Earth
- Humans
Big fish return to Mexican marine park
Most effects of overharvesting reversed within a decade.
- Tech
Sparing the rare earths
Potential shortages of useful metals inspire scientists to seek alternatives for magnet technologies
- Humans
Bag lunches invite disease, study finds
“Sack” lunches often pose a ticking bacterial bomb, a new study indicates. And including an ice pack or two — ostensibly to keep perishables at safe temperatures — won’t necessarily eliminate the risk.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
Ancient monster eruption found, plus balancing sea ice, Bt-resistant beetles and more in this week’s news.
- Life
Bacteria binged on BP oil but didn’t grow
Researchers suspect the spilled crude didn’t provide a balanced diet.
- Earth
Marine microbes prove potent greenhouse gas emitters
Earth’s oceans emit an estimated 30 percent of the nitrous oxide, or N2O, entering the atmosphere. Yet the source of this potent greenhouse gas has puzzled scientists for years. Bacteria — long the leading candidate — can generate nitrous oxide, but the seas don’t seem to contain enough to account for all of the nitrous oxide that the marine world has been coughing up. Now researchers offer a better candidate.
- Earth
Eels point to suffocating Gulf floor
In June, scientists predicted that the Gulf of Mexico’s annual dead zone — a subsea region where the water contains too little oxygen to support life — might develop into the biggest ever. In fact, that didn’t happen. Owing to the fortuitous arrival of stormy weather, this year’s dead zone peaked at about 6,800 square miles, scientists reported on Aug. 1 — big but far from the record behemoth of 9,500 square miles that had been mentioned as distinctly possible.
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- Humans
EPA considers new call for toxicity testing of BPA
The Environmental Protection Agency solicited public comment, July 26, about whether to require new toxicity testing and environmental sampling of bisphenol A, an ingredient in many plastics and food-contact resins.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
A killer methane belch, radon-siphoning trees, deep oil-spill science and more in this week’s news.
- Earth
Small volcanoes add up to cooler climate
Airborne particles sent skyward by eruptions since 2000 have counteracted the warming effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
Tracking carbon dioxide, fingerprinting uranium and understanding phthalates in boys in this week's news.
