Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2017

Day Zero: Cape Town Could Become 1st Major City To Run Out of Water

Officials in Cape Town are pleading with residents and visitors to save water, warning that the taps could go dry in the drought-stricken South African city by April. To prevent such a crisis, residents of the city will see their daily water allowance slashed from 87 liters (23 gallons) to...

Dec 31, 2017

Tiny Volcano Crystals Could Help Predict Eruptions

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Predicting when a volcano is going to explode is a very difficult task. Every volcano has its own unique and complex maze of tunnels that feed magma to the...

Nov 30, 2019

This Brainless, Single-Celled Blob Can Make Complex 'Decisions'

Tiny, brainless blobs might be able to make decisions: A single-celled organism can change its mind to avoid going near an irritating substance, according to new findings. Over a century ago, American zoologist Herbert Spencer Jennings conducted an experiment on a relatively large, trumpet-shaped, single-celled organism called Stentor roeselii. When...

Nov 30, 2019

Vast Field of Mysterious, Perfectly Circular Holes Dot the Seafloor Off California's Coast

SAN FRANCISCO — On the sea bottom off the coast of central California lies a vast field of mysterious pockmarks. The field spans about 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers), and there are approximately 5,200 of these strange pits, which on average measure about 600 feet in diameter (175 meters)...

Nov 30, 2019

10 Signs That Earth's Climate Is Off the Rails

Climate change is happening, it's real and it's our fault. The evidence is overwhelming — our planet is changing faster than it ever has before. Here are 10 stories from the past year demonstrating how Earth's climate has gone completely off the rails. A polar bear invasion Some polar bears...

Nov 30, 2019

12 Times Science Proved the World Is Amazing in 2019

The world saw plenty of sad, angry and downright catastrophic news this year. But a river of heartwarming, amazing discoveries also flooded in this year, from tardigrades on the moon (lunar water bears?!) to jewel-like lakes under Greenland to a trippy wonderland of hydrothermal vents. Here’s a look at the...

Oct 31, 2019

What Is Convergent Evolution?

Convergent evolution is when different organisms independently evolve similar traits. For example, sharks and dolphins look relatively similar despite being entirely unrelated. Sharks are egg-laying fish with the deadly ability to sniff out blood in the water, while dolphins are curious mammals that navigate by making clicking sounds and listening...

Sep 30, 2019

How Do Compasses Tell Which Way Is North at the South Pole?

Imagine you're packing for the trip of a lifetime: Antarctica! You're going to see the South Pole and maybe hang out with some penguins. But how are you going to find the actual South Pole? You might think that you would reach for a compass first. Compasses — navigation instruments...

Sep 30, 2019

This Microbe Is Spreading Antibiotic Resistance to Other Bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is spreading fast all over the world. When infectious bacteria mutate in a certain way and then multiply, they can become resistant to even the most powerful drugs. But research has revealed a worrying alternative way that antibiotic resistance can spread: an organism that passes on its resistance...

Sep 30, 2019

Oobleck's Weird Properties Demystified

A slurry of cornstarch and water is far weirder than the sum of its parts. Move it slowly, and it flows like a liquid; hit it or sheer it quickly, and it locks up like a solid. The goo is so weird that it gained Seussian fame (and a name)...

Sep 30, 2019

The World's Largest Geode Formed When the Mediterranean Sea Disappeared, New Study Reveals

In an abandoned mine in southern Spain, there is a room of pure crystal. To get there, you'll have to descend deep into tunnels, climb a ladder into an inconspicuous hole in the rocks and squeeze through a jagged tube of gypsum crystals barely wide enough for one person. If...

Aug 31, 2019

Another Tropical Storm Could Hit Parts of Mexico and Texas This Week

A second, smaller tropical storm may make landfall in North America this week, following Hurricane Dorian's devastation of the northwest Bahamas. Tropical Storm Fernand formed in the Gulf of Mexico and has triggered tropical storm warnings across the northeast Mexican coastline, from Barra del Tordo to the mouth of the...

Aug 31, 2019

Explorer Becomes the First to Reach Deepest Point in All 5 Oceans

Hidden beneath the Fram Strait, a passage that separates Greenland and Svalbard, lies the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean, where the seafloor plunges some 18,209 feet (5,550 meters) down. And now, explorer Victor Vescovo has become the first person to ever reach it. The diving feat also makes him...

Aug 31, 2019

Texas Is Drowning Under One of the Wettest Storms in US History

Record-breaking rainfall from the tropical storm Imelda is soaking southeastern Texas. Some areas have been swamped with 20 to 42 inches (51 to 107 centimeters) of rain over just three days, causing catastrophic flooding that is among the worst in U.S. history. Imelda, the first named storm to strike this...

Jul 31, 2019

Greenland Lost 217 Billion Tons of Ice Last Month

A staggering 217 billion tons (197 billion metric tons) of meltwater flowed off of Greenland's ice sheet into the Atlantic Ocean this July. The worst day of melting was July 31, when 11 billion tons (10 billion metric tons) of melted ice poured into the ocean. This massive thaw represents...