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Jul 31, 2014

Leafy Bloodhounds: Plants Might Find Land Mines

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Wars may end, but land mines last for decades. These deadly explosives can be cleared, but the task is often dangerous and time-consuming. Someday, there may be an easier way: Plants could indicate where mines lay hidden underground, according to researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in...

Jul 31, 2014

Strongest Earthquake in 25 Years Hits Northern California

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Bay area near Napa, California, this morning (Aug. 24), the largest such event in the area since the magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Dozens of injuries and severe damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure have been reported,...

Jul 31, 2014

5 Ways Gut Bacteria Are Good for More Than Just Your Gut

Exercise may improve more than just the look and diameter of your gut, according to a recent study. It may also increase the bacterial diversity within it, the study published in June in the journal Gut showed. But is having more gut bacteria a good thing? To give you an...

Jul 31, 2014

Iceland Volcano Blasts Back to Life

A new volcanic eruption in southeast Iceland on Sunday (Aug. 31) fountained lava nearly 200 feet (60 meters) into the air. Lava is spewing from the same crack as a small eruption that occurred Friday (Aug. 29). The fissure slices through the 200-year-old Holuhraun lava field, between Bardarbunga volcano and...

Jun 30, 2014

Tropical Storm Arthur's Threat Seen From Space (Photo)

Tropical Storm Arthur bears down on the coast of Florida, in this photo captured today (July 2) by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The menacing storm is clambering northward, and could strengthen into the first hurricane of the season by Friday, just in time to spoil Fourth of July...

Jun 30, 2014

Beauty of Greece Dazzles from Space (Photo)

Greece's rugged shoreline stands out against the brilliant blue Mediterranean Sea in a new astronaut photograph. Taken from the International Space Station, this photograph snapped on March 21 shows a cloud-free view of most of Greece. The large peninsula at the center of the image is the Peloponnese, home to...

Jun 30, 2014

'Family That Walks on All Fours' Not Evolutionary Throwbacks

When Turkish evolutionary biologist Uner Tan introduced the world to a Turkish family with some members who could walk only on all fours, in a bear crawl, he and other scientists speculated this odd gait was the resurgence of a trait lost during human evolution. Not so, a new study...

Jun 30, 2014

Who Will Save Earth? The Ingenious Human Mind (Op-Ed)

Raghu Murtugudde is executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Forecasting System at the University of Maryland Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) and a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. Murtugudde contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. I wake up every morning...

May 31, 2014

Ant Sperm Bundle Up to Outrace the Competition

The race to fertilization is no every-sperm-for-itself sprint in desert ants. A new study finds that bundles of these ants' sperm work together to swim faster than any single sperm could. The sperm of the ant Cataglyphis savignyi are some of the few sperm cells ever found to cooperate. The...

May 31, 2014

Intense Solar Storm Could Hit Earth on Friday the 13th

The sun has unleashed three powerful solar flares over the past two days, and the effects of these eruptions could hit Earth this Friday the 13th — but don't worry, space weather reports show there's no cause for alarm. The three solar bursts were all X-class flares — the most...

May 31, 2014

Human Ancestors Got Herpes from Chimps

A herpes virus that infects humans originated in chimpanzees before it jumped into early human ancestors, according to a new study. Researchers found that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infected hominids before their evolutionary split from chimpanzees 6 million years ago, whereas herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2) was transferred from ancient...

May 31, 2014

Swirling Aurora, Zodiacal Light Win Top Prizes in Night Sky Photo Contest

The night sky never looked so inviting. From light rays framing the Big Dipper above the Alps to the eerily stunning aurora hovering atop Norway to the silhouettes of skywatchers below Mother Nature's starlit dome, the winners of a dark skies photo contest delight with their upward gazes. The winners...

May 31, 2014

Strange Stone Spheres Top List of New World Heritage Spots

Enigmatic archaeological sites in Costa Rica dotted with mysterious stone spheres are among six new spots newly designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The stone sphere sites, on the Diquis Delta in southern Costa Rica, join places like the Great Wall of China and Yellowstone National Park on the list...

Apr 30, 2014

Belly-Flopping Icebergs Could Help Track Glaciers

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Icebergs that tumble into the ocean are the source of unusual earthquakes recorded at Alaskan glaciers, researchers said yesterday (May 1) here at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America. Though no one regularly follows these funky seismic signals, analyzing them could give researchers a...

Apr 30, 2014

Massive Citizen-Powered Climate Simulation Links Winter Floods to Global Warming (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Britain’s warm, wet winter brought floods and misery to many living across southern England, with large parts of Somerset lying underwater for months. When in January rainfall was double...