Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Bird deaths blamed on vitamin deficiency
Shortage of thiamine may have been killing birds in the Baltic and possibly elsewhere for some 25 years.
- Earth
Erosion, on the down low
Experiments show how microscopic fungi attack minerals to begin the erosion process.
- Humans
What’s in your bottled water?
A congressional hearing found bottled-water quality is not regulated as strictly as tap water is.
- Humans
Court backs EPA on controlling airborne particles
Upwind polluters can be held responsible for contributing to downwinders' violations of air-pollution standards.
- Animals
Megafish Sleuth: No Steve Irwin
There's no reason a scientist can't be an action hero — even if his damsels in distress have fins.
- Earth
Monster stingrays: Field notes from a global wrangler
A megafish biologist shares what he's learning about a rare freshwater species.
- Health & Medicine
Bad Breath
New studies detail how the invisible particles that pollute the air can damage heart, lungs and genetic programming.
- Earth
New cyclone predictor
Researchers link occasional sea-surface warming in central Pacific with more, stronger hurricanes in North Atlantic.
- Chemistry
Concerns over bisphenol A continue to grow
Recent research finds that the hormone mimic may be more prevalent and more harmful than previously thought, highlighting why BPA is a growing worry for policy makers.
- Health & Medicine
Plastics ingredients may shrink babies
A new study links phthalates, one of the more ubiquitous families of pollutants, with a baby being dangerously small at birth.
- Earth
How killer whales are like people
Killer whales may be sentinels for toxic chemicals accumulating in even landlubbers.
- Earth
Dirty snow may bring green burst to mountain peaks
Dust blowing in from distant deserts speeds the melting of snow and may shake up ecosystems on the slopes.
