Editors' Picks

Transforming Raw Scientific Data Into Sculpture and Song

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores

Photos: The Uneasy Conflict Between Artificial and Natural Light

Artist Kevin Cooley has traveled the world capturing landscapes where one light shines on the horizon

Could Solar Panels on Your Roof Power Your Home?

Researchers at MIT are investigating how to turn houses in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into mini-power plants

Science Beats

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Though assumed to be great for soil, earthworms actually may be killing off orchids by ingesting their seeds
April 03, 2013 | By Paul Bisceglio

A mixture of plant oils, bacterial spores and ozone is responsible for the powerful scent of fresh rain
April 02, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Scientists keep learning new things about food all the time, from the diet power of olive oil's aroma to how chewing gum can keep you away from healthy foods.
April 02, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

As the climate changes, trees and shrubs are poised to take over tundra and alter the Arctic's ecosystems
March 31, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Far below the ocean floor, scientists have discovered a microbial community away from undersea vents, beyond the reach of the sun
March 29, 2013 | By Hannah Waters

Satellites snap pictures of Greenland's glaciers, which a new study shows are vanishing at an accelerated pace, helping to spike global sea levels
March 29, 2013 | By Claire Martin

The first-ever sequencing of the "produce microbiome" reveals that grapes, peaches and sprouts host the largest diversity of harmless bacteria
March 27, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Scientists can now quickly assess characteristics of a landslide soon after slopes fail, based on its seismic signature
March 27, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

As Easter draws near, we celebrate creatures that seemingly die and then come back to life
March 25, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Animals with shrinking habitats are interbreeding, temporarily boosting populations but ultimately hurting species' survival
March 22, 2013 | By Claire Martin

Contrary to prior speculation about the elusive creatures, all giant squid belong to a single species and they all share very similar genetics
March 20, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

The promise of oil has heated up a global argument over the Arctic’s true borders
April 2013 | By Amy Crawford

The Mariana Trench may serve as a seafloor nutrient trap, supporting remarkable numbers of microorganisms
March 17, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Ribbon worms swallow prey whole, grease themselves with their mucus to slide quickly through mud, split into thousands of new worms if repeatedly severed, and much more
March 15, 2013 | By Emily Frost

The story behind how the Windy City gets its yearly watery makeover
March 15, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

An app allows boat travelers to track declining levels of phytoplankton, a microscopic organism at the base of the marine food chain
March 15, 2013 | By Claire Martin

Measuring how coral fluorescence changes may serve as an early indicator of the declining health of a reef
March 13, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

The smog-filled valley recently hosted NASA planes that tested air quality to help calibrate future satellite efforts to measure air pollution
March 08, 2013 | By Claire Martin

A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade—one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion
March 08, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

The drug, naturally present in coffee and citrus plant nectars, is shown to improve honeybees' long-term memory
March 07, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Research shows that cities can cut emissions by 70 percent; check out the ones striving their hardest to curb their carbon appetites
March 07, 2013 | By Claire Martin

Israel battles a swarm of millions of locusts that flew from Egypt that is giving rise to a host of ecological, political and agricultural issues
March 06, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage and North Pole navigable during summer
March 04, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Thanks to global warming, hot air piles up at mid-latitudes and causes storms and heat waves to linger for long stretches of time, new research shows.
March 02, 2013 | By Claire Martin

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores
March 01, 2013 | By Marina Koren

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