Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Agriculture
News from Experimental Biology
Senior editor Janet Raloff blogs from the 2009 meeting gathering dozens of societies together in New Orleans
- Climate
EPA says greenhouse gases ‘endanger’ health
Featured blog: New ruling is a likely first step toward federal moves to cut tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide and more.
- Earth
An earlier appearance for the first land plants
Fossilized pollen could show that modern land plants evolved earlier than thought.
- Planetary Science
Antarctic ecosystem holds unusual microbes
Long isolated deep under a glacier, life thrives in dark, salty water by breathing iron and eating sulfates.
- Earth
Nickel down, oxygen up
Researchers point to the early ocean's concentration of nickel as the possible start for events that allowed Earth's atmosphere to accumulate oxygen.
- Animals
Sonar causes rock-concert effect in dolphins
Test of recorded sonar causes temporary hearing impairment in dolphins.
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- Chemistry
Another type of traffic stress
Scientists find signs of DNA damage from air pollutants spewed by cars and trucks.
- Physics
Radioactive cigarettes
Polonium remains an underappreciated factor in the lung-cancer risk posed by cigarettes.
- Earth
Arctic ice more vulnerable than ever
Ocean’s ice cap is smaller than long-term average and thinnest yet as melt season begins.
- Chemistry
Leaden blood hikes granny’s heart risks
Featured blog: Even low concentrations of lead circulating in blood may pose lethal heart risks, a new study finds.
- Ecosystems
Exxon Valdez: Tidal waters still troubled
From birds and clams to herring, many species continue to show persistent impacts of an oil spill that occurred two decades ago.
