Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

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...

Jan 31, 2009

In Photos: The Great San Francisco Earthquake

Image of San Francisco (Image credit: Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)The great 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed most of the city and left 250,000 people homeless. This full panorama of San Francisco, California, was taken July 29, 1904, less than two years...

Jan 31, 2009

Antarctic Meltdown Would Flood Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., and other coastal U.S. cities could find themselves under several more feet of water than previously predicted if warming temperatures destroy the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a new study based on a model predicts. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) towers about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea...

Jan 31, 2009

New Shock Absorbers Generate Electricity

A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall...

Jan 31, 2009

Same Species Found at Both Ends of Earth

Scientists have determined that at least 235 species live in both polar seas despite the 8,000 miles (13,000 km) between the ends of the Earth. How some of the creatures wound up at the top and bottom of the planet is a mystery. Distance and habitat divisions — such as...

Jan 31, 2009

Most Wars Occur in Biodiversity Hotspots

More than 80 percent of the world's major armed conflicts from 1950-2000 occurred in regions identified as the most biologically diverse and threatened places on Earth. Scientists compared major conflict zones with the Earth's 34 biodiversity hotspots identified by Conservation International (CI). The hotspots are considered top conservation priorities because...

Jan 31, 2009

Odd Life Found in Great Lakes

Scientists have found some odd life forms in Lake Huron. Peculiar geological formations are supporting floating plumes and purple mats of microbes dwelling in enclaves of the Great Lake, researchers report. The odd biology is more akin to what is found in some of Earth's most extreme environments. The mats...

Jan 31, 2009

Plastic Bag Recycling Up Across U.S.

Driven by greater consumer access to recycling programs and new markets for recycled materials, plastic bag and film recycling increased across the U.S. in 2007, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The latest National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. estimated 830,180,000 pounds...

Jan 31, 2009

Complexity of Spit Revealed

Saliva tells a lot about a person these days, ranging from ancestry to criminal connections. But drool still holds many mysteries, including what the heck lives in it and why each of us has our own salivary signature. A new study tries to clean this up a bit, revealing that...

Jan 31, 2009

Extreme Green: Reusable Toilet Wipes

The New York Times reported yesterday that the softness sought in toilet paper by Americans is wiping out forests. After all, paper doesn't grow on trees. Oh wait, it does. and that's the problem. While toilet tissue can be made from recycled paper, U.S. customers demand soft and comfortable, said...