Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Joining the Resistance: Drug-immune microbes waft over hogs
Many bacteria found floating within a farm building are invulnerable to multiple antibiotics, confirming that airborne dispersal could spread drug-resistant microbes from animals to people.
- Earth
Shake Down: Deep tremors observed at San Andreas fault
Patterns of activity for a type of tremor that occurs deep beneath California's San Andreas fault may offer scientists a way to foretell earthquake activity there.
- Earth
Alpine glaciers on a hasty retreat
Comparisons of satellite images, aerial photos, and old surveys of Alpine glaciers indicate that the ice masses are losing area at an accelerating rate.
- Earth
Hidden Canyons
Among Earth's unsung geological masterpieces are undersea canyons, some of which stretch hundreds of kilometers and can be deep enough to hold skyscrapers.
- Earth
Ancient Heights: Leaf fossils track elevation changes
A new technique using altitude-dependent differences in fossil leaves may make it possible to chronicle the rise and fall of mountain ranges over millions of years.
- Earth
Snow Blow: Image of Mount Everest from orbit captures enormous plume
A photograph from Earth orbit of an immense plume of snow wafting from Mount Everest could shed new light on how strong winds redistribute precipitation in the Himalayas and other mountain chains.
- Earth
Some temblors probably were triggered by tides
Detailed analyses of large earthquakes suggest that some of them may have been triggered by strong tides in Earth's crust.
- Earth
Inhaled particles damage vascular lining
Airborne soot and other pollutant particles can impair the ability of tiny vessels in the body to properly regulate blood flow, an animal study finds.
- Earth
Damp sandcastles
What keeps the 500-meter-tall dunes of China's Badain Jaran desert immobile, despite arid, windy conditions, is a previously unknown source of groundwater.
- Earth
Salmon puzzle: Why did males turn female?
Most of the spawning female Chinook salmon in one part of the Columbia River appear to have started life as males.
- Earth
Dead zones may record river floods
Microorganisms that live in seafloor sediments deposited beneath periodically anoxic waters near the mouths of rivers could chronicle the years when those rivers flooded for extended periods.
- Earth
Lead’s a moving target at rifle ranges
The lead used in bullets and shotgun pellets can be a threat to the environment near rifle ranges but many of its hazards are manageable.
