Earth

  1. Life

    Early life forms may have been terrestrial

    A controversial theory suggests that at least some of the earliest widespread complex life forms lived on land.

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  2. Environment

    Big drain on groundwater

    Overuse of freshwater supplies poses risks.

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  3. Climate

    Climate change goes to extremes

    Some recent weird weather tied to warming.

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  4. Science & Society

    Descending to the Challenger Deep

    Director James Cameron reveals the science of his deep-sea exploration.

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  5. Life

    Among bass, easiest to catch are best dads

    Recreational fishing may be inadvertent evolutionary force, favoring cautious fish over better caretakers of the young.

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  6. Life

    Immune disease an added blow to fungus-ridden bat populations

    Rare immune complication previously seen only in people devastates animals that had appeared to evade white nose syndrome.

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  7. Earth

    Grand Canyon could be much older than thought

    Disputed dating of rock erosion pegs the ancient chasm as 70 million years old.

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  8. Earth

    Shrinking polar ice caused one-fifth of sea level rise

    Comprehensive analysis quantifies ice sheet loss in Greenland and Antarctica.

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  9. Life

    Trees worldwide a sip away from dehydration

    Plumbing systems operate on a razor’s edge, making even moist forests highly vulnerable to drought.

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  10. Earth

    Mexican silver made it into English coins

    Chemical tests of currency help reveal where New World riches flowed.

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  11. Earth

    Gulf spill harmed small fish, studies indicate

    Effects vary but dire impacts seen with some very low exposures.

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  12. Earth

    Global drought may have changed less than thought

    Simple models have overestimated drying over past 60 years.

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