Earth
- Health & Medicine
A new U.S. tool maps where heat will be dangerous for your health
The daily updated HeatRisk map uses color coding to show where the health threat from heat is highest and offers tips on how to stay safe.
- Earth
Polar forests may have just solved a solar storm mystery
Spikes of carbon-14 in tree rings may be linked to solar flares, but evidence of the havoc-wreaking 1859 Carrington event has proven elusive until now.
- Space
During the awe of totality, scientists studied our planet’s reactions
Earth’s atmosphere was a big area of focus for scientists studying the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
- Environment
Heat waves cause more illness and death in U.S. cities with fewer trees
There are usually fewer trees in neighborhoods with higher populations of people of color. Planting trees could save hundreds of lives every year.
- Climate
‘On the Move’ examines how climate change will alter where people live
Journalist Abrahm Lustgarten explores which parts of the United States are most vulnerable to the effects of global warming and how people's lives might change.
- Animals
Eavesdropping on fish could help us keep better tabs on underwater worlds
Scientists are on a quest to log all the sounds of fish communication. The result could lead to better monitoring of ecosystems and fish behavior.
- Earth
Earth’s oldest known earthquake was probably triggered by plate tectonics
Billion-year-old rocks in South Africa hold evidence for the onset of plate tectonics early in Earth’s history.
- Earth
Climate change is changing how we keep time
Polar ice sheets are melting faster, slowing Earth’s spin. That is changing how we synchronize our clocks to tell time.
- Environment
How air pollution may make it harder for pollinators to find flowers
Certain air pollutants that build up at night can break down the same fragrance molecules that attract pollinators like hawk moths to primroses.
- Climate
Waterlogged soils can give hurricanes new life after they arrive on land
New studies show that the long-hypothesized “brown ocean effect” is real, helping to refuel 2018’s Hurricane Florence and other storms after landfall.
- Plants
Ancient trees’ gnarled, twisted shapes provide irreplaceable habitats
Traits that help trees live for hundreds of years also foster forest life, one reason why old growth forest conservation is crucial.
- Agriculture
Mixing up root microbes can boost tea’s flavor
Inoculating tea plant roots with nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria enhances synthesis of theanine, an amino acid that gives tea its savoriness.
