Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Science & Society
One anniversary to celebrate, one to contemplate
In this issue, both feature articles focus on anniversaries, though of two very different kinds.
- Environment
Controversial insecticide use rises as farmers douse seeds
Use of neonicotinoids, a class of controversial insecticides, has risen dramatically, posing threat to pollinating insects.
- Climate
Canadian glaciers face drastic demise
Western Canadian glaciers will shrink 70 percent by 2100, a detailed melting simulation suggests.
- Animals
Eggs and other land foods won’t feed polar bears
Polar bears will not be able to survive on land by eating birds, eggs and vegetation, a new review concludes.
- Oceans
UV light reveals hidden patterns on seashell fossils
Under UV light, fossil seashell color patterns glow, a researcher finds.
- Environment
Five years on, Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact lingers
Five years after the Gulf of Mexico’s largest disaster, researchers are still studying its ecological impact and struggling to learn the fate of most of the spilled oil.
- Earth
Spot the northern lights with Aurorasaurus
Crowdsourced Aurorasaurus project uses Twitter to track the northern lights.
- Climate
Fewer cold snaps in the forecast
Rapid Arctic warming will reduce the frequency of cold snaps throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, new research suggests.
- Earth
Plate loss gave chain of Pacific islands and seamounts a bend
The sinking Izanagi tectonic plate may have rerouted the mantle flow beneath the Pacific, halting the Hawaiian hot spot.
- Environment
Tampons: Not just for feminine hygiene
Tampons soaked in polluted water glow under UV light, revealing detergent-filled wastewater in rivers.
- Environment
Fracking chemicals can alter mouse development
Hormone-disrupting chemicals used in fracking fluid cause developmental changes in mice, new experiments show.
- Materials Science
Suds turn silver nanoparticles in clothes into duds
Bleach-containing detergents destroy antibacterial silver nanoparticles that coat clothes.
