Earth
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Earth
Erosion, on the down low
Experiments show how microscopic fungi attack minerals to begin the erosion process.
By Sid Perkins -
Humans
What’s in your bottled water?
A congressional hearing found bottled-water quality is not regulated as strictly as tap water is.
By Janet Raloff -
Humans
Court backs EPA on controlling airborne particles
Upwind polluters can be held responsible for contributing to downwinders' violations of air-pollution standards.
By Janet Raloff -
Animals
Megafish Sleuth: No Steve Irwin
There's no reason a scientist can't be an action hero — even if his damsels in distress have fins.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Monster stingrays: Field notes from a global wrangler
A megafish biologist shares what he's learning about a rare freshwater species.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Bad Breath
New studies detail how the invisible particles that pollute the air can damage heart, lungs and genetic programming.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
New cyclone predictor
Researchers link occasional sea-surface warming in central Pacific with more, stronger hurricanes in North Atlantic.
By Sid Perkins -
Chemistry
Concerns over bisphenol A continue to grow
Recent research finds that the hormone mimic may be more prevalent and more harmful than previously thought, highlighting why BPA is a growing worry for policy makers.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Plastics ingredients may shrink babies
A new study links phthalates, one of the more ubiquitous families of pollutants, with a baby being dangerously small at birth.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
How killer whales are like people
Killer whales may be sentinels for toxic chemicals accumulating in even landlubbers.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Dirty snow may bring green burst to mountain peaks
Dust blowing in from distant deserts speeds the melting of snow and may shake up ecosystems on the slopes.
By Susan Milius -
Planetary Science
Losing Louisiana
A new model predicts that rises in sea level, combined with subsiding lands, will claim a tenth of the state by century’s end.
By Sid Perkins