Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Breath-Taking Popcorn
To most people, the scent of hot buttered popcorn brings to mind excursions to the local movie theater for big-screen viewings or recalls quiet winter respites before a crackling fire. To those who toil in the plants that package microwave popcorn, the same smell can not only be overpowering but also signal lung dangers, according […]
- Earth
In case of temblor, run downhill
Computer models of the ground motions measured on a shallow hill during an earthquake suggest that, in certain circumstances, the ground movements could be magnified by as much as 10 times those measured on flat areas nearby.
- Earth
Monitors get weird vibes from Antarctic
In late 2000, seismometers on islands in the South Pacific picked up vibrations that were eventually traced to a large iceberg drifting in the Ross Sea north of Antarctica.
- Earth
Symbionts affect coral’s chemistry
The presence of symbiotic organisms in the tiny animals that build coral reefs changes the rates at which the animals take in minerals from the water, a finding that may affect the results of many research projects that have used chemical analyses of coral remains to infer past sea-surface temperatures.
- Earth
The Silent Type: Pacific Northwest hit routinely by nonquakes
Once every 14 months or so, portions of coastal British Columbia and northwestern Washington State experience a slow ground motion that, if released all at once, would generate an earthquake measuring more than 6 on the Richter scale.
- Earth
Smog’s ozone spawns funky carpet smells
Strange, unpleasant odors may emanate from carpets for years due to reactions caused by exposure to smoggy air.
- Earth
Feminized Frogs: Herbicide disrupts sexual growth
At concentrations currently found in water, the widely used weed killer atrazine hormonally strips male frogs of their masculinity and may be partly responsible for global amphibian declines.
- Earth
Motion of ice across Lake Vostok revealed
New measurements of the movement of the Antarctic ice sheet across a lake that harbors microbial life beneath 4 kilometers of ice could help scientists determine where to drill to get the freshest samples of frozen water without contaminating the lake.
- Earth
Do your bit to fight toxic pool pollution
New data suggest that showering before a swim in the community pool could help limit the formation of toxic chemicals in the water.
- Agriculture
Journal disowns transgene report
The journal Nature now says it shouldn't have published a report that genetically engineered corn is leaking exotic genes into the traditional maize crops of Mexico.
- Earth
Stemming the Tide
New approaches to stopping the introduction by ships of invasive species to North American waters are beginning to show promise but have a long way to go.
- Earth
Satellites discover new Arctic islands
Danish researchers analyzing satellite observations of remote Tobias Island, discovered in 1993 off the northeastern coast of Greenland, have stumbled upon a new group of small islands nearby.
