Earth

  1. Earth

    Life thrived below solid ice shelf

    A survey of a segment of Antarctic seafloor that until recently had laid beneath a thick, floating ice shelf for thousands of years has revealed an ecosystem apparently based on chemical nourishment, not sunshine.

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  2. Earth

    Hurricanes get boost from ocean spray

    A new model that describes airflow across the ocean's surface suggests that tiny droplets whipped from the tops of waves increase wind speeds well above what they'd be if the ocean spray wasn't there.

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  3. Earth

    Great river cycles carbon quickly

    Some of the organic material carried to the sea by the Amazon is thousands of years old, but much of the carbon in carbon dioxide emanating from the river was stored in plants for less than a decade.

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  4. Earth

    What’s Gotten into Everybody? Survey of bodily contaminants finds encouraging declines and new exposures

    The U.S. population's exposure to lead, secondhand smoke, and certain other harmful chemicals has trended downward, but some newly measured contaminants are present in a sizable fraction of the nation's residents, according to an updated report.

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  5. Earth

    Weighty evidence on testicular cancer

    New evidence supports a theory that men who were exposed to excess estrogenic hormones at an early stage of fetal development may face an elevated risk of testicular cancer.

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  6. Earth

    Under Pressure: High-stress tests show surprising change in a mantle mineral’s behavior

    Compressing a common iron-bearing mineral to the pressures found deep within Earth makes the material much stiffer, which might explain why seismic waves travel particularly fast through some zones of rock.

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  7. Earth

    Ultrasound solution to toxin pollution

    Ultrasound treatment of water can generate reactive chemicals that destroy potentially lethal algal toxins.

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  8. Agriculture

    Soy-protein quality versus quantity

    New tests show that as the protein yields of soybeans rise, the growth-enhancing quality of that protein as a food or feed decreases.

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  9. Earth

    Toxic Surfs

    Scientists have discovered not only three new mechanisms by which an alga species in Florida water can poison but also a trio of natural antidotes produced within that same species.

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  10. Earth

    Letters from the July 16, 2005, issue of Science News

    Muddy, clarified “Muddy Waters” (SN: 5/21/05, p. 328), on the deleterious effect of dams on coastal systems, contains a major conceptual error. It states that “another important cause of the ground sinking is the waning of sediment deposition by the Mississippi River.” But over the past 100 million years, the northern Gulf Coast region has […]

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  11. Earth

    Pollution Ups Blood Pressure: Inhaled particles linked to transient effect

    In a laboratory setting, volunteers breathing pollutants generated by sources such as vehicle engines experience slight but steady increases in blood pressure.

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  12. Earth

    Arctic Foulers: Foraging seabirds carry contaminants home

    When seabirds go out looking for food, they can bring home traces of pollutants that build up around their nesting colonies.

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