Earth

  1. Life

    Sea sponges launch slow-motion snot rockets to clean their pores

    Sea sponges rely on a sneezing mechanism to clear their pores, using mucus to flush out debris. This mucus provides food for other marine life.

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  2. Animals

    Relocated beavers helped mitigate some effects of climate change

    Along a river in Washington state, the repositioned beavers built dams that lowered stream temperatures and boosted water storage.

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  3. Environment

    Electrical bacteria may help clean oil spills and curb methane emissions

    Cable bacteria are living electrical wires that may become a tool to reduce methane emissions and clean oil spills.

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  4. Climate

    Humans may not be able to handle as much heat as scientists thought

    Humans’ capacity to endure heat stress may be lower than previously thought — bad news as climate change leads to more heat waves around the globe.

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  5. Environment

    How to make jet fuel from sunlight, air and water vapor

    Solar kerosene could one day replace petroleum-derived jet fuel in airplanes and help stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.

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  6. Environment

    Underground heat pollution could be tapped to mitigate climate change

    Data from thousands of groundwater well sites in Europe reveal that more than half of the locations possess usable underground heat.

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  7. Science & Society

    In the battle of human vs. water, ‘Water Always Wins’

    In her new book, environmental journalist Erica Gies follows people who are looking for better solutions to extreme droughts and floods.

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  8. Environment

    Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites

    Bumblebees have higher chances of contracting a gut parasite from short, wide flowers than from blooms with other shapes, experiments show.

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  9. Environment

    How to build better ice towers for drinking water and irrigation

    “Ice stupas” emerged in 2014 as a way to cope with climate change shrinking glaciers. Automation could help improve the cones’ construction.

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  10. Earth

    50 years ago, a new theory of Earth’s core began solidifying

    In 1972, scientists proposed that Earth’s core formed as the planet came together. Fifty years later, that theory is generally accepted, though many mysteries about the core remain.

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  11. Paleontology

    Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever

    Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.

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  12. Environment

    Earth’s oldest known wildfires raged 430 million years ago

    430-million-year-old fossilized charcoal suggests atmospheric oxygen levels of at least 16 percent, the amount needed for fire to take hold and spread.

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