Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2007

Image Gallery: Curious Clouds

Lenticular Clouds (Image credit: Richard H. Hahn) This spectacular, multi-hued formation of so-called lenticular clouds was observed over Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, Colo. Professional photographer Richard H. Hahn snapped the magnificent view soon after sunset at 5:02 p.m. MST (7:02 EST) on Jan. 5. Lenticular clouds form...

Mar 31, 2007

NASA: Arctic Meltdown Threatens Ice Cap's Stability

Perennial sea ice in the Arctic is melting faster each summer than it can be replaced during winter, a new study confirms. A study released last year found that perennial sea ice—which is at least 10 feet thick and remains throught the seasons and through the years—dropped 14 percent from...

Mar 31, 2007

Earth's Protective Magnetic Field Older Than Thought

Earth's magnetic field was at least half as strong 3.2 billion years ago as it is today, researchers report. That means the planet was pretty well protected way back then from solar output that could otherwise have stripped away the atmosphere and doused early living organisms with lethal radiation. The...

Mar 31, 2007

The Coulter Hoax: How Ann Coulter Exposed the Intelligent Design Movement

In the summer of 2006, I heard that a new book called Godless presented an insightful and devastating criticism of the theory of evolution. Although I learned that its author, Ann Coulter, is not a scientist but a lawyer turned author and TV pundit, she nevertheless appeared to be an...

Mar 31, 2007

Gambling on Global Warming Goes Mainstream

An MIT meteorologist said three years ago that he would bet money that global average temperatures would cool back down in 20 years. The quote triggered a flurry of Internet dialogues and prompted scientists to challenge each other to make bets on climate-change issues. One scientist took the wagering meteorologist,...

Mar 31, 2007

Warming Kicks Frogs While They're Down

As if frogs and other amphibians around the world didn’t have enough to worry about with a killer fungus spreading rapidly and humans encroaching on their habitats, now global warming seems to be affecting one of the few pristine habitats the frogs have left, a new study suggests. More than...

Mar 31, 2007

Study: Global Warming Could Hinder Hurricanes

Global warming might not fuel more intense hurricanes in the Atlantic after all. Despite increasing ocean temperatures that feed the monstrous storms, climate change may also be ramping up the winds that choke off a hurricane’s development, a new study claims. “The environmental changes here do not suggest a strong...

Mar 31, 2007

World's First Tree Reconstructed

Earth's oldest known tree stood nearly 30 feet tall and looked like a modern palm, a new reconstruction shows. Workers uncovered hundreds of upright stumps of the 385 million-year-old tree more than a century ago, after a flash flood in Gilboa, New York uncovered them, but little else was known...

Mar 31, 2007

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies The big Blue Marble, Earth, as seen from space. (Image credit: NASA)Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages, global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say need to be addressed for humans to achieve sustainable living on this...

Mar 31, 2007

Fishy Rain to Fire Whirlwinds: The World's Weirdest Weather

When Mother Nature Throws a Curve Ball Aurora borealis in vicinity of Anchorage. (Image credit: Collection of Dr. Herbert Kroehl, NGDC. Available in the NOAA Photo Library.)As if tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards weren't enough to keep us on our toes, Mother Nature occasionally surprises us with some truly odd weather...

Mar 31, 2007

Parasites Evolve from Bad to Good

Parasites are by definition bad for you. Some, such as malaria, can kill. Others, like microbes known as Wolbachia that are found in more than one-fifth of all insects, often make female hosts less fertile. Now scientists discover parasites can evolve surprisingly rapidly to become helpful instead of harmful. The...

Feb 28, 2007

Rain and Snow: Scientists Don't Know How Much Falls

With constant weather forecasts on TV and the Internet and all the precise storm totals that are reported, you might think scientists had a firm grasp of how much rain and snow falls around the planet. And you'd be wrong. It's amazing how much we don't know about global patterns...

Feb 28, 2007

Sea Squirt Regrows Entire Body from One Blood Vessel

Our closest invertebrate relative, the humble sea squirt, can regenerate its entire body from just tiny blood vessel fragments, scientists now report. The entire regeneration process, which in part resembles the early stages of embryonic development, can produce an adult sea squirt in as little as a week. Video: Skimming...

Feb 28, 2007

Old Earthquake Faults are Like Worn Brake Pads

Earthquake faults are worn smooth over time by friction, like the brake pads of an old car, according to a new study. The finding, detailed in the March issue of the journal Geology, suggests old and new faults might generate different types of earthquakes. Researchers were able to see the...

Feb 28, 2007

Ancient Furry Featherweight Mammal Discovered

Fossil remains have revealed a new svelte, squirrel-like mammal that scurried around in the wee hours of the night snagging insects and worms about 125 million years ago. Paleontologists unearthed the remains in the Yan Mountains in what is now the Hebei Province in China. A reconstruction of what the...