Earth

  1. Agriculture

    Illegal cigarettes pack toxic punch

    Tobacco used in counterfeit cigarettes is apparently grown using metal-laced fertilizers, making the fake products even more harmful than the real things.

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  2. Earth

    Ice age hit Missouri 2.4 million years ago

    Analyses of a soil sample from central Missouri suggest the date of onset of North America's most recent spate of ice ages.

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  3. Earth

    Ozone saps toads’ immune systems

    In amphibians, ozone damages immune function in the lungs, suggesting a possible new contributor to worldwide amphibian declines.

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  4. Earth

    When Mountains Fizz

    Scientists are finding that the driving force behind a volcanic explosion is the same thing that propels spewing soda pop: bubbles.

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  5. Earth

    Early Warning: United States to deploy 32 more buoys for sensing tsunamis

    On Jan. 14, the Bush administration announced a $37.5 million program to expand the nation's tsunami-warning capabilities.

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  6. Earth

    Air pollution trims fetal growth

    Pregnant women who breathe polluted air deliver babies that are typically slightly smaller than those born to other mothers.

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  7. Earth

    Living in a Fog: Secondhand smoke may dull kids’ wits

    Millions of U.S. children may have reading deficits because of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

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  8. Earth

    Really hot water

    Hot-water tanks can accumulate radioactive deposits from naturally occurring radioactive material.

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  9. Earth

    Landscaping stones may pose risks to the environment

    Chemical analyses suggest that planting ornamental rock gardens in some cases may not be doing the environment any favors.

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  10. Earth

    Big quakes can free grounded icebergs

    Data gathered by equipment installed on an immense iceberg off Antarctica suggest that the ground motions spawned by large, distant earthquakes can free such bergs to float again.

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  11. Earth

    Seismic vibes gauge Earth’s crust

    New seismic observations are adding to scientists' knowledge of the thickness of Earth's crust, especially in the Southern Hemisphere.

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  12. Earth

    Reflections on Insecticides: Mirror forms of agrochemicals set risk

    The toxicity of an insecticide or how long it persists in the environment depends on which mirror-image form of the chemical is present.

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