Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2013

Why Is It So Hot in Australia?

Record-high heat has scorched Australia this week, with temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) for several days in a row in some areas. Relief is expected for this weekend, however. Blazing temperatures have hit athletes and fans at the Australian Open in Melbourne, in what forecasters said could...

Dec 31, 2013

Soil-Free Farming Grows Vegetables in the Desert

With average summer precipitation of about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters), temperatures higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and nutrient-poor sandy soil, it's easy to see why agriculture hasn't taken off for the nations of the Persian Gulf. But an innovative technology used to grow plants on specialized films...

Nov 30, 2015

The 10 Strangest Animal Discoveries of 2015

Every year, scientists wade into jungles, deserts and museum collections to examine animals and, if they're lucky, discover a new species. For instance, in 2015 researchers identified a ruby-red sea dragon off the coast of Australia, a new species of giant tortoise in the Galápagos Islands and an ancient spikey...

Nov 30, 2015

Trail from Ship Exhaust Leaves 'A' in the Sky

You may not have seen it, but in July there was a large A written in the sky over the ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula, in far-eastern Russia. In an image of this A that was snapped from space, the letter looks like it could have been made by an...

Nov 30, 2015

5 Facts to Know About the California Methane Leak

A methane leak in Southern California has forced thousands of people from their homes. Although the gas first began spewing from a leaky underground well in October, the gas company only recently identified the source of the leak. Now, officials with the company say it could be months before the...

Oct 31, 2015

Why Do Sand Dune Avalanches Boom, Burp and Sing?

Avalanching dunes can create their own music, when toppling sand erupts first with staccato burps and then with monotone singing booms. These tunes have long intrigued scientists, and now a team of physicists has deciphered why they occur. The booming and burping sounds each correspond to different classes of waves...

Oct 31, 2015

U.S. Agencies Agree: October Was Crazy Warm

On the heels of the news from NASA that October’s global temperature this year spiked more than any other month in 135 years, virtually assuring that 2015 will be the warmest year on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that their data showed similarly remarkable numbers. The...

Oct 31, 2015

Ancient 'Mud Dragon' Worm Had Spiky Coat of Armor

Like the fictional, fearsome sandworms from the Dune sci-fi novels, a recently discovered worm that lived 535 million years ago had an armored body, a mouth ringed with teeth and rows of thornlike spines on its flanks. But while the Dune sandworms were big enough to carry people on their...

Sep 30, 2015

Epic South Carolina Storm: A '1,000-Year Level of Rain'

South Carolina is still struggling after massive rainstorm that dumped up to forty percent of the average yearly rainfall in just a few days in some places. We are at a 1,000-year level of rain, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said at a news briefing on Sunday (Oct. 4). That's...

Sep 30, 2015

This Pig-Nosed Rat with Vampire Teeth Will Haunt Your Dreams

It has a nose like a cute little piglet's, ears that only a mother could love and teeth that would make Dracula run in fear: This odd-looking rodent captured researchers' attention when they discovered it back in 2013, but now they've described it as a new species. The elusive animal,...

Sep 30, 2015

Everything's Bigger in Texas: Ancient Supersize Shark Fossils Unearthed

This story was updated Oct. 19 at 11:45 a.m. EDT. DALLAS — A mega shark that lived 300 million years ago would have made today's great whites look like shrimps, according to fossils of the beast unearthed in Jacksboro, Texas. Scientists have dubbed the newfound fossils the Texas supershark, and...

Sep 30, 2015

Underwater Fossil Graveyard Reveals Toll of Human-Caused Extinction

If humans had never set foot in the Bahamas, the islands today might be teeming with Cuban crocodiles, Albury's tortoises and rock iguanas. These creatures survived the thawing of the last ice age, but not the arrival of people, a new study finds. On Abaco Island, a graveyard of fossils...

Sep 30, 2015

Hurricane Patricia: How Big Can Tropical Cyclones Get?

Hurricane Patricia is currently churning in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and weather forecasters are calling it the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Communities in southern Mexico, where the hurricane is expected to make landfall later today (Oct. 23), are already preparing for a potentially catastrophic storm. But...

Sep 30, 2015

Bug-Eating Plant Uses Raindrops to Capture Prey

Carnivorous pitcher plants use falling raindrops to force prey to their doom, a new study finds. This finding suggests that pitcher plants are not merely motionless pitfall traps, but instead actively use rapid movements to ensnare their meals, the researchers said. All plants can move; — for instance, sunflowers on...

Sep 30, 2015

Rising Outdoor CO2 Levels Harming Life Indoors (Op-Ed)

Marlene Cimons is a Washington based freelance writer who specializes in science, health and the environment. Her work frequently appears in, among others, the Washington Post, Microbe Magazine, and Climate Progress. She also writes for Climate Nexus, a nonprofit that aims to tell the climate story in innovative ways that...