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Science / Our Planet

Beautiful Drone Video Captures Rarely Visited Area of Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs

Filmmaker Tristan Greszko takes us on an aerial journey through the isolated White Pocket of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

"Watermarks" earned first place in the contest. “The way water in this picture found its way back to the ocean reminded me of a peacock's tail spreading under the sun or a woman's hair blowing in the wind,” Sadri writes.

Art Meets Science

Who Knew Fungi and Fruit Fly Ovaries Could Be So Beautiful?

Princeton University’s annual science art contest shines a light on the research world, adding a video element this year

Mount Fuji is beautiful when viewed from a distance. But it is also an active volcano that, if it erupts, could displace more than a million people in Japan.

What Makes A Volcano Dangerous? People

Millions of people worldwide live in the shadows of dangerous volcanoes

The equivalent caloric amount of chicken, pork or eggs would represent an order of magnitude less greenhouse gas emissions than what was required to produce this beef.

New Research

Raising Beef Uses Ten Times More Resources Than Poultry, Dairy, Eggs or Pork

If you want to help the planet but can’t bring yourself to give up meat entirely, eliminating beef from your diet is the next-best thing

An attendee at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles, California, tries out an Oculus VR headset kit.

Can’t Picture a World Devastated by Climate Change? These Games Will Do it for You

Augmented and virtual reality games may help crack the code of getting humans to do something about the environment

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

New Research

How Does Nature Carve Sandstone Pillars and Arches?

Researchers say the right mix of erosion and stress creates Earth’s natural sandstone arches and columns

The famous "Big Hole" in Kimberley, South Africa

Peering Into Some of the World’s Largest Mines

This interactive map will show you the sources of the planet’s precious metals

Adult Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with gathered insect prey. This is one of the fifteen species shown to be affected by elevated imidacloprid concentrations in surface water in the Netherlands.

New Research

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

This is the latest in a string of studies suggesting that some pesticides impact birds as well as pollinators

In cities, where the urban heat island effect can raise the local temperature several degrees higher than nearby rural areas, summer is a time to cool off wherever you can.

New Research

Why the City Is (Usually) Hotter than the Countryside

The smoothness of the landscape and the local climate—not the materials of the concrete jungle—govern the urban heat island effect, a new study finds

Finger coral's fatness and indiscretion when it comes to algal partners gives it an edge in warming waters.

New Research

Fat Corals Fare Best As Climate Changes

Corals with significant energy reserves that welcome all types of symbiotic algae species won’t easily die if hit with multiple bleaching events

Among the many downsides of natural gas extraction are the small earthquakes caused by injecting wastewater back into the earth. Above, an oil rig drills for natural gas through shale.

New Research

Time to Start Paying Attention to Fracking’s Earthquakes

With wastewater injection sparking swarms of small quakes, some states are taking notice of the danger

An emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) teaching its baby how to preen.

New Research

Emperor Penguin Colonies Will Suffer As Climate Changes

Scientists project that two thirds of emperor penguin colonies will drop by 50 percent in the next century

If a beach has signs that warn about contaminated water, it's probably not the best idea to swim.

America’s Cleanest—And Most Polluted—Beaches

Before you plan a trip to the sand this summer, check out this list of the best and worst beaches, based on water quality

Many fish and other organisms make their home on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. How will the massive living structure change as climate changes?

New Research

Great Barrier Reef Gets A Little Good News

New research shows that some corals may be able to adapt to faster warming than previously thought

Leaves of the plant Plantago lanceolata infected with powdery mildew.

What the Spread Of A Plant Mildew Tells Us About Forests

Fragmenting habitats into smaller pieces may let diseases spread more easily, a new study finds

A green turtle.

Why Do We Have Trouble Talking About Success In Ocean Conservation?

Despite what you’ve read in the news, there’s still hope for a future with a healthy ocean

The Silent Evolution. MUSA Collection, 2010. Depth, 8 m. Manchones Reef, Mexico.

Can Underwater Art Save the Ocean’s Coral Reefs?

Artist Jason deCaires Taylor is creating sculptures to help promote reef growth

Hurricane Irene caused destruction throughout the Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast, killing more than 50 people in late August 2011.

New Research

Our Gender Biases May Be Making Hurricanes With Female Names More Deadly

Even without Katrina and Audrey, storms with feminine monikers have killed more people than those with masculine names

An oil tanker makes its way to Valdez, Alaska. The Arctic’s rich stores of oil and natural gas make it an attractive destination for future voyages.

Arctic Shipping: Good For Invasive Species, Bad For the Rest of Nature

A pair of Smithsonian marine biologists argue that a warming Arctic puts the area at risk for inviting invasive species

Watching a movie on a DVD requires more energy than streaming it over the Internet, a new study finds.

New Research

Streaming a Movie Uses Less Energy Than Watching a DVD

Getting rid of DVD players could reduce carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find

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