All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Climate
Alaskan peatlands expanded rapidly as ice age waned
The rapid growth of Alaskan wetlands before 8,600 years ago was due to hotter summers and colder winters, which could spell trouble in a warmer world, a new study suggests.
- Planetary Science
Warmth in the dark age
Lower reflectivity kept Earth from freezing under a fainter young sun.
- Planetary Science
Signs of giant comet impacts found in cores
An uptick in ammonium may be evidence of a 50-billion-ton strike at the end of the ice age.
- Paleontology
Tyrannosaurs lived in the Southern Hemisphere, too
Australian fossils suggest the kin of T. rex dispersed globally 110 million years ago.
- Earth
Bacteria show new route to making oxygen
New discovery adds to the few known biological pathways for making and metabolically using the gas.
- Paleontology
Fossilized poop bears tooth marks
Shark-bitten fecal matter probably came from an assault on an ancient croc.
- Ecosystems
Iron fertilization in ocean nourishes toxic algae
Efforts to prevent global warming by fertilizing the oceans with iron could trigger harmful algal blooms.
- Life
Chameleon tongues snappy even when cold
Collagen gives the creatures a bug-catching advantage in chilly conditions.
- Earth
Arctic seafloor a big source of methane
Measurements show that Arctic undersea methane deposits, previously thought to be sealed by permafrost, are leaking into the atmosphere.
- Earth
Earth knocked for a loop
Chile’s February 27 temblor, tectonically linked to another giant quake 50 years ago, sped up the Earth’s rotation and tipped the planet’s axis.
- Paleontology
Ancient DNA suggests polar bears evolved recently
A study of a rare Norwegian fossil narrows down when polar bears evolved and finds they are closely related to modern-day brown bears in Alaska.
- Life
Hydrothermal vents sometimes colonized from afar
Deep-sea currents can waft larvae hundreds of kilometers.
