Earth

  1. Earth

    Extinctions breed carbon chaos

    Massive die-off left ecosystems vulnerable, an analysis suggests.

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  2. Earth

    Chile quake didn’t reduce risk

    During the large 2010 tremor, faults ruptured mainly outside the area due for a big one, leaving the region vulnerable to future events.

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  3. Humans

    Amoebas in drinking water: a double threat

    Analysis reveals widespread, hidden contamination by the sometimes lethal parasites.

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  4. Earth

    Dispersants persisted after BP spill

    Chemicals used to break up oil remained in the Gulf’s depths months after being released, an analysis shows.

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  5. Math

    Unnatural selection

    Inflicting damage on targeted species can help preserve perturbed ecosystems.

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  6. Earth

    Glaciers largely stable in one range of Himalayas

    Amid icy retreats in neighboring ranges, ice in Karakoram region may even be growing, thanks to debris cover.

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  7. Earth

    Corals moving north

    As oceans warm, reefs off Japan shift to higher latitudes.

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  8. Earth

    2010 ties record for warmest year yet

    El Ni±o heated things up even as global temperatures continue to rise in the hottest decade on record.

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  9. Paleontology

    Early meat-eating dinosaur unearthed

    Pint-sized, two-legged runner from Argentina dates back to the dawn of the dinos, 230 million years ago.

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  10. Humans

    Night owls may want to dim their lights

    People who spend their evenings in relatively bright light run the risk of stressing their bodies by ratcheting down the production of melatonin. This hormone plays a pivotal role in setting the body’s biological clock – and, potentially, in limiting the development of certain cancers.

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  11. Life

    Aspens bust, diseased mice boom

    As trees decline, populations of rodents that carry the deadly sin nombre virus are on the rise.

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  12. Science & Society

    Methane from BP spill goes missing

    Latest sampling suggests either that microbes have already devoured the most abundant hydrocarbon produced by the leak — or that researchers have simply lost track of it.

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