Earth
- Math
Swarming locusts impossible to predict
A mathematical analysis shows that random factors underlie the insects’ movements across the landscape.
- Planetary Science
Hole from on high
Researchers discover a fresh meteorite impact crater using Google Earth.
- Animals
Fearless tadpoles give invaders the edge
Clueless larvae don’t heed the scent of nonnative turtles, giving newcomers an edge over native species, a European study finds.
- Agriculture
Germs eyed to make foods safer
Adding viruses to foods doesn’t sound appetizing, much less healthy. But it’s a stratagem being explored to knock some of the more virulent food poisoning bacteria out of the U.S. food supply. Scientists described data supporting the tactic July 18 at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting in Chicago.
- Earth
New ‘walking’ fishes discovered in Gulf oil-spill zone
Pancake batfishes may be getting oiled before they get named.
- Earth
Mangroves do a coast good
Left intact, dense swaths of trees can reduce tsunami damage, a new study suggests.
- Earth
Africa’s bumper crop of dust
Seafloor sediments show that agriculture has greatly boosted airborne dust in the last two centuries.
- Climate
New carbon data should produce better climate forecasts
BLOG: More refined measurements for carbon dioxide input by plants and carbon dioxide released during respiration will help models, Science News editor in chief Tom Siegfried reports from the Euroscience Open Forum 2010 in Turin, Italy.
- Climate
Methane releases in arctic seas could wreak devastation
Warming climate could lead to dead zones, acidification and shifts at the base of the ocean’s food chain.
- Earth
African fossils suggest complex life arose early
Researchers find evidence that Earth’s earliest multicellular life got going 2.1 billion years ago.
- Earth
Moby Dick meets Jaws
A recently discovered fossil demonstrates that giant whales weren’t always as gentle as they are today.
- Earth
Ivy nanoparticles promise sunblocks and other green products
I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with English ivy that’s been devolving towards hate-hate. But a new paper may temper my antipathy. Apparently this backyard bully also offers a kinder, gentler alternative to the potentially toxic metal-based nanoparticles used in today’s sunscreens.
