413 results
- Genetics
When flowers died out in Arctic, so did mammoths
Genetic analysis finds vegetation change in the Arctic around same time as megafauna extinction.
-
- Humans
Eruption early in human prehistory may have been more whimper than bang
If Hollywood’s right, the apocalypse will be brutal. Aliens, nuclear war, zombies, plague, enslavement by supersmart robots — none of them are good endings. Some archaeologists, however, believe an apocalypse has already come and gone. About 75,000 years ago, they say, a monster volcanic eruption nearly wiped out humankind, leaving behind only a few thousand people to […]
-
Humankind’s destructive streak may be older than the species itself
Some scientists have proposed designating a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, that would cover the period since humans became the predominant environmental force on the planet. But when would you have it begin? Some geologists argue that the Anthropocene began with the Industrial Revolution, when fossil fuel consumption started influencing climate. Others point back several […]
- Humans
Oceans set stage for human evolution
Temperature changes off the coast dried out East Africa and allowed grasslands to spread starting around 2 million years ago.
- Humans
Fewer fires in Africa these days
How flames spread, not how frequently people start them, controls burning on the continent.
- Life
Take my enemy, please
The risky business of relocating endangered species might have better outcomes if conservationists shift solitary animals along with their usual territorial rivals.
- Earth
Earth & Environment
Earth’s bulging waistline, plus ancient mangrove swamps and new threats from wildfires in this week’s news.
- Earth
Trees have a tipping point
Satellite data confirm that the amount of forest cover can shift suddenly in response to relatively small changes in fire frequency and rainfall.
-
-
- Animals
Climate change may favor couch-potato elk
With drought and rising temperatures in Wyoming, migratory animals suffer while stay-at-home members of the same herd thrive
