Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2009

Dads Are Key to Making Us Human

Some 95 percent of male mammals have little to no interaction with their children. Homo sapiens are one of the most notable exceptions, leading some scientists to think fatherhood is an important part of what makes us human. Most theories for the family involvement of fathers invoke the familiar Man...

May 31, 2009

Giant Glaciers Can Shrink Rapidly

Huge glaciers like those in Greenland and Antarctica can shrink or retreat rapidly, a new study of a prehistoric glacier suggests. An ancient glacier in the Canadian Arctic rapidly retreated in just a few hundred years, according to new findings by paleoclimatologists at the University at Buffalo. The results are...

Apr 30, 2009

Odd Volcano's Black Ooze Explained

The Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania oozes black goo called carbonitite lava that flows more like water instead of the hotter red stuff of most volcanoes. Now scientists think they know why. The volcano sits in the Great Rift Valley, which is sinking and will eventually sit on the sea-floor...

Apr 30, 2009

'Ida' Fossil Hype Went Too Far

Science is supposed to be methodical, and usually it is, sometimes to the point of being dull. But there are times when a little hoopla is called for. Major discoveries that rewrite the textbooks deserve big headlines and ubiquitous media coverage and lots of scientific slaps on the back and...

Mar 31, 2009

New Clues to Sea's Green Glow

An eerie green glow that sometimes emanates from ocean waters was known to be produced by bioluminescent worms, but now scientists have uncovered some key clues as to just how the creatures produce their light show. The show isn't for us. Marine fireworms use bioluminescence to attract suitors in an...

Mar 31, 2009

White House Sees 'Radical' Climate Ideas as Last Resort

As a last resort, the White House would look at shooting particles into the atmosphere to cool the climate, Obama's new science adviser John Holdren told the Associated Press. Some media are playing up the radical aspect of the idea. Well, it's certainly out there, and there's no agreement among...

Mar 31, 2009

Students Venture into Hearts of Violent Storms

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Ever wondered what it's like being up close and personal with some of the most violent storms on Earth? That's often just a normal day for students and faculty at Texas Tech University, who...

Mar 31, 2009

Three Subgroups of Neanderthals Identified

We tend to think of Neanderthals as one species of cavemen-like creatures, but now scientists say there were actually at least three different subgroups of Neanderthals. Using computer simulations to analyze DNA sequence fragments from 12 Neanderthal fossils, researchers found that the species can be separated into three, or maybe...

Mar 31, 2009

Why Leaves Turn Red

Scientists have long wondered if the red color of fall leaves was more than just a sign of death. The process of turning leaves to brilliant colors requires energy, but doesn't seem to benefit the trees. Some have suggested that fall colors act as sunscreen and keep trees from freezing....

Mar 31, 2009

Industry Climate Scientists Ignored

Scientists asked to advise an industry group about greenhouse gases and global warming were ignored by the industry during the 1990s. The Global Climate Coalition represented oil, coal and auto industries. Its own scientists wrote in a 1995 internal report that the human contribution for the greenhouse effect could not...

Feb 28, 2009

Oldest Fossil Brain Find Is 'Really Bizarre'

Most fossil specimens can only wish they had a brain. But paleontologists recently discovered the oldest known example nestled within a 300-million-year-old fish fossil from Kansas. The rare find provides an unusually detailed view of brain structure in prehistoric life. It similarly sheds light on the extinct relatives of modern...

Feb 28, 2009

Powerful Ideas: Humans as Renewable Sources

Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas — some existing, some futuristic — for fueling and electrifying modern life. This is the first article in the series. Already abandoned that New Year's resolution to lose a little flab? Recent innovations could inspire an exercise kick with the prospect...

Feb 28, 2009

Growing Acid Problem Thins Shells of Ocean Creatures

Scientists have started to see some of the expected effects of Earth's increasing carbon dioxide burden: The shells of microscopic animals in the ocean are becoming thinner thanks to the ocean's absorption of some of that excess carbon dioxide, a new study shows. The shells of those creatures studied are...

Feb 28, 2009

Great White Sharks Once Grew Slower, Fossil Shows

Editor's Note: The story has been revised to clarify that ancient great white sharks likely grew more slowly but could have ultimately been longer, not smaller, than great whites today. The most complete fossil of an ancient great white shark has been found in the dry deserts of Peru, including...

Feb 28, 2009

The Chemistry of Life: Where Oil Comes From

Editor's Note: This occasional series of articles looks at the vital things in our lives and the chemistry they are made of. Oil, the lifeblood of U.S. transportation today, is thought to start with the remnants of tiny organisms that lived millions of years ago, but the exact chemical transformation...