All Stories by Sid Perkins
- 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.
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- Earth
If It’s Wet in Malaysia . . . : Afghan droughts linked to rain in Indian Ocean
An analysis of nearly 2 decades of weather patterns suggests a link between an abundance of precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean and a lack of rain in portions of southwestern Asia.
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Dirty RATS: Campaign ad may have swayed voters subliminally
Psychological research sparked by a controversial campaign advertisement aired during the 2000 presidential election suggests that the 30-second spot—which briefly flashed "RATS"—may have negatively affected viewers’ opinions of Democratic candidate Al Gore.
- Paleontology
Was it sudden death for the Permian period?
The massive extinctions that came at the end of the Permian period could have occurred within a mere 8,000 years, which suggests a catastrophic cause for the die-offs.
- Earth
9/11 ash, and more, found in river muck
Sediment cores pulled from the Hudson River near the World Trade Center site contain a thin layer of metal-rich ash and pulverized debris.
- Humans
Budget Boosts and Busts: R&D for Defense, NASA garner funding rise
The President's $2.23 trillion federal budget proposal contains nearly $123 billion to fund federal research and development, an increase of about $8 billion over last year’s proposal.
- Earth
Dust devils produce magnetic fields
Scientists who chase dust devils report that the tiny twisters can produce a small magnetic field that changes magnitude between 3 and 30 times per second.
