Earth
- Environment
Thirdhand smoke poses lingering danger
Harmful cigarette chemicals that linger on surfaces, known as thirdhand smoke, can go on to pollute the air and may harm people’s health.
- Earth
More multi-tornado days in the forecast for U.S.
The number of days per year with tornadoes has gone down over the last few decades in the U.S., but the number of days that see 30 or more twisters is going up.
- Climate
Melting ice forces walrus detour
Warming temperatures and shrinking summer ice cover have forced the animals to seek solid ground during feeding season.
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- Earth
Early animals couldn’t catch a breath
Low levels of oxygen may have hindered evolution of animal life hundreds of millions of years ago.
- Environment
Oil from BP spill may be sitting on seafloor
More than four years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists find that oil is still lingering over a large area on the seafloor.
- Paleontology
Ancient jellyfish suffered strange, sandy death
A fossil hints at the unusual series of events that led to an ancient jellyfish’s preservation and may offer clues to understanding odd sand deposits found elsewhere.
- Animals
Southern birds may be moving into your winter backyard
A warming climate is letting warm-adapted birds live farther north in winter, a new study finds.
- Environment
No water contamination found in Ohio’s fracking epicenter
Methane in Ohio groundwater comes from biological sources, such as bacteria, not fossil fuel exploration.
- Environment
Engineered plants demolish toxic waste
With help from bacteria, plants could one day clean up polluted sites.
- Physics
Falling raindrops break terminal velocity
Unknown mechanism causes tiny raindrops to fall faster than terminal velocity.
- Climate
Rivers may gush under sullied skies
By dimming sunlight and curbing evaporation, air pollution can increase the amount of water flowing through rivers, new simulations suggest.
