Earth
- Microbes
World’s deepest zoo harbors clues to extraterrestrial life
Scientists have found a wide range of life deep below Earth’s surface. The discoveries could help inform our search for life on other planets.
- Earth
Ancient Arctic ‘gas’ melt triggered enormous seafloor explosions
Methane explosions 12,000 years ago left huge craters in bedrock on the Arctic seafloor. Scientists worry more could be on the way today as Earth’s ice sheets melt.
- Animals
Analyze This: A massive annual insect migration
A study of seasonal insect migration gave some surprising results.
- Health & Medicine
Is your home chilly? This might just be healthy
Feeling mildly cold (or a bit too warm) forces the body to adjust what it’s doing to maintain a healthy temperature. And that can do a body good, data now show.
- Earth
To study a geyser, these teens built their own
Fascinated by geysers but unable to see one? These teens decided to build their own. It allowed them to study how temperature and pressure make the water spew into a founta.
- Tech
Maybe ‘shade balls’ should not be balls
So-called shade balls have a range of uses in water reservoirs, from cutting evaporation to reducing the growth of algae. But the best performers might not actually be balls, a Florida teen now shows.
- Environment
Tiny air pollutants inflame airways and harm heart
New studies show how tiny bits of air pollution, called particulate matter, can lead to health problems ranging from chronic runny noses to heart disease.
- Animals
Nighttime lights can dim a firefly’s flash
Fireflies blink to attract mates. But when it’s too bright at night, the insects may stay away.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Continent
A continent is a large land mass. Geologists recognize six of them — Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia, Australia, North America and South America.
- Life
Weird mega-worm found to have odd diet
Giant shipworms have bacteria in their gills that produce food for them. This has made their digestive organs shrink from lack of use.
- Environment
Plastic trash rides ocean currents to the Arctic
Ocean currents can carry plastic trash far from the cities that shed it. Some plastic debris has made it all of the way to the Arctic Ocean, new data show.
- Environment
Some food-packaging pollutants mess with the thyroid
Chemical pollutants may hurt the ability of the thyroid gland to make an important hormone. Teens may be most at risk.
