Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Agriculture
Can Silicon Valley entrepreneurs make crickets the next chicken?
Entrepreneurs are bringing automation and data analysis to insect agriculture to build a profitable business that helps feed the planet.
- Earth
Dry sand can bubble and swirl like a fluid
Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber, and they can flow like fluids under the right conditions.
- Physics
Here’s what causes the aurora-like glow known as STEVE
Amateur astronomer images and satellite data are revealing what causes the strange atmospheric glow called STEVE.
- Animals
Endangered green sea turtles may be making a comeback in the U.S. Pacific
The numbers of green sea turtles spotted around Hawaii, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands have increased in the last decade.
- Microbes
A global survey finds that the Arctic Ocean is a hot spot for viruses
Scientists mapped virus diversity around the world’s oceans. That knowledge may be key to making better climate simulations.
- Earth
More than a million tiny earthquakes revealed in Southern California
By putting millions of tiny quakes on record, scientists hope to learn more about what triggers the big ones.
- Earth
Warm, dry winds may be straining Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf
Wind-induced melting that occurred during the Antarctic autumn may be accelerating the Larsen C ice shelf’s collapse, which could raise sea levels.
- Climate
Tiny microplastics travel far on the wind
Airborne bits of plastic that originated in cities ended up in pristine mountains at least 95 kilometers away, a study finds.
- Climate
Climate change made the Arctic greener. Now parts of it are turning brown.
Arctic browning could have far-reaching consequences for people and wildlife, affecting habitat and atmospheric carbon uptake as well as increasing wildfire risk.
- Climate
Antarctica’s iceberg graveyard could reveal the ice sheet’s future
Drilling deep into the seafloor beneath Antarctica’s “Iceberg Alley” could reveal new clues about how quickly the continent has melted in the past.
- Earth
How deadly, fast-moving flows of volcanic rock and gas cheat friction
Mixtures of hot volcanic rock and gas called pyroclastic flows travel so far by gliding on air, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Readers seek answers to stories about shingles, Neandertal spears and more
Readers had questions about Neandertal spears, Earth’s inner core and more.
