Earth
- Climate
As temperatures rise, so do insects’ appetites for corn, rice and wheat
Hotter, hungrier pests likely to do 10 percent to 25 percent more damage to grains for each warmer degree.
- Earth
Artificial intelligence could improve predictions for where quake aftershocks will hit
Scientists trained an artificial intelligence system to figure out where aftershocks are likely to occur.
- Health & Medicine
As algae blooms increase, scientists seek better ways to predict these toxic tides
Scientists around the United States are developing programs that can predict harmful algal blooms in advance.
- Climate
Chances of an Atlantic hurricane season busier than 2005’s are slim — for now
The 28 named tropical storms that swirled through the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 is about as many as the region can produce in a year.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution is shaving a year off our average life expectancy
The first country-by-country look at how dirty air affects when we die shows it can have more impact on mortality than breast or lung cancer.
- Earth
Scientists create a mineral in the lab that captures carbon dioxide
Magnesite takes a long time to form in nature. Now, a team has found a way to speed up the making of the mineral, which can store carbon dioxide.
- Oceans
Beaked whales may frequent a seabed spot marked for mining
Grooves in the seafloor may signal that whales visit a region that is a prime target for future seabed mining.
- Ecosystems
A freshwater, saltwater tug-of-war is eating away at the Everglades
Saltwater is winning in the Everglades as sea levels rise and years of redirecting freshwater flow to support agriculture and population growth
- Materials Science
A filter that turns saltwater into freshwater just got an upgrade
Smoothing out a material used in desalination filters could help combat worldwide water shortages.
- Earth
In 1968, scientists tried taming hurricanes
For over 20 years, the U.S. government tried to subdue hurricanes through cloud seeding, with mixed results.
- Life
More than 2 billion people lack safe drinking water. That number will only grow.
By 2050, half the world’s population may no longer have safe water to drink or grow food. What then?
- Oceans
Viruses may help phytoplankton make clouds — by tearing the algae apart
Sick phytoplankton shed their calcium carbonate plates more easily than their healthy counterparts, which could play a role in forming clouds.
