Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Year in review: Risks of e-cigarettes emerge
Electronic cigarettes dispense water vapor laced with flavors and often a hefty dose of nicotine. These vapors may be far from benign, studies in 2014 suggested.
- Earth
Year in review: Life thrives under Antarctica
Thousands of microbe species thrive in Lake Whillans deep beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.
- Climate
Year in review: Climate warnings heat up
Climate change is here and the world is unprepared, scientists and policy makers declared multiple times in 2014.
- Environment
Year in review: Microbes exploit their killer
Triclosan, an unregulated antimicrobial chemical found in consumer products, may aid, rather than deter, microbes that invade people’s bodies.
- Earth
Mega volcanism indicted in dinosaur demise
Precision dating strengthens idea that climate-altering Deccan volcanism contributed to dinosaur extinction.
- Earth
Mineralogy’s link to ecology makes an Earth twin unlikely
Earth’s unique blend of minerals emerged with the evolution of life, making it extremely unlikely that another planet has Earth’s exact mineral composition.
- Climate
California drought worst in at least 1,200 years
The current California drought is the most severe in 1,200 years, according to historical information gleaned from tree rings.
- Climate
Resilience protects corals from hurricanes — and climate change
Coral reefs have evolved to be resilient in the face of hurricanes that can devastate human populations. But climate change is reducing the ability of reefs to bounce back from disaster.
- Environment
Black carbon fouls New York subway stations
Black carbon, a respiratory irritant, fouls air in New York subway stations.
- Climate
Greenhouse gases may spell wet future for Africa
Greenhouse gases played a role in boosting rainfall in Africa 14,000 to 21,000 years ago, a finding that may help predict future abundance of water on the continent.
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- Planetary Science
Preparing for disaster, celebrating success
Science cannot prevent all disasters or solve all the problems they spawn, but it can point to the best ways to prepare, making disasters less damaging than they might otherwise be
