Earth
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Ecosystems
As climate shifts, birds follow
Most of the birds in California’s Sierra Nevada range are on the move in response to recent climate changes.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
A hurricane-spawned tornado boom
Cyclones striking the Gulf Coast in recent years have spawned more twisters that those that hit the region in the mid-20th century.
By Sid Perkins -
Agriculture
Potato famine pathogen packs unusual, sneaky genome
DNA of infamous Phytophthora microbe reveals big, quick-changing zones, possibly the key to the pathogen’s vexing adaptability
By Susan Milius -
Earth
Atmospheric rollercoaster followed Great Oxidation Event
Analyses of chromium isotopes in banded iron formations suggest oxygen levels fell for a period after the Great Oxidation Event.
By Sid Perkins -
Life
One coral alga explodes with temperature increase
A rare species of coral algae exploded in population when ocean temperatures increased, a new study shows.
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Earth
Danger in the Air
To minimize the threat of volcanic ash plumes to aircraft, scientists are improving methods of satellite detection and developing ground-based gas and ash-plume sensors to monitor volcanic activity.
By Sid Perkins -
Planetary Science
Celestial population boom
Large meteoroids are probably more common than telescopic surveys suggest, new analyses find.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Unusual advances
New glacier model helps explain how ice masses can grow even in a generally warming climate.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Sun is setting on incandescent era
After more than a century, Edison's light bulbs stand poised to go extinct.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Cash for clunkers II: Appliances
States could soon roll out programs that help consumers replace energy hogging home appliances.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Oh, rats — there go the snails
A food fad among introduced rats has apparently crashed a once-thriving population of Hawaii’s famed endemic tree snails.
By Susan Milius