Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Oceans
Great Barrier Reef acidification predictions get worse
New simulations suggest that ocean acidification poses an even greater threat to the Great Barrier Reef than suspected.
- Oceans
Corals need to take their vitamin C
Newly settled corals use vitamin C to help build their stony skeletons, researchers propose.
- Oceans
Gulf oil spill could hasten corrosion of shipwrecks
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster could hasten the corrosion of historical shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico, new studies of marine microbes suggest.
- Climate
20th century sea level rose at fastest rate since founding of Rome
Sea levels rose more rapidly in the 1900s than during any other century in at least 2,800 years, with global warming causing at least half that rise.
- Earth
‘Eruption’ looks back at devastating Mount St. Helens blast
In Eruption, a science writer recounts the societal, economic and geologic forces that contributed to the Mount St. Helens disaster.
- Agriculture
FDA to test foods for controversial herbicide
Amid controversy and conflicting studies, the FDA will test food for glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world.
- Environment
Vaping linked to host of new health risks
Animal studies and analyses of gene activity point to broad range of potential new health risks from vaping affecting everything from sperm to heart and immunity to mental health.
- Earth
New app puts an earthquake detector in your pocket
Smartphone app MyShake uses motion-sensing accelerometers to detect nearby quakes. The app could provide early warnings of incoming tremors, its creators say.
- Astronomy
In all sorts of circumstances, life finds a way
Editor in Chief discusses the new marine habitats formed by human pollution and the alarming rise of the Zika virus.
- Environment
Urban heat islands exist even in the Arctic
Arctic cities are a source of warming in the far north. Unlike midlatitude heat islands, poorly insulated buildings — not the sun — are a primary source.
- Earth
Ocean’s plastics offer a floating fortress to a mess of microbes
Microbes take up residence on ocean plastics, potentially causing changes in ocean environments.
- Agriculture
Plants trick bacteria into attacking too soon
Scientists have discovered that a plant compound interferes with bacterial communication.
