7,733 results
- Earth
Seismic noise can yield maps of Earth’s crust
The small, random, and nearly constant seismic waves that travel in all directions through Earth's crust can be used to make ultrasoundlike images of geologic features within the crust.
- Tech
Is Anybody out There?
To speed the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers are using extreme conditions on Earth to develop a flotilla of detection devices to tease out signs of life in unlikely places.
- Earth
Last Gasp: Toxic gas could explain great extinction
Sudden venting of hydrogen sulfide from the deep sea could have caused the largest extinction in Earth's history by poisoning land animals and destroying atmospheric ozone that protects Earth from ultraviolet light.
- Chemistry
Energy on Ice
Recent efforts to unlock a frozen source of natural gas deep under the permafrost and ocean floor have energized prospects for a methane-hydrate industry.
- Ecosystems
Squirt Alert
A sea animal of unknown origins and lacking any known predator has begun commandeering ecosystems in cool coastal waters throughout the world.
- Earth
Dead zones may record river floods
Microorganisms that live in seafloor sediments deposited beneath periodically anoxic waters near the mouths of rivers could chronicle the years when those rivers flooded for extended periods.
- Earth
PCBs damage fish immune systems
A common Arctic fish can suffer subtle immunological impairments from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls at concentrations recorded in some remote polar waters.
- Earth
Really hot water
Hot-water tanks can accumulate radioactive deposits from naturally occurring radioactive material.
- Earth
Seismic vibes gauge Earth’s crust
New seismic observations are adding to scientists' knowledge of the thickness of Earth's crust, especially in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Humans
From the May 25, 1935, issue
A yacht's air resistance-reducing mast, plants that absorb poison, and new fossils from Patagonia.
- Humans
When Fair Means Superb: Young scientists and engineers meet in international competition
A record 1,447 high school students from 45 countries shone their brightest in Phoenix last week as they competed at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
- Earth
Hit Again: December temblor probably caused new Sumatran quakes
Seismic activity that rattled the Indonesian region early this week, including a quake that measured a whopping magnitude 8.7, was triggered by December's massive tsunami-spawning earthquake, scientists suggest.
