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Science / Our Planet

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Scientists Dismiss Geo-Engineering as a Global Warming Quick Fix

A new study shows that dispersing minerals into oceans to stem climate change would be an inefficient and impractical process

The greening of Lower Manhattan

Learning From Nature How to Deal With Nature

As cities like New York prepare for what appears to be a future of more extreme weather, the focus increasingly is on following nature’s lead

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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

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Scorchingly Hot 2012 Riddled With Extreme Weather

Drought, heatwaves, cyclones—even a tornado in Hawaii—mark last year as one filled with record-breaking severe weather

Small red boring sponges embedded in star coral, killing the coral polyps immediately surrounding them.

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

Coral from the Northern Line Islands reveals a link between climate change and El Niño.

Is Climate Change Strengthening El Niño?

New research on Pacific corals that trace climate patterns back 7,000 years shows how recent El Niños compare with those of the past

To Larry Edwards, a cave is a time machine.

The Secrets of Earth’s History May Be in Its Caves

An underground scientist is pioneering a new way to learn what the climate was like thousands of years ago

Wetlands at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

How Will the Wetlands Respond to Climate Change?

Smithsonian scientists have taken to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate how marshlands react to the shifting environment

Smithsonian astronomers detect a planet forming from debris around a young star.

The Smithsonian Heads to Hawaii

Coral reefs and radio telescopes make a trip to the tropics more than worthwhile

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Seven Must-See Art-Meets-Science Exhibitions in 2013

Preview some of the top-notch shows—on anatomy, bioluminescence, water tanks and more—slated for the next year

New evidence indicates cheese was invented as far back as 5000 BCE, although ancient cheeses wouldn’t have been as varied or refined as the cheeses we have today.

New Discovery of 7000-Year-Old Cheese Puts Your Trader Joe’s Aged Gouda to Shame

Previously traced to ancient Egypt, prehistoric pottery indicates that cheese was invented thousands of years earlier

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UPDATE: Spidernaut Dies at Natural History Museum

After 99 days in space, the museum’s new jumping spider made it only five days before dying of natural causes

After decades of uncertainty, a new study confirms that both polar ice sheets are melting.

Confirmed: Both Antarctica and Greenland Are Losing Ice

After decades of uncertainty, a new study confirms that both polar ice sheets are melting

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Are We Headed for Another Dust Bowl?

The devastating drought of the 1930s forever changed American agriculture. Could those conditions return?

Going Knots, by Huguette Roe

A Photographer Turns Her Eye to the Recycling Process

Huguette Roe makes compressed cans, pipes and paper look like abstract art

When completed in late 2013, the $2.2 billion Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will power 140,000 California homes.

Take a Look at the World’s Largest Solar Thermal Farm

When completed in 2013, this series of 170,000 mirrors will power 140,000 California homes

Microscopic bacteria were found to conduct electricity between red surface sediments and deeper, anaerobic black seabed layers.

Live Wires: Newly Discovered Seafloor Bacteria Conduct Electricity

Scientists have found ultrathin multicellular bacteria that create electrical circuits several centimeters long

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The Transformation of Freshkills Park From Landfill to Landscape

Freshkills was once the biggest landfill in the world. Today, it’s the biggest park in New York City

An MIT study reveals that carbon dioxide directly reduces the strength of ice, regardless of temperature.

Bad News Chemistry: Carbon Dioxide Makes Ice Weaker

An MIT study reveals that carbon dioxide directly reduces the strength of ice, which has troubling implications for climate change

Tungsten carbide drill bits will grind through miles of ultra-hard igneous seafloor rock in hopes of reaching the mantle.

New Project Aims to Drill to the Earth’s Mantle, 3.7 Miles Down

Scientists aim to reach the mantle and bring back rock samples for the first time in human history

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