Earth

  1. Climate

    Zapping clouds with lasers could tweak planet’s temperature

    Breaking up the ice particles inside cirrus clouds could make them reflect more light, turning them into a tool to combat global warming.

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  2. Oceans

    Ancient tsunamis reshaped Mars’ landscape

    Ancient tsunamis generated by meteorite impacts may have reshaped ocean coastlines on Mars.

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  3. Oceans

    The Arctic Ocean is about to get spicier

    Variations in the saltiness and temperature of seawater of the same density, called spiciness, could increase as the Arctic Ocean warms.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Zika, psychobiotics and more in reader feedback

    Readers respond to the April 2, 2016, issue of Science News with thoughts on Zika virus, planetary science, microbes in mental health and more.

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  5. Agriculture

    New analysis: Genetically engineered foods not a health risk

    No real evidence for health or environmental dangers of GE crops.

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  6. Oceans

    Here’s where 17,000 ocean research buoys ended up

    A combined look at 35 years’ worth of ocean buoy movements reveals the currents that feed into ocean garbage patches.

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  7. Earth

    Remnants from Earth’s birth linger 4.5 billion years later

    Shaken, not stirred: Tungsten isotopes reveal that mantle convection has left some remnants of ancient Earth untouched for 4.5 billion years.

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  8. Environment

    When measuring lead in water, check the temperature

    Lead contamination in drinking water can be much higher during summer than winter, new research suggests.

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  9. Environment

    U.S. oil and gas boom behind rising ethane levels

    Oil and gas operations on North Dakota’s Bakken shale are largely to blame for a recent rise in global emissions of the greenhouse gas ethane, researchers conclude.

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  10. Plants

    Here’s what a leaf looks like during a fatal attack of bubbles

    Office equipment beats synchrotrons in showing how drought lets air bubbles kill the water-carrier network of veins in plant leaves.

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  11. Animals

    Cause of mass starfish die-offs is still a mystery

    Sea stars off the U.S. west coast started dying off en masse in 2013. Scientists are still struggling to figure out the cause.

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  12. Earth

    Rainwater can help trigger earthquakes

    Rainwater plays a major role in the triggering of earthquakes along New Zealand’s Alpine Fault.

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