Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2013

Massive Earthquakes Make Volcanoes Sink

The biggest earthquakes also move mountains. The massive earthquakes that struck Japan and Chile in 2011 and 2010, respectively, sank several big volcanoes by up to 6 inches (15 centimeters), two new studies report. This is the first time scientists have seen a string of volcanoes drop after an earthquake....

Apr 30, 2013

Best Earth Images of the Week May 3, 2013

A mission close to home (Image credit: Gabriel Trisca, Boise State University) NASA's newest rover won't be exploring another planet, but will take a look at part of our own. Named Grover (short for Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research), the rover will explore Greenland's ice sheets to...

Apr 30, 2013

Macho Men May Not Have Survival Advantage in War

Despite a known link between a masculine-looking face and aggression in men, macho-faced soldiers didn't survive Finland's World War II Winter War in greater numbers than recruits with less masculine faces. The macho-looking men did, however, have more children in their lifetimes than thinner-faced guys, suggesting that face shape is...

Apr 30, 2013

Homeowners Warm to Solar Power: Op-Ed

Marlene Cimons of Climate Nexus contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. When Linda and Jay Mathews moved back to their native California nearly two years ago — after 20 years in New York and Washington — they found their dream home in Pasadena. It had everything...

Apr 30, 2013

Photo Glossary: Hawaii's Amazing Volcanic Rocks

Hawaii's Rocks From'A'a to (almost) Z (Image credit: Robert Simmon, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data from USGS and NASA) An amazing variety of rocks appear in Hawaii from a single type of molten rock called basalt. Here's a guide to some of the weird and wonderful stones that result from...

Apr 30, 2013

Was Girl Murdered for Her Organs?

The family of a young British girl traveling in their home country of India is accusing a medical clinic of killing their daughter for her organs. Gurkiren Kaur Loyal's family said she was being treated for dehydration in Punjab when she died. According to a news story in The Telegraph,...

Apr 30, 2013

Study: Stress Isn't Hot

Stress makes its mark on the female face, according to a new study that finds men judge women with high levels of a stress hormone less attractive. The finding is a gender turnaround on previous research that has found that women go for low-stress guys, too. Stress can suppress fertility,...

Apr 30, 2013

Costa Rica's Turrialba Volcano Erupts

Costa Rica's restless Turrailba volcano rumbled to life early Tuesday morning (May 21), spitting ash and steam from its summit and prompting a small-scale evacuation. The small blast started at two fissures in the volcano's West Crater, the same site of earlier eruptions in 2010 and 2012, according to the...

Apr 30, 2013

Smithsonian Digs Into Extraordinary Fossil Collection

This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. This well-preserved fossilized tree hopper, flanked by two fossil crane flies, is one specimen from of an extraordinary fossil collection donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History by an amateur paleontologist between...

Mar 31, 2013

Historic Marine Mammal Protection Act Worked, Scientists Say

In the fall of 1972, then-President Richard Nixon signed the Marine Mammal Protection Act, providing sweeping protections for whales, dolphins, seals and other species swimming in U.S. waters whose populations had dwindled due to commercial fishing and accidental killing. The law invigorated conservation efforts and prohibited hunting, killing, capturing and...

Mar 31, 2013

How a Fake Island Landed on Google Earth

Last year, a group of Australian researchers undiscovered an island the size of Manhattan in the South Pacific. A mysterious place called Sandy Island had popped up on maps, northwest of New Caledonia. It even showed up as a black polygon on Google Earth. But when scientists sailed there last...

Feb 28, 2013

Ocean Acidification Affects Northeastern US Coasts More

Coastal regions around the United States respond differently to ocean acidification, a large-scale study finds. In the new study, scientists from 11 U.S. institutions measured levels of carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon in waters off the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. If the same amount of...

Feb 28, 2013

10 Sinkhole Facts That Could Save Your Life

Sinkholes are a common feature in Florida's limestone-rich bedrock as groundwater easily dissolves the calcium carbonate into solution turning the ground into a slushy mix that washes out under the structures built on top of it. But rarely do they kill. On Thursday night, a sinkhole in Tampa opened up...

Feb 28, 2013

Wilderness 'Paparazzi' Flock to Yosemite's 'Firefall'

Last year, Yosemite National Park's famed firefall was more of a firedrizzle due to lack of snow. But this year, the firefall is burning bright. Yosemite's Horsetail Fall flows like lava under a clear sky and favorable lighting. It's a small waterfall that makes big news whenever it glows orange...

Feb 28, 2013

'Dino Idol': Vote For Fossil to Be Unveiled

Canada's next rock star may be between 71 million and 75 million years old — and it won't be music that propels him or her to fame. The Canadian Museum of Nature has launched a contest called Dino Idol, in which the public can vote on which of five dinosaur...