Earth

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Earth

  1. Earth

    Gamma rays flared as this lightning bolt formed

    Thunderstorms are known to generate gamma rays, the highest energy radiation on Earth. But pinning the burst to a specific bolt is new.

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  2. Artificial Intelligence

    A new AI-based weather tool surpasses current forecasts

    The AI tool used machine learning to outperform current weather simulations, offering faster, cheaper, more accurate forecasts.

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  3. Oceans

    Seafloor amber may hold hints of a tsunami 115 million years ago

    Oddly shaped deposits of tree resin point to massive waves that struck northern Japan roughly 115 million years ago and swept a forest into the sea.

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  4. Animals

    This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap

    This assassin bug's ability to use a tool — bees’ resin — could shed light on how the ability evolved in other animals.

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  5. Environment

    Skyborne specks of life may influence rainfall patterns

    A study of weather on a mountain in Greece reveal that bioparticles in the sky may drive fluctuations in rainfall patterns more broadly.

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  6. Oceans

    Before altering the air, microbes oxygenated large swaths of the sea

    Hundreds of millions of years before oxygen surged in the atmosphere 2.4 billion years ago, swaths of oxygen winked in and out of existence in the ocean.

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  7. Climate

    Losing a key U.S. climate report would hurt future disaster prep

    A scientist who worked on the National Climate Assessment explains how stopping work on it may make us more vulnerable to extreme weather disasters.

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  8. Animals

    Cool water could protect sea stars from a mysterious disease

    Sunflower sea stars discovered taking refuge in fjords may offer clues to saving the critically endangered species from sea star wasting disease.

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  9. Animals

    The axolotl is endangered in the wild. A discovery offers hope

    Introducing captive-bred axolotls to restored and artificial wetlands may be a promising option for the popular pet amphibian.

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