Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Oxygen wafted into Earth’s atmosphere earlier than thought
Date pushed back to 3 billion years ago, suggesting photosynthesis had evolved by then.
- Environment
Pregnant women carry fewer traces of flame retardants
Class of toxins linked to IQ deficits dropped drastically in three years, a new study shows.
- Earth
Biggest volcano hulks deep
Tamu Massif forms a broad, rounded dome rising about 4 kilometers from the seafloor and stretching 450 by 650 kilometers across.
- Environment
Cattle chemical can return in the night
Steroid to beef up cows breaks down, but can reassemble under the right conditions.
- Climate
Slashing greenhouse gas emissions could save millions of lives
Simulations suggest reduced air pollution would improve public health.
- Environment
Cool Idea
While nations concede a pressing need for attacking carbon dioxide emissions, other pollutants offer quicker paybacks.
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- Earth
Hot spot deep beneath North America could have triggered quakes
Mantle plume might have left trail of hot rock under continental US.
- Earth
Buried Saharan rivers might have been early expressways
Humans might have migrated across the arid region along three once-lush waterways.
- Environment
Grain alcohol in gasoline?
An excerpt from the September 21, 1963, issue of Science News Letter.
- Earth
World’s largest volcano lurks beneath Pacific Ocean
The dormant behemoth may rival ones on Mars.
- Climate
No more Superstorm Sandys expected for a long time
Future conditions less likely to steer hurricanes directly into the East Coast, analysis suggests.
