Earth
- Earth
Nature’s coast guards
Barrier islands aren’t just for beach vacations — they protect coasts from storms and flooding.
- Earth
How Earth’s surface morphs
Partly melted rock acts like grease to help huge masses of the planet’s surface slip up, around and down.
- Earth
Fracking waste and quakes
Underground storage of liquid waste from these mining operations can make an area more vulnerable to tremors.
- Animals
Animals under Antarctic ice?
Data suggest a web of lake organisms might thrive deep under ice; scientists struggle to make sense of the new report.
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- Agriculture
The cabbage’s clock
A newly harvested plant, fruit or vegetable does not turn off — like a switch — and die, scientists report. Instead, an internal “clock” inside the fresh-picked plant continues to tick away. It responds to light and darkness, just as when it had been rooted in the soil.
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- Health & Medicine
Wanted: ‘Smart’ cleaners
Active surfaces will — on their own — help remove everything from insects and germs to poisons.
- Climate
Major twister hits Oklahoma
Its speed, which largely determines the damage it causes, is still unknown.
- Climate
Explainer: Why a tornado forms
Tornadoes start with a thunderstorm. But they also require other ingredients, such as instability.
- Environment
Pee is for power
The water in urine can be a source of hydrogen for electrical generators.
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