Earth

  1. Climate

    The greatest natural disaster that almost was

    The public’s response to the widest tornado ever recorded suggests earlier warnings need to be done right.

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  2. Climate

    Weather forecasting is getting a high-speed makeover

    Meteorologists are throwing new technology at the problem of weather forecasting to provide faster and more precise predictions of the coming weather.

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  3. Climate

    Onshore hurricanes in a slump

    No major hurricanes have made landfall in the United States for over nine years. That’s a rare occurrence, new research shows.

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  4. Environment

    Low levels of lead linked to lower test scores in children

    A large study in grade-school children finds that even low blood levels of lead may be associated with poor school performance.

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  5. Planetary Science

    The moon is about as old as we thought it was

    Meteorite heat signatures pinpoint the age of the collision that created the moon — confirming many previous lunar age estimates.

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  6. Environment

    Oil from BP spill probably sprayed out in tiny drops

    Oil that gushed from the well in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill may have shattered into tiny droplets, with high pressures doing the work of dispersants.

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  7. Earth

    Meeting of the Americas came early, study suggests

    Volcanic crystals thought to have formed in Panama and found in an ancient Colombian streambed hint that North and South America may have met up roughly 10 million years earlier than once thought.

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  8. Animals

    Tiny sea turtles are swimmers, not drifters

    Young green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles moved in different directions than instruments set adrift in the sea, which shows the animals were swimming.

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  9. Animals

    Dealing with droughts, museums going digital and more reader feedback

    Readers share their experiences with dry weather in the U.S., discuss how humans mentally sort quantities and more.

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  10. Science & Society

    One anniversary to celebrate, one to contemplate

    In this issue, both feature articles focus on anniversaries, though of two very different kinds.

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  11. Environment

    Controversial insecticide use rises as farmers douse seeds

    Use of neonicotinoids, a class of controversial insecticides, has risen dramatically, posing threat to pollinating insects.

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  12. Climate

    Canadian glaciers face drastic demise

    Western Canadian glaciers will shrink 70 percent by 2100, a detailed melting simulation suggests.

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