Earth

  1. Earth

    Mineral hunting, mob math and more reader feedback

    Readers ask about Earth's most abundant mineral and discuss the notoriously unpredictable behavior of pedestrians.

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  2. Physics

    Raindrops kick up soil chemicals

    The champagne-like fizz produced when a raindrop hits the ground may be responsible for the earthy aroma after a rainstorm.

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  3. Climate

    Artificial fixes for climate change nixed — for now

    Experts says schemes to manually adjust the world’s climate are not ready for use, but should be studied just in case.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers

    Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.

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  5. Environment

    Humans’ environmental rap sheet gets longer

    Ice cores reveal human-caused air pollution 240 years before the Industrial Revolution.

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  6. Environment

    Funding canceled for clean coal plant

    The Department of Energy has scrapped funding for FutureGen, a project to use new technology to sequester carbon dioxide emissions from a coal power plant.

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  7. Environment

    Funding canceled for clean coal plant

    The Department of Energy has scrapped funding for FutureGen, a project to use new technology to sequester carbon dioxide emissions from a coal power plant.

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  8. Ecosystems

    Termite mound paradises help buffer dry land against climate change

    Landscapes dotted by Africa’s great termite mounds look on the verge of turning into desert but are, in fact, more resilient.

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  9. Earth

    Ice ages boost production of new ocean crust

    When sea levels drop during ice ages, magma at mid-ocean ridges surges.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    E-cigarettes lower immunity to flu and other germs

    Electronic cigarettes produce substantial amounts of lung inflammation, a new mouse study finds. They may also reduce the ability to fight off infections from strep and flu germs.

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  11. Earth

    Geologists discover tectonic plate’s slippery underbelly

    Slippery layer of partially melted rock underneath tectonic plate revealed using reflected dynamite blast vibrations.

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  12. Environment

    Tuna mercury rising

    From 1998 to 2008, mercury levels in Hawaiian Yellowfin tuna have increased by 3.8 percent per year, researchers suggest.

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