Earth

Chemistry

From Aerators to Rust — New Lead Risks

Rusty water and other unusual sources of toxic risks in home drinking water.

Chemistry

Faucets Destined for Brassy Changes

Although new standards poised to take effect in a few years will reduce the lead-leaching risk from drinking water faucets, showerheads and many other water dispensers around will remain unregulated.

Tech

Lead-free? Faucets are anything but

Featured blog: Users of brand-new buildings on a major university campus were surprised to discover high concentrations of lead in the water. Faucets were the culprit.

Chemistry

Holey Copper Pipes!

Engineers are homing in on germs and other surprises behind the development of tiny holes in home water pipes.

Animals

Farm chemicals can indirectly hammer frogs

A widely used agricultural weed killer teams up with fertilizer to render frogs especially vulnerable to debilitating parasites.

Earth

The Case for Very Hot Water

Turning down the thermostat on a home's water heater could foster the growth of toxic bacteria in home plumbing.

Earth

Big Water Losses

America's ailing water-delivery infrastructure is literally throwing clean water away -- and dirtying some of what it moves toward our taps.

Life

Heat sensors guide insects to a hot meal

Bugs home in on seeds by detecting infrared radiation.

Life

Avian airlines: Alaska to New Zealand nonstop

Tracked bar-tailed godwits break previous nonstop flight record for birds.

Humans

Elephants’ struggle with poaching lingers on

Even as African elephants struggle to recover from decades-old poaching, the animals face new and renewed threats today.

Tech

Coal Country’s New Foresters

New techniques may be shaving a century or two off the recovery of mined mountain tops.

Tech

Trading Forests for Coal

Forested mountain peaks have been giving way to grassy planes in Appalachian coal country.