Earth

  1. Climate

    Where will lightning strike?

    When lightning strikes, the results can be deadly. But nature’s dazzling light show also can provide scientists with insights into when and where the next thunderbolt might strike.

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  2. Earth

    Solved: Mystery of the ‘sailing’ rocks

    Rocks and boulders periodically move across the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, leaving tell-tale tracks in their wake. Using advanced technology, scientists have finally solved the mystery of how this happens.

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  3. Animals

    Chef puts eco-bullies on the menu

    Some immigrant species can become a nuisance, eating up or displacing the natives. Often people find little incentive to catch and remove the newcomers — unless they find them too yummy to pass up.

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  4. Tech

    Soaking up oil spills — with cotton

    Natural, low-grade cotton could help clean up oil spills better than synthetic materials, a new study finds. And unlike synthetics, cotton breaks down naturally.

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  5. Plants

    Saving the banana

    A number of diseases threaten the world’s most popular fruit. Scientists are working to fight these blights. But if they don’t succeed, the sweet banana that’s a breakfast staple could disappear.

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  6. Microbes

    Buried Antarctic lake teems with life

    Last year, scientists drilled 800 meters (roughly a half mile) down through ice to reach a pitch-black Antarctic lake. They now report that lake hosts a thriving community of one-celled microbes.

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  7. Animals

    Wind farms: Restaurants for seals?

    Scientists have tracked harbor seals visiting the turbines of ocean wind farms. The predators may be drawn by fish that make their homes in the artificial reefs created by the manmade structures.

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  8. Earth

    Meteorites likely wiped out Earth’s earliest life

    Enormous meteorites appear to have slammed into Earth several times early in its history. Each mega-smashup would have boiled off oceans and obliterated any bit of life.

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  9. Environment

    Watering plants with wastewater can spread germs

    Recycled waste water may slake the thirst of outdoor plants. But it also can spread bacteria, a new study finds — germs that antibiotics may not be able to kill.

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  10. Chemistry

    Chemistry: Green and clean

    “Green” means environmentally friendly and sustainable. Green chemistry creates products and processes that are safer and cleaner — from the start.

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  11. Environment

    Explainer: What are endocrine disruptors?

    Some chemicals can act like hormones, turning on or off important processes in cells. That can harm development or even trigger disease.

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  12. Environment

    Bug-killer linked to decline in birds

    One of the most popular chemicals used to protect crops from bugs may also take a toll on birds, a Dutch study finds. U.S. farmers also rely on these insecticides, a second study finds.

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