Earth

Earth

Lead delays puberty

Even low concentrations of lead in a girl's body may delay her reproductive maturation.

Earth

Meteorite Crater

The Barringer Crater in Arizona is one of the more famous geological sites on Earth. This Web site recounts the history and science of the crater’s formation 50,000 years ago and provides information about its discovery, its purchase by D.M. Barringer, and its current status. Go to: http://www.barringercrater.com/

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Spawning Trouble: Synthetic estrogen hampers trout fertility

Exposure to a synthetic estrogen called ethynylestradiol, which is commonly found in birth control pills and enters the waterways through sewage effluent, reduces male trout’s fertility by half.

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Treaty is Imminent for Genetically Engineered Foods

The Republic of Palau–a 9-year-old confederation of some 300 Pacific islands–has fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and a land area only about 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. Yet this tiny nation southeast of the Philippines made big history last week when its government became the 50th to ratify the United Nations’ Cartagena Protocol, a […]

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New Concerns about Phthalates

Boys may face an eventual reproductive risk from exposure to some of the ingredients that go into many common plastics, cosmetics, and medical supplies.

Earth

Study gives new answer for muddy mystery

Geologists provide evidence that quartz silt in ancient seabeds doesn't come from eroded land rocks, but rather from the dissolved skeletons of tiny primitive creatures, possibly altering the fossil record and changing models of prehistoric climate and ocean geography.

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Rocks for Kids

Can’t tell pyrite from magnetite? Looking for an entertaining, colorful introduction to rocks and minerals? The Mineralogical Society of America has created a Web site, aimed at kids, that provides information about minerals and their classification, properties, and uses. It includes a selection of games with a mineral theme. Go to: http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/K12/K_12.html

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More fish survive if plankton bloom early

Data collected by Earth-orbiting satellites and oceangoing trawlers suggest that juvenile haddock of Nova Scotia are more abundant in years when plankton populations peak earlier than normal.

Earth

Satellites unravel a spot of mystery

Five satellites that happened to be in the right places at the right time may have confirmed the cause of proton auroral spots, aurora-like phenomena that appear high in Earth's atmosphere.

Earth

Oceans Aswirl

Whirls of ocean water up to hundreds of kilometers across create biological oases, transport heat from tropical climes to cooler latitudes, and affect everything from offshore oil platforms to long-distance yacht races.

Earth

Sticky Situation: Nonstick surfaces can turn toxic at high heat

Nonstick cookware can, if overheated, sicken people and kill birds, according to a new analysis of research published over the past 40 years.

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Whale meat in Japan is loaded with mercury

Some people in Japan who eat dolphins and other toothed whales are ingesting amounts of mercury that exceed legal health limits.