Earth
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Science & Society
One anniversary to celebrate, one to contemplate
In this issue, both feature articles focus on anniversaries, though of two very different kinds.
- 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.
- Climate
Canadian glaciers face drastic demise
Western Canadian glaciers will shrink 70 percent by 2100, a detailed melting simulation suggests.
