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Science / Our Planet

An experiment with corals taken from the warm waters of the U.S. National Park of American Samoa showed that at least one species can quickly adapt to rising heat.

New Research

This Coral Has Shown It Can Weather Warmer Waters

Corals are not expected to do well with climate change. But the ability to adapt to warmer oceans could give them more time

Phoenix glows even after 10 p.m. one April night in this image made with a camera sensitive to infrared light, which is generated by heat and invisible to the naked eye. Researchers call the city an “urban heat island.”

The Reality of a Hotter World is Already Here

As global warming makes sizzling temperatures more common, will human beings be able to keep their cool? New research suggests not

Crawling bare ivy on wall.

How to Bring a Devastated Forest Back to Life

Humans have damaged the world’s forests, but not irreparably

A woman depositing a plastic bottle in a recycling bin in Worcestershire, UK.

Recycling: You May Be Doing It Wrong

As more things are able to be recycled, the world of recycling grows ever more complicated

Oil floats on the surface of Gulf waters in June 2010. Is it still there today?

Breaking Down the Myths and Misconceptions About the Gulf Oil Spill

Does oil stick around in the ecosystem indefinitely? What was the deal with the deformed fish? Can anything bad that happens in the Gulf be blamed on oil?

Jacqueline and Kenneth Griffin Jr. live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their two kids, Kenneth “Tre” Griffin III, 9, and Antonio, 7. Over the course of a week, they produced 41.1 pounds of household waste—31 pounds of landfill garbage and 10.1 pounds of recyclables.

Art Meets Science

What Can We Learn From Pictures of People and Their Trash?

A photography project meets public service campaign aims to raise awareness about what we throw in the trash in just one week

As climate change makes wet places wetter and dry areas drier, the frequency of drought is expected in increase in certain locations. Droughts, such as this one in Kenya in 2006, can increase food insecurity, especially among the poor.

Anthropocene

Eight Ways That Climate Change Hurts Humans

From floods and droughts to increases in violent conflict, climate change is taking a toll on the planet’s population

A coqui frog perches on a branch in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico

Chirps of Coqui Frogs May Be Getting Shorter and Higher Pitched As Climate Warms

The shift in duration and pitch could impede females’ ability to pick up on mating signals, researchers say

Noah's Ark by Edward Hicks, 1846.

New Research

Could Noah’s Ark Float? In Theory, Yes

Basic physics suggests that an ark carrying lots of animal cargo could float, but science doesn’t support other facets of the biblical tale

Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat, by Simon de Myle

Ten Ancient Stories and the Geological Events That May Have Inspired Them

If you dig deep enough, say scientists, you can find some truth to legends and creation stories

Small island nations such as Tuvalu in the South Pacific face a wide range of threats from climate change, including rising seas that will inundate the land.

Five Frightening Observations From the Latest International Climate Change Report

Adaptation cannot save us from all the negative impacts of pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

The Lake, Petworth: Sunset, Fighting Bucks, painted by J.M.W. Turner around 1829, was one of several works studied to see if there was a connection between the colors used in the image and volcanic particles in the atmosphere at the time of the painting's creation.

New Research

How Paintings of Sunsets Immortalize Past Volcanic Eruptions

The balance of reds and greens reflects the amount of tiny particles in the atmosphere, scientists say

Explore Every Tornado Across the United States Since 1980 Through This Interactive Map

See why they call it Tornado Alley, but don’t be fooled into thinking a tornado can’t happen in your own backyard

When viewed from space, Earth looks like a water planet. But nearly all of that is saltwater and undrinkable.

A World of Water Woes

From the Middle East to the Caribbean to Australia, people around the world are dealing with water scarcity

Measuring 745 feet across, Janet Echelman's Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks is her largest aerial sculpture to date.

Art Meets Science

A Massive Aerial Sculpture Is Hoisted in Downtown Vancouver

Artist Janet Echelman combines ancient techniques with modern technology to create her largest-ever net sculpture for TED’s 30th anniversary

Floating glaciers in Iceland's Jökulsárlón Lagoon naturally creak and groan as they break apart.

Art Meets Science

What Are the Acoustic Wonders of the World?

Sonic engineer Trevor Cox is on a mission to find the planet’s most interesting sounds

Fallen trees in Chernobyl's infamous red forest.

New Research

Forests Around Chernobyl Aren’t Decaying Properly

It wasn’t just people, animals and trees that were affected by radiation exposure at Chernobyl, but also the decomposers: insects, microbes, and fungi

None

Do You Live Within 50 Miles of a Nuclear Power Plant?

A new interactive map tells you exactly how far you live from a nuclear reactor

A pastoral cattle herder in near the Meatu district in Tanzania.

Africans’ Ability To Digest Milk Co-Evolved With Livestock Domestication

Lactose tolerance spread throughout Africa along human pastoral migration routes, say scientists

Genghis Khan attacked and captured the Jin capital of Zhongdu (now Beijing, China) in 1215, in one of many campaigns that expanded the Mongol Empire.

Anthropocene

Warm, Wet Times Spurred Medieval Mongol Rise

Genghis Khan—and his army of men on horseback—benefitted from boom in grasslands

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