Earth
- Archaeology
Ancient South American populations dipped due to an erratic climate
Scientists link bouts of intense rainfall and drought around 8,600 to 6,000 years ago to declining numbers of South American hunter-gatherers.
- Life
1 million species are under threat. Here are 5 ways we speed up extinctions
One million of the world’s plant and animal species are now under threat of extinction, a new report finds.
- Earth
The search for new geologic sources of lithium could power a clean future
Futuristic clean-energy visions of electric vehicles are driving the hunt for lithium.
- Earth
A belly full of wriggling worms makes wood beetles better recyclers
Common beetles that eat rotten logs chew up more wood when filled with a roundworm larvae, releasing nutrients more quickly back to the forest floor.
- Agriculture
Can Silicon Valley entrepreneurs make crickets the next chicken?
Entrepreneurs are bringing automation and data analysis to insect agriculture to build a profitable business that helps feed the planet.
- Earth
Dry sand can bubble and swirl like a fluid
Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber, and they can flow like fluids under the right conditions.
- Physics
Here’s what causes the aurora-like glow known as STEVE
Amateur astronomer images and satellite data are revealing what causes the strange atmospheric glow called STEVE.
- Animals
Endangered green sea turtles may be making a comeback in the U.S. Pacific
The numbers of green sea turtles spotted around Hawaii, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands have increased in the last decade.
- Microbes
A global survey finds that the Arctic Ocean is a hot spot for viruses
Scientists mapped virus diversity around the world’s oceans. That knowledge may be key to making better climate simulations.
- Earth
More than a million tiny earthquakes revealed in Southern California
By putting millions of tiny quakes on record, scientists hope to learn more about what triggers the big ones.
- Earth
Warm, dry winds may be straining Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf
Wind-induced melting that occurred during the Antarctic autumn may be accelerating the Larsen C ice shelf’s collapse, which could raise sea levels.
- Climate
Tiny microplastics travel far on the wind
Airborne bits of plastic that originated in cities ended up in pristine mountains at least 95 kilometers away, a study finds.
