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- Environment
Analyze This: Beauty products are big sources of urban air pollution
In cities, a larger share of urban air pollution comes from the use of bath products, cleansers and more than does the burning of fossil fuels.
- Ecosystems
Surprise! Fire can help some forests keep more of their water
In California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, a century of fire suppression has led to forests with too many trees. But areas thinned by fire now show one benefit: more water.
- Environment
Scientist tackles water pollution with epic swims
German chemist Andreas Fath swam the entire Tennessee River — in record time. The reason was not to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records. He wanted to raise awareness about water pollution.
- Animals
Deep-sea expedition led researchers to doomed octopus nursery
The ill-fated octopods may be a sign that a healthy population is hiding nearby.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that looks at how rock layers are organized to understand how the world has changed over time.
- Agriculture
Barnyard science: Check out this fowl research
New research shows how to store eggs, insulate homes with chicken feathers and slow fires with shells.
- Chemistry
Bioplastics could put some shrimp in your Barbie
Teen researchers are looking to natural materials like shrimp shells and banana peels to make plastics ecofriendly and biodegradable.
By Sid Perkins - Environment
‘Boot camp’ teaches rare animals how to go wild
Animals raised in captivity cannot safely re-enter the wilds without first understanding how to find food and avoid becoming a predator’s lunch. Scientists are helping some species learn this.
- Oceans
Small swimmers may play huge role in churning the seas
Hoards of migrating shrimp and krill can cause large-scale water movements in the ocean, a new study suggests.
- Environment
Restaurant diners may ingest extra pollutants
People who dine out have higher levels of certain potentially harmful pollutants in their bodies than do people who eat home-cooked meals, new data show.
- Environment
Scientists Say: Runoff
Water that flows through soil and into rivers, lakes and oceans becomes runoff. That runoff can carry part of the land — including its pollution — to the sea.
- Earth
Robots and ‘green energy’ win the day at Intel ISEF
The top three awards — each worth $50,000 to $75,000 — went for a window-washing robot, low-cost big batteries and ‘green’ capacitors
By Sid Perkins