Earth

Earth

Sexual Hang-Up: Fish hormones change when oxygen is scarce

Oxygen deprivation—an escalating problem in freshwater ecosystems worldwide—tampers with sex hormones in carp and might underlie the decline in some fish and amphibian species.

Earth

A Safe Solution

A home-based technique for treating microbe-contaminated water with chlorine solution could save millions of lives in countries that are currently unable to provide residents with safe drinking water.

Earth

An Ounce of Prevention

Fresh approaches may cut back greenhouse-gas emissions.

Earth

The Motion in the Ocean

Scientists dive deep to learn how the sea circulates.

Earth

If It’s Wet in Malaysia . . . : Afghan droughts linked to rain in Indian Ocean

An analysis of nearly 2 decades of weather patterns suggests a link between an abundance of precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean and a lack of rain in portions of southwestern Asia.

Earth

Proof of Burden

Two teams of scientists report that the blood and urine of most Americans contain toxic cocktails of metals, artificial hormones, and chemical ingredients of plastics, flame retardants, pesticides, herbicides, and disinfectants.

Earth

Dirty Story: Farming has increased flow of soil onto reef

Agricultural practices that early European settlers brought to eastern Australia sped the pace at which soil washes out to sea and settles over the Great Barrier Reef.

Earth

9/11 ash, and more, found in river muck

Sediment cores pulled from the Hudson River near the World Trade Center site contain a thin layer of metal-rich ash and pulverized debris.

Agriculture

Bt Cotton: Yields up in India; pests low in Arizona

Two cotton-growing centers that could hardly differ more—small farms in India and industrial fields in Arizona—provide case studies that show the bright side of a widespread genetically engineered crop.

Earth

Dust devils produce magnetic fields

Scientists who chase dust devils report that the tiny twisters can produce a small magnetic field that changes magnitude between 3 and 30 times per second.

Earth

Enjoy the beach. . .while it’s still there

Up to a quarter of the structures within 500 feet of America's coastlines may be lost to erosion in the next 60 years, according to a report issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week.

Earth

Putting Whales to Work: Cetaceans provide cheap labor in the icy deep

Whales equipped with environmental sensors discover warm water beneath Arctic ice.