Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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
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.
- Earth
Choked Up: How dead zones affect fish reproduction
Some Gulf coast fish exposed to low oxygen are experiencing reproductive problems, and lab studies suggest that a particular protein that silences or reduces sex hormones may be to blame.
- Earth
DDT linked to miscarriages
A study of Chinese women finds that the pesticide DDT can not only affect menstrual cycles but also foster miscarriages very early in pregnancy.
- Earth
Can phthalates subtly alter boys?
Researchers have linked a mom's exposure to phthalates with a genital marker in boys suggesting a subtle feminization of their reproductive organs.
- Agriculture
Frozen Assets
A U.S. gene bank has begun deep-freezing semen and other livestock 'seed' for possible future use in research or breeding.
- Earth
Pesticide Disposal Goes Green
Chemists have developed a new technology to safely clean up toxic agricultural pesticides and a whole lot more.
- Earth
Fighting Water with Water: To lift the city, pump the sea beneath Venice
With technology commonly used in oil fields, engineers could inject large volumes of seawater into sandy strata deep beneath Venice, Italy, to reverse the ground subsidence that plagues the city.
- Earth
Dioxin-type carcinogens pose additive risks
Pollutants known as dioxins, furans, and certain chemically related polychlorinated biphenyls have additive cancer-causing effects when mixed together, as has been assumed in calculating the chemicals' health risks.
