Editors' Picks

Air Pollution Has Been a Problem Since the Days of Ancient Rome

By testing ice cores in Greenland, scientists can look back at environmental data from millennia past

Plants Flower Nearly a Month Earlier Than They Did A Century Ago

In 2012, many plants in the eastern U.S. flowered earlier than in any other year on record

Drill, Baby, Drill: Sponges Bore Into Shells Twice as Fast in Acidic Seawater

In acidic water, drilling sponges damage scallops twice as quickly, worsening the effects of ocean acidification.

Science Beats

Page 2 of 3

One hundred years ago, a German scientist was ridiculed for advancing the shocking idea that the continents were adrift
June 2012 | By Richard Conniff

If you can fight your way through the dirt storms of Madelia, Minnesota, you may be able to find the future of renewable energy
April 06, 2012 | By Maggie Koerth-Baker

Forty years after the release of the groundbreaking study, were the concerns about overpopulation and the environment correct?
April 2012 | By Mark Strauss

Dennis Meadows thinks so. Forty years after his book The Limits to Growth, he explains why
March 16, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

As part of her plan to prepare Americans for the next "big one," the seismologist tackles the dangerous phenomenon of denial
February 2012 | By Amy Wallace

Earth’s most violent mud volcano is wreaking havoc in Indonesia. Was drilling to blame? And when will it end?
December 02, 2011 | By Erin Wayman

With an eye on climate change, a British startup creates a new form of the ancient building material
December 2011 | By Michael Rosenwald

Two hundred years ago, a series of powerful temblors devastated what is now Missouri. Could it happen again?
December 2011 | By Elizabeth Rusch

Competitive vegetable growers are closing in on an elusive goal—the one ton squash
October 2011 | By Brendan Borrell

A Smithsonian geologist offers her expertise on the seismic event that shook much of the mid-Atlantic this week
August 24, 2011 | By Megan Gambino

Satellite images of mountains, glaciers, deserts and other landscapes become incredible works of art
June 09, 2011 | By Erin Wayman

Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner demonstrates how she turned trash into the building blocks for one community's revival
June 2011 | By Arcynta Ali Childs

Biologist George Schaller on the debate over ANWR conservation and why the refuge must be saved
March 10, 2011 | By Molly Loomis

J. Henry Fair's aerial photographs of industrial sites provoke a strange mix of admiration and concern
January 2011 | By Megan Gambino

Town Brook gave sustenance to the Plymouth’s early settlers, but years of dam building have endangered the struggling stream
November 22, 2010 | By Abigail Tucker

A mineralogist believes he's discovered how life's early building blocks connected four billion years ago
October 2010 | By Helen Fields

Dams, irrigation and now climate change have drastically reduced the once-mighty river. Is it a sign of things to come?
October 2010 | By Sarah Zielinski

Scientists are just beginning to grasp how profoundly oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill has devastated the region
September 2010 | By Michelle Nijhuis

Solar technologies being pioneered in Spain show even greater promise for the United States
August 2010 | By Richard Covington

Grow fruits and vegetables in city towers? Advocates give a green thumbs up
August 2010 | By T. A. Frail

For scientists in a remote corner of coastal North Carolina, ignoring global warming is not an option
August 2010 | By Abigail Tucker

Energy harvested from our bodies will make possible mind-boggling gadgetry
August 2010 | By Michael Belfiore

The economist discusses the stresses that climate change and a greater world population will have on our food supply
August 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Food security experts say these crops, if grown more widely, could help feed the hungry
August 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Asked to imagine life in 2050, the artist Guy Billout, author of the mind-bending book Something's Not Quite Right, wonders why the quest for alternative energy has overlooked the volcano.

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