Earth

  1. Tech

    Concrete science

    Teen researchers are exploring ways to strengthen this building material, use it for safety purposes and use its discarded rubble.

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  2. Climate

    Zapping clouds with lasers could alter Earth’s climate

    Scientists zapped ice crystals in a lab. They were exploring whether this approach might be used to break those crystals in clouds — potentially as a way to cool Earth’s fever.

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  3. Computing

    ‘Couch potatoes’ tend to be TV-energy hogs

    Many government programs urge people to save electricity by using more efficient TVs. Here’s why these programs should target “couch potatoes.”

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  4. Genetics

    Why some frogs can survive killer fungal disease

    A disease is wiping out amphibian species around the globe. New research shows how some frogs develop immunity.

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  5. Climate

    This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth

    Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.

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  6. Environment

    Uh oh! Baby fish prefer plastic to real food

    Given a choice, baby fish will eat plastic microbeads instead of real food. That plastic stunts their growth and makes them easier prey for predators.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Heat sickness

    Scientists worry that increasing temperatures could combine with air pollution to up rates of illness and premature death — perhaps dramatically.

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  8. Earth

    How ancient African fish feed today’s Amazon

    Many of the world’s lushest tropical forests would starve if winds didn’t bring them nutrient-rich dust from across an ocean.

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  9. Oceans

    Polar bears swim for days as sea ice retreats

    Melting sea ice is forcing polar bears to swim long distances — up to nine days in one case. Such long treks may be more than the bears can handle.

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  10. Earth

    Common water pollutants hurt freshwater organisms

    The germ killers we use and the drugs we take don’t just disappear. They can end up in the environment. There they can harm aquatic organisms, three teens showed.

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  11. Earth

    Dust creates deserts in the sky

    Vast rivers of dust flow through the sky. This invisible force shapes our world in profound ways. And scientists are finally homing in on a major source.

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  12. Earth

    Cool Jobs: Getting to know volcanoes

    It’s too hot to explore the insides of a volcano. These scientists examine their lava, their low-frequency rumblings and their ‘vog’.

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