Earth

  1. Plants

    José Dinneny rethinks how plants hunt for water

    Plant biologist José Dinneny probes the very beginnings of root development, which may have important implications for growing food in a changing climate.

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  2. Chemistry

    Chong Liu one-ups plant photosynthesis

    Chong Liu mixes bacteria and inorganics into systems that can generate clean energy better than a leaf.

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  3. Environment

    Radioactive material from Fukushima disaster turns up in a surprising place

    Radioactive cesium is reaching the ocean through salty groundwater.

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  4. Oceans

    Castaway critters rafted to U.S. shores aboard Japan tsunami debris

    Researchers report finding 289 living Japanese marine species that washed up on American shores on debris from the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

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  5. Climate

    Tropical forests have flipped from sponges to sources of carbon dioxide

    Analyses of satellite images suggest that degraded forests now release more carbon than they store.

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  6. Environment

    The way poison frogs keep from poisoning themselves is complicated

    Gaining resistance to one of their own toxins forced some poison dart frogs to make other genetic tweaks, too.

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  7. Earth

    Plate tectonics started at least 3.5 billion years ago

    Analyses of titanium in rock suggest plate tectonics began 500 million years earlier than thought.

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  8. Earth

    Plate tectonics started at least 3.5 billion years ago

    Analyses of titanium in rock suggest plate tectonics began 500 million years earlier than thought.

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  9. Earth

    Intense storms provide the first test of powerful new hurricane forecast tools

    From Harvey to Maria, this year’s powerful hurricanes are giving scientists’ latest forecasting tools a trial by fire.

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  10. Environment

    The list of diseases linked to air pollution is growing

    Air pollution levels have come down since the 1970s, but smog is being linked with a growing list of diseases, including dementia, obesity, diabetes and even Parkinson’s.

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  11. Microbes

    Now we know how much glacial melting ‘watermelon snow’ can cause

    Algae that give snow a red tint are making glacial snow in Alaska melt faster.

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  12. Agriculture

    ‘Big Chicken’ chronicles the public health dangers of using antibiotics in farming

    A new book takes a hard look at the chicken industry for its role in fostering antibiotic resistance.

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