Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Agriculture
Living Rust
Mention rust, and most of us think of the oxidized metal that signals the aging and decay of cars, fences, and bolts on the backyard deck. However, many plants also suffer from rust—in this case, fungal diseases named for their characteristic reddish-orange color. With a particularly virulent example known as Ug99 (see Wheat Warning—New Rust […]
- Earth
Drug Overflow: Pharmaceutical factories foul waters in India
A treatment plant in India that processes waste from drug factories feeds enormous amounts of antibiotics and other drugs into local waterways.
- Earth
Bad for Baby: New risks found for plastic constituent
Early exposure to bisphenol A, a building block of polycarbonate plastics, can trigger a variety of later health problems.
- Earth
Beware summer radon-test results
Measuring household radon levels in summer may give misleadingly low results.
- Earth
Cholesterol boosts diesel toxicity
Nanoparticles in diesel exhaust can activate genes that worsen cholesterol's damaging effects.
- Earth
Hammered Saws
Sawfish, shark relatives that almost went extinct several decades ago, have now gained protection by international treaty.
- Earth
Asian Forecast: Hazy, Warmer—Clouds of pollution heat lower atmosphere
Clouds of smoke and soot that blanket many regions of Asia heat the lower atmosphere by the same amount that rising greenhouse gases do.
- Earth
Slick Death: Oil-spill treatment kills coral
Chemicals used to disperse marine oil spills are more harmful to coral than the oil itself.
- Earth
Metal spews from tires and brake pads
A study in Stockholm says that tires and brake pads emit a variety of metal pollutants despite European regulations aimed at cleaning up these parts.
- Earth
Light reaches deep in southeast Pacific
In a remote part of the southeastern Pacific where marine life is sparse, ultraviolet light penetrates to unprecedented depths.
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- Earth
Stunting Growth: Ozone will trim plants’ carbon-storing power
Increasing ground-level ozone due to pollution will stifle the growth of vegetation in many regions, accelerating the buildup of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
