Earth

  1. Animals

    Life in the polar ocean is surprisingly active in the dark winter

    The Arctic polar winter may leave marine ecosystems dark for weeks on end, but life doesn’t shut down, a new study finds.

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  2. Animals

    Alpine bee tongues shorten as climate warms

    Pollinators’ match with certain alpine flowers erodes as climate change pushes fast evolution.

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  3. Cosmology

    Complexity in the universe, hidden craters and more reader feedback

    Readers discuss order and disorder in the universe, the languages of science communication and more.

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  4. Particle Physics

    Map captures Earth’s antineutrino glow

    Tiny subatomic particles called antineutrinos stream away from Earth at different concentrations across the globe, a new map illustrates.

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  5. Climate

    Hurricane reports ignore indirect deaths

    Nearly half of all hurricane and tropical storm fatalities are indirect, yet they typically aren’t included in official storm reports.

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  6. Earth

    Shortcut math predicts tsunami height quickly

    The September 16 earthquake that rattled Chile proved an unexpected test for new numerical calculations that could provide quicker forecasts of incoming tsunamis.

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  7. Oceans

    Giant barrel sponges are hijacking Florida’s coral reefs

    Giant barrel sponges are gradually taking over and threatening Florida’s coral reefs, a new census suggests.

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  8. Environment

    Home fires, farm fumes are leading causes of air-pollution deaths

    Deadly air pollution comes from surprising sources, but toxicity of different types is still up in the air.

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  9. Animals

    Warmer waters give Arctic mosquitoes a growth spurt

    Arctic mosquitoes develop faster in warmer waters, outpacing increased predation.

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  10. Climate

    Earth just had its first storm-free hurricane peak in 38 years

    This year marks the first time since 1977 that September 12, the typical height of the Atlantic hurricane season, passed without a single major cyclone anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

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  11. Animals

    Shipwreck provides window into Tudor-era cod fishing

    In the 1500s, England was feeding its navy with fish caught far from home, a new study finds.

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  12. Climate

    Burning remaining fossil fuels would eradicate Antarctic ice

    Finishing off Earth’s available carbon resources would nearly eliminate the Antarctic ice sheet and raise sea levels by more than 50 meters, new research calculates.

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