Science

Seals Reveal How Antarctic Sea Ice Melt Affects Ocean Currents

Seals Reveal How Antarctic Sea Ice Melt Affects Ocean Currents

By Tim Radford Scientists have recruited the elephant seal—the bruiser of the pinniped world—to explore and report back on the dynamics of ocean currents in the Antarctic winter. Elephant seal carrying satellite-linked sensor in Prydz Bay, Antarctica.University of Tasmania And the mammals have delivered a potentially ominous message: because fresh water is melting from the […]

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    Warming Atlantic Ocean Leads to Rise in Marine Bacteria

    Warming Atlantic Ocean Leads to Rise in Marine Bacteria

    By Robert McSweeney Rising sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic are likely to be behind a recent surge in cases of diarrhoeal diseases from marine bacteria in northern Europe and the U.S. East Coast, a new study says. In their analysis that goes back to 1958, the researchers show that levels of Vibrio bacteria—which […]

    Don’t Get Burned by Misinformation About Dead Trees and Wildfire

    Don’t Get Burned by Misinformation About Dead Trees and Wildfire

    By Douglas Bevington In California, dead trees are big news. In June, the U.S. Forest Service reported that 66 million trees had died since 2010 as the state has experienced a prolonged drought. Drought stress has weakened trees’ natural defenses to native bark beetles, resulting in a pulse of tree mortality. Yet amid all of […]

    World’s First Private Moon Landing Gets Approval

    World’s First Private Moon Landing Gets Approval

    For the first time in history, the U.S. government has approved a private company’s plans to visit the moon. The lunar mission will be undertaken by Cape Canaveral, Florida-based Moon Express, Inc., an aerospace startup founded in 2010 by‎ space entrepreneurs Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards, Naveen Jain and Dr. Barney Pell. The landmark approval was […]

    World’s Deepest Blue Hole Discovered in South China Sea

    World’s Deepest Blue Hole Discovered in South China Sea

    Chinese scientists believe they have discovered the deepest “blue hole” on the planet. “Dragon Hole,” in the Paracel Islands—which are disputed islands claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam—is reported to be 987 feet deep, according to Chin’s state-run news agency Xinhua. The blue hole—a giant pit in the sea that is known for its distinctive […]

    Mysterious Air Bubbles Make Siberian Land Act Like a Waterbed

    Mysterious Air Bubbles Make Siberian Land Act Like a Waterbed

    Fifteen mysterious bubbles have been discovered in Siberia. The mysterious bubbles produce a natural waterbed-like reaction when stepped on. Photo credit: Giphy Researchers Alexander Sokolov and Dorothee Ehrich, working on the island of Belyy, first spotted a mysterious bubble last year. While the exact reason for these spots hasn’t been determined, environmental researchers think they […]

    This Popular Insecticide Is Lowering Sperm Count in Honey Bees by 40%

    This Popular Insecticide Is Lowering Sperm Count in Honey Bees by 40%

    Neonicotinoids, a common and highly controversial class of insecticides linked to catastrophic bee deaths, could be significantly lowering the sperm count of male drone honey bees and cutting their life span by a third, Swiss researchers found. Researchers from the Institute of Bee Health at the University of Bern, Switzerland discovered that male drone honeybees […]

    5 Things to Consider After 14 Months in a Row of Record Heat

    5 Things to Consider After 14 Months in a Row of Record Heat

    By Astrid Caldas There is just so much to digest in the latest release of monthly global temperature data by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), I thought I needed to say something. I just don’t know where to start, so bear with me, please, as […]