Earth
Explainer: CO2 and other greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide is just one of several chemicals that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Nitrous oxide, methane and CFCs are other big contributors.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
A bold plan to save the planet turns carbon dioxide into stone
Scientists hope that capturing carbon dioxide this way will limit both further warming of our planet and an escalation of extreme weather events.
Explainer
Technically Fiction
Animals
Splatoon characters’ ink ammo was inspired by real octopuses and squid
In Nintendo’s Splatoon game series, Inklings and Octolings duke it out with weapons that fire ink. How does this ink compare with that of real octopuses and squid?
Profile
Math
This civil engineer turns to math to make energy more affordable
Destenie Nock uses computer algorithms to help identify households struggling to afford utilities.
Features
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New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills
Recycling plastics is really hard — especially into useful materials. But new chemical tricks could make recycling easier.
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A bold plan to save the planet turns carbon dioxide into stone
Scientists hope that capturing carbon dioxide this way will limit both further warming of our planet and an escalation of extreme weather events.
More Stories from the December 1, 2022 issue
- Earth
One 2022 tsunami may have been as tall as the Statue of Liberty
A massive volcanic eruption in the South Pacific, earlier this year, appears to have triggered one tsunami that was initially 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) tall.
- Psychology
To excel at basketball, it’s mind over matter
Get your head in the game. Top basketball coaches value psychological traits more than physical ones when recruiting players, says a new study.
- Animals
Sea sponges spew slow-motion snot rockets to clear out their pores
Sea sponges rely on a sneezing technique to clear their pores. The mucus flushes out debris — and provides a snack for other marine life.
- Tech
You might someday ‘wallpaper’ your bedroom with this loudspeaker
This thin, flexible and lightweight loudspeaker could reduce noise in loud spaces. It also might enable listeners to experience sound in new ways.
- Animals
Award-winning photo captures ‘zombie’ fungus erupting from a fly
The winner of the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution photo competition captures the cycle of life and death in the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
