Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
Oldest evidence for complex life in doubt
Chemical biomarkers in ancient Australian rocks, once thought to be the oldest known evidence of complex life on Earth, may have infiltrated long after the sediments were laid down, new analyses suggest.
- Chemistry
From Aerators to Rust — New Lead Risks
Rusty water and other unusual sources of toxic risks in home drinking water.
- Chemistry
Faucets Destined for Brassy Changes
Although new standards poised to take effect in a few years will reduce the lead-leaching risk from drinking water faucets, showerheads and many other water dispensers around will remain unregulated.
- Tech
Lead-free? Faucets are anything but
Featured blog: Users of brand-new buildings on a major university campus were surprised to discover high concentrations of lead in the water. Faucets were the culprit.
- Chemistry
Holey Copper Pipes!
Engineers are homing in on germs and other surprises behind the development of tiny holes in home water pipes.
- Animals
Farm chemicals can indirectly hammer frogs
A widely used agricultural weed killer teams up with fertilizer to render frogs especially vulnerable to debilitating parasites.
- Earth
The Case for Very Hot Water
Turning down the thermostat on a home's water heater could foster the growth of toxic bacteria in home plumbing.
- Earth
Big Water Losses
America's ailing water-delivery infrastructure is literally throwing clean water away -- and dirtying some of what it moves toward our taps.
- Life
Heat sensors guide insects to a hot meal
Bugs home in on seeds by detecting infrared radiation.
- Life
Avian airlines: Alaska to New Zealand nonstop
Tracked bar-tailed godwits break previous nonstop flight record for birds.
- Humans
Elephants’ struggle with poaching lingers on
Even as African elephants struggle to recover from decades-old poaching, the animals face new and renewed threats today.
- Tech
Coal Country’s New Foresters
New techniques may be shaving a century or two off the recovery of mined mountain tops.
