Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Shifting grains may explain earthquake lightning
Mysterious lightning before or during earthquakes could get its spark from underground shifting.
- Animals
Spotted seals hear well in and out of water
Spotted seals, native to the northern parts of the Pacific, hear frequencies that may mean they are susceptible to the effects of anthropogenic noise.
- Climate
Cloudy forecast
Over decades climatologists have grown more confident in their projections of the future impact of greenhouse gas emissions. But whether shifts in cloudiness will amplify global warming continues to vex researchers.
- Agriculture
Where antibiotics go
Of the 51 tons of antibiotics consumed every day in the United States, about 80 percent goes into animal production.
- Climate
Extreme heat on the rise
Recent years saw an increase in peak high temperatures on land despite Earth’s stalled averages.
- Environment
Handling receipts increases exposure to BPA
People who handle cash register receipts printed on thermal paper show notable exposure to bisphenol A.
- Earth
Age of Earth’s crust confirmed
Decaying atoms traced in zircon uphold dating of Earth's crust at about 4.374 billion years old.
- Environment
Legionnaires’ disease bacteria lurk in tap water
Found in nearly half of faucets, contamination could explain sporadic cases of disease.
- Animals
Fish lose their fear on a denuded reef
Juvenile damselfish lose their ability to smell danger when in a degraded habitat.
- Life
Big study raises worries about bees trading diseases
Pathogens may jump from commercial colonies to the wild.
- Oceans
Unknowns linger for sea mining
Scientists struggle to predict underwater digs’ effects on sea life.
- Earth
Magma spends most of its existence as sludgy mush
Volcanic magma may spend most of its time in a chunky state resembling cold porridge, a new study finds.
