearly 2 decades of satellite observations suggest that an increase in Arctic cloudiness at certain times of the year may partially counteract the effects of global warming in the region.
- Earth
Killer Crater: Shuttle-borne radar detects remnant of dino-killing impact
Radar images gathered during a flight of the space shuttle Endeavour 3 years ago show the subtle topography related to the impact of an asteroid or comet that may have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
- Earth
Slippin’ Slide: Glaciers surge after ice shelf collapses
Five of the six large glaciers that once fed into Antarctica's Larsen A ice shelf have sped up significantly since that floating ice mass collapsed and drifted away in January 1995.
- Ecosystems
Spring Forward
Scientists who study biological responses to seasonal and climatic changes have noted that the annual cycles for many organisms are beginning earlier on average, as global temperatures rise.
- Earth
Greenland’s ice is thinner at the margins
The central portion of Greenland's ice sheet is, on the whole, not getting any thinner, but most margins of the ice sheet are thinning substantially and contributing to rising sea levels.
- Earth
Ancient Taint: Likely source of old dioxins identified
Lab experiments show that the burning of peat from coastal areas of Scotland could be responsible for the enigmatic concentrations of dioxins sometimes found in pre-20th-century soils.
- Materials Science
Technique may yield vocal cord stand-in
A plastic material used in some biological implants could someday form a foundation for tissue that can repair or replace human vocal cords.
