Earth
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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Planetary ScienceCelestial population boom
Large meteoroids are probably more common than telescopic surveys suggest, new analyses find.
By Sid Perkins -
EarthUnusual advances
New glacier model helps explain how ice masses can grow even in a generally warming climate.
By Sid Perkins -
EarthSun is setting on incandescent era
After more than a century, Edison's light bulbs stand poised to go extinct.
By Janet Raloff -
EarthCash for clunkers II: Appliances
States could soon roll out programs that help consumers replace energy hogging home appliances.
By Janet Raloff -
EarthOh, rats — there go the snails
A food fad among introduced rats has apparently crashed a once-thriving population of Hawaii’s famed endemic tree snails.
By Susan Milius -
EarthA trip to the garbage patch
Scientists bring back samples from the oceanic garbage patch off the coast of California.
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ChemistryNitrous oxide fingered as monster ozone slayer
Nitrous oxide has become the leading threat to the future integrity of stratospheric ozone, scientists report.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryStyrofoam degrades in seawater
Study suggests besides the visible plastic, smaller bits are fouling the waters
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EarthScanning the land
Quake data analyses yield an improved model of Southern California’s crust.
By Sid Perkins -
AnimalsBack off, extinct moa
A New Zealand tree’s peculiar leaves may have served as defenses against long-gone giant birds.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsVocal abilities lost, found and drowned out
Reports from the meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union
By Susan Milius