Earth

  1. Brain

    To protect kids, get the lead out!

    Lead poisons hundreds of thousands of children. In Chicago, experts show how the toxic metal hurts test performance in school.

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  2. Climate

    Scientists Say: Hurricane or typhoon?

    Sometimes you read about hurricanes, and sometimes about typhoons. The difference? Location, location, location.

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  3. Environment

    The heat that keeps on giving

    Burning fossil fuels generates heat and carbon dioxide. That pulse of heat is quickly exceeded by the warmth that carbon dioxide traps in Earth’s atmosphere.

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  4. Environment

    Many of Earth’s groundwater basins are drying out

    A majority of Earth’s largest underground reservoirs of water are being depleted. These aquifers lose more water each year than they gain.

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  5. Climate

    Pacific hurricanes to strengthen as Earth warms

    Global warming is heating up the oceans. That is causing waters to warm. As a result, Pacific storms — called typhoons — will become more destructive.

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  6. Animals

    A whale of a journey

    The 5,200-kilometer (3,200 mile) journey of Isabela provides a window into the migration patterns of blue whales.

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  7. Environment

    Gulf oil spill: Still poisoning dolphins to crickets

    Once the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill ended, oil continued to harm animals in the Gulf of Mexico. Five years later, it still may not be over, biologists worry.

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  8. Environment

    Scientists Say: Eutrophication

    When a body of water is filled with nutrients, algae and plants may take advantage. And their presence isn’t always a good thing.

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  9. Earth

    Glaciers on ice — for now

    A rise in emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, isn’t just warming Earth. It also could be delaying the onset of the next global cool-down.

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  10. Earth

    Too hot? Some peaks offer climate migrants lots of land

    As mountain climates warm, species may actually gain ground as they migrate up to cooler sites, a new study finds.

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  11. Planets

    Asteroids boiled young Earth’s oceans

    At least two asteroids hit Earth 3.3 billion years ago. This superheated the atmosphere, boiled the oceans and shaped how early life evolved.

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  12. Animals

    This is no cold fish!

    The opah is the fish closest to the whole-body warm-bloodedness typical of mammals and birds. This trait may give the species an edge in the ocean’s cold depths.

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