Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Rock made of plastic turns up on Hawaii beach
A new type of rock made from trash could mark human's impact on Earth in the future rock record.
- Agriculture
Fertilizer produces far more greenhouse gas than expected
Farmers’ overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers may explain previously puzzling high emissions of nitrous oxide.
- Health & Medicine
Health risks of e-cigarettes emerge
Research uncovers a growing list of chemicals that end up in an e-cigarette user’s lungs, and one study finds that an e-cigarette’s vapors can increase the virulence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Oceans
Dusk heralds a feeding frenzy in the waters off Oahu
Even dolphins benefit when layers of organisms in the water column overlap for a short period.
- Environment
Carbon dioxide levels hit landmark in Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere experienced the first full month with the greenhouse gas at or above the symbolic 400 parts per million level.
- Climate
Violent storms may shatter sea ice
Tall waves’ effect on sea ice hints at troubled water in the future.
- Climate
Environmental change may spur growth of ‘rock snot’
A controversial new theory suggests alga that forms rock snot isn’t an invader, but a low-key species native to many rivers.
- Ecosystems
Deep-sea trawling threatens oceans’ health
Dragging large nets along the seafloor to catch fish cuts organic matter and biodiversity in half and may threaten all of the world's underwater ecosystems.
- Climate
Forest fires may speed demise of Greenland’s ice sheet
Black carbon released by burning woodland darkens Greenland’s ice sheet, quickening its melt.
- Health & Medicine
Feedback
Readers question pertussis vaccination scheduling, share stories about earthquakes and more.
- Environment
Fukushima contamination affects butterfly larvae
Butterfly larvae fed leaves with radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear disaster had a higher rate of death and development abnormalities than larvae that got leaves from a location farther from the accident.
- Earth
Tiny earthquakes may follow groundwater loss
Draining California’s aquifers may stress San Andreas Fault, triggering earthquakes and forcing mountains to rise.
