Earth

Earth

Lava Life: Hints of microbes in ancient ocean rocks

Microscopic, carbon-lined tubes in lava that erupted onto the ocean floor about 3.5 billion years ago were etched by microbes, a number of signs suggest.

Earth

Sea Change: Ocean report urges new policies

To combat environmental degradation and encourage sustainable use of resources off the nation's shores, the U.S. government needs to double its investment in marine research, integrate management of coastal and inland ecosystems, restructure agencies that influence the oceans' health and productivity, and take other far-reaching steps, according to a commission created by Congress.

Earth

A slump or a slide? Density decides

Using a full-scale simulator, researchers showed that just a small difference in soil density determines whether a landslide becomes a fast-moving killer or merely one that slowly slumps downhill.

Earth

Weather Wise: Model may predict El Niño up to 2 years in advance

A new version of a climate-prediction model that includes detailed interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere could be used to foresee the onset of the climate-altering phenomenon known as El Niño.

Earth

Inhaling your food—and its cooking fuel

Cooking emits easily inhaled pollutants that travel throughout a home and can linger for hours.

Earth

Tales of the Undammed

Although destroying dams is often presumed to restore rivers, the results of such action are actually mixed, according to recent studies.

Earth

Night space images show development

Scientists may have come up with a way to use satellite images taken at night to estimate the rate of population growth in fire-prone areas and thereby better assess fire risk to specific groups of residents.

Earth

New U.N. treaty on toxic exports

The United Nations enacted a new treaty to ban exportation of any of a list of toxic chemicals without the prior informed consent of an importing nation.

Earth

Smoking out a source of painful menses

Breathing in secondhand smoke may contribute to the development of menstrual cramps.

Earth

Allergic to computing?

The plastic cases of certain computer monitors emit a chemical—triphenyl phosphate—that can cause allergic reactions.

Earth

Flaws make it a geologist’s best friend

By analyzing some of a diamond's trapped impurities, researchers were able to measure remnants of the gargantuan pressure that produced the gem.

Earth

Diesel fumes suppress immune response

Recurring exposure to soot particles from diesel exhaust fumes reduces the immune system's capacity to fend off infection, tests on rodents indicate.