Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Fishy fat from soy is headed for U.S. dinner tables
Most people have heard about omega-3 fatty acids, the primary constituents of fish oil. Stearidonic acid, one of those omega-3s, is hardly a household term. But it should become one, researchers argued this week at the 2011 Experimental Biology meeting.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
Forecasting volcanic eruptions, plus saving mangroves and long-distance pollution in this week’s news.
- Life
Why diversity rules
A new experiment demonstrates the way a multitude of specialized species absorb nutrients more effectively than a highly productive one.
- Earth
Arctic Ocean hosts weird freshwater pond
Odd, persistent winds prevent river inputs from mixing with the sea.
- Earth
AGU conference on climate and civilizations
Ancient trash piles yield Everglades trees, plus 'green' Vikings and more in meeting news.
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- Humans
Record ‘Arctic’ ozone minimum expands beyond Arctic
In mid-March, our online story about the thinning of stratospheric ozone over the Arctic noted that conditions appeared primed for regional ozone losses to post an all-time record. On April 5, World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud announced that Arctic ozone had indeed suffered an unprecedented thinning. And these air masses are on the move to mid-latitudes.
- Life
Worries grow over monarch butterflies
Migrants overwintering in Mexico rebounded somewhat this past winter, but still trending downward.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
A new explanation of cold northeast winters, plus shrinking newborns and the Russian heat wave in this week’s news.
- Humans
Climate meddling dates back 8,000 years
Cutting down trees put lots of carbon into the atmosphere long before the industrial revolution began.
- Earth
Major earthquakes not linked
Global seismic risks don’t rise following big events, scientists say.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
Monsoons may have sped India's tectonic plate, plus saber-toothed reptiles and leaden bones in this week's news.
