Earth

  1. Earth

    Toxic cleanups get a boost

    Researchers have developed and field-tested a new technique that identifies specific soil microbes that can break down environmental pollutants.

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  2. Earth

    Not Just Neurotoxic: Pesticide chlorpyrifos affects heart and liver cells

    A pesticide known to be toxic to the brain may also have subtle effects on heart and liver tissues of animals exposed to this substance during early development.

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  3. Earth

    Bioengineered crops have mixed eco effects

    An unusually large test of the ecological impact of genetically modified crops finds mixed results, depending on the crop.

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  4. Earth

    Attack of the Rock-Eating Microbes!

    Geologists who examine mineral transformations increasingly see bacteria at work, leading the scientists to conclude that if microbes aren't driving the underlying chemical reactions, at least they're taking advantage of the energy that's released.

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  5. Earth

    Chemical Reaction: Two flame retardants to phase out in 2004

    The sole U.S. manufacturer of two widely used brominated fire retardants pledged to phase out its production of both products by the end of next year.

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  6. Earth

    Frosty Florida: Spread of agriculture may promote freezes

    Planting crops in south Florida may have increased the risk of the freezes farmers hoped to avoid.

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  7. Earth

    Cast-Iron Foot: Undersea snail has mineral armor

    An as-yet-unnamed species of snail living around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the Indian Ocean bears a suit of armor forged from the minerals dissolved in the hot fluids that spew from its seafloor environment.

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  8. Earth

    UV-pollutant combo hits tadpoles hard

    Coincident exposure to ultraviolet light and an estrogen-mimicking pollutant severely jeopardized the chance a tadpole would reach adulthood.

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  9. Earth

    Sewage linked to fish-gender quirks

    Releases from sewage treatment plants appear to impair reproductive tissues in fish.

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  10. Earth

    Pollutants shape baby-gator gonads

    The same pollutants that appear to shorten the length of a grown-alligator's phallus actually lead to this organ's lengthening in baby gators.

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  11. Earth

    POPs treaty enacted

    A new United Nations treaty that seeks to phase down or eliminate production and use of 16 persistent, toxic pollutants has gone into effect.

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  12. Earth

    Seals’ meals, plastic pieces and all

    Bite-size pieces of plastic chipped from wave-battered consumer products work their way up marine food chains, suggests a study of fur seals in Australia.

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