Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
When Genes Escape
The focus of the debate over transgenic crops has changed from whether genes will escape to what difference it will make when they do.
- Earth
Scrutinized chemicals linger in atmosphere
The newly determined longevity in the atmosphere of certain perfluorinated chemicals indicates that they may disperse environmental contamination far and wide.
- Earth
Weekend weather really is different
Analyses of more than 40 years of weather data from around the world reveal that in some regions the difference between daily high and low temperatures on weekend days varies significantly from that measured on weekdays.
- Agriculture
Calling All Cows
Last May, tissues from the carcass of a North American cow turned up positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy–the ailment responsible for mad cow disease. Within hours, the Canadian government traced the animal to the Alberta farm where it had been raised for its 8 years of life. In short order, other members of its herd […]
- Earth
North vs. Northwest: Lewis and Clark diaries provide directional clue
Observations from the Lewis and Clark expedition may offer insight into Earth's magnetic field.
- Earth
Volcanic Legacy: Tortoises chronicle eruption in their genes
An ancient volcanic eruption in the Galápagos Islands left its legacy in the diminished genetic diversity of one subspecies of the archipelago's famed giant tortoises.
- Earth
On Thinning Ice
Although some of Earth's glaciers seem to be holding their own in the face of global warming, most of them are on the decline, many of them significantly.
- Earth
Mapping carbon dioxide from space
An orbiting observatory in space will sense atmospheric carbon dioxide levels around the globe, creating a detailed map of the greenhouse gas' sources and sinks.
- Earth
The Making of a Grand Canyon
Carving this beloved hole in the ground may not have been such a long-term project.
- Earth
Model offers grounds for midwestern quakes
A new computer model may help explain how earthquakes can happen at fault zones located far from the edges of a tectonic plate.
- Earth
River Stats Trickle In: Major floods may be waning in Europe
A new analysis of historical flood records from central Europe suggests that widespread inundations in the region have been on the wane for the past century or so.
- Earth
New mantle model gets the water out
A novel notion of geophysical processes taking place deep within our planet may explain why the upper layer of Earth's mantle is relatively depleted of many trace elements.
