Earth

Chemistry

Nanosilver disinfects — but at what price?

Silver demonstrates some unusual immunological impacts at the nanoscale.

Earth

Marine pollution spawns ‘wonky babies’

Featured blog: Pollutants at sea can slow critters' sperm or induce DNA damage.

Earth

Plate tectonics got an early start

The chemistry of minerals preserved in Australian rocks suggests tectonic activity for Earth’s earliest eon.

Earth

Antidepressants make for sad fish

Fish may suffer substantially from even brief encounters with antidepressants, which wastewater releases into river water.

Paleontology

Bacteria may play big role in forming fossils

Bacteria can build a biofilm that preserves a tissue's structure.

Humans

Is Your Fish Oil Polluted?

Clues to gauging the likely purity of fish-oil capsules.

Humans

When Not to Flush

Toilets are not where we should be disposing of unwanted medicines.

Earth

Antidepressants Aren’t for Fish

Antidepressants can play potentially dangerous mind games with fish.

Humans

What an Acid Bath!

One fallout of space shuttle launches can be a transient change in water pH.

Earth

It’s Night: Why’s It So Light?

We're wasting scads of energy while much of the world sleeps.

Earth

Subglacial lakes flood, glaciers speed up

Floods that occasionally surge from immense lakes trapped beneath the Antarctic ice sheet can significantly affect the flow rate of overlying glaciers, a new study shows.

Life

Supreme Court lifts restriction on Navy sonar testing

Justices overturn restrictions that require Navy to stop using sonar when marine mammals are within 2,200 yards of vessels.