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Science / Our Planet

Plastic debris and particles are now turning up in the ocean waters surrounding Antarctica.

High Levels of Plastic and Debris Found in Waters off of Antarctica

In the world’s most remote ocean waters, researchers discovered unexpectedly high levels of plastic pollution

As part of the Pacific Centennial Oscillation pattern, ocean waters in certain areas become warmer and cooler as part of a century-long cycle. Red indicates warmer water; blue shows cooler.

New Climate-Shifting Pattern: Is PCO the Next El Niño?

Computer simulations indicate that ocean temperatures and weather patterns might vary on a 100-year-long cycle called PCO

Dating and mapping fossil finds is one way anthropologists track early human migrations. The bones from Qafzeh, Israel, (a drawing of one of the skulls, above) indicate Homo sapiens first left Africa more than 100,000 years ago.

How to Retrace Early Human Migrations

Anthropologists rely on a variety of fossil, archaeological, genetic and linguistic clues to reconstruct how people populated the world

A new study finds a correlation between levels of BPA, a chemical used to line the inside of aluminum cans, and obesity in children and teens.

Is the Can Worse Than the Soda? Study Finds Correlation Between BPA and Obesity

BPA, a chemical used in aluminum soda cans and other food packaging, was found to be associated with childhood obesity in a new study

Eugene Dubois discovered the first hominid fossils in Indonesia when he unearthed Homo erectus bones at Trinil in 1891 and 1892.

Indonesia’s Top Five Hominid Fossil Sites

Indonesia is one of the first places where scientists discovered hominid fossils and is home to some of the oldest hominid bones outside of Africa

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How Do You Make a Building Invisible to an Earthquake?

Engineer William Parnell may have found a way to save at-risk cities from destruction

Geoengineering could replicate the cooling effects of a massive volcanic eruption as a tool to reduce climate change.

Is Geoengineering the Answer to Climate Change?

A new study looks directly at the immediate expenses of intentionally cooling our climate, but what are the long-term costs?

A new technology harnesses the energy in wastewater to produce electricity.

Could Sewage Be Our Fuel of the Future?

A new way of treating wastewater uses bacteria to produce electricity, potentially solving a pair of environmental problems

The 1972 Homo rudolfensis skull is combined in this composite image with one of the lower jaws found at Koobi Fora, Kenya.

Multiple Species of Early Homo Lived in Africa

New fossils unearthed in Kenya confirm that at least two species of Homo co-existed in Africa two million years ago

Osprey Reef, one of five reefs that will have have full national park-level protection in Australia.

Australia Creates World’s Largest Marine Reserve Network

The plan will protect the Coral Sea as well as pygmy blue whale habitat off the southern coast of Western Australia

Computer models indicate that wildfires will become more frequent in temperate regions as the climate changes over the coming decades

Climate Change Means More Wildfires in the West

A new study indicates that temperate regions will experience more fires, while equatorial areas will see fewer

Alfred Wegener, in Greenland, c. 1930, was ridiculed as having “wandering pole plague.”

When Continental Drift Was Considered Pseudoscience

More than 100 years ago, a German scientist was ridiculed for advancing the shocking idea that the continents were adrift

The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, one of the largest in recent history, is dwarfed by the scale of supervolcano eruptions

Can Supervolcanoes Erupt More Suddenly Than We Think?

Enormous magma reserves may sit quietly for just thousands or even hundreds of years

Will extraterrestrial caves house unusual life forms, as the Katafiki Cave in Greece does?

What Will We Find in Extraterrestrial Caves?

Scientists hope to look for extraterrestrial life in a new place: recently discovered caves in places like the moon, Mars and Titan

A slime mold is used to design an efficient U.S. interstate system.

If the Interstate System Were Designed by a Slime Mold

How a brainless, single-celled organism created a startlingly efficient route map for U.S. highways

Some scientists have suggested the weight of water in the lake created by the Zipingpu Dam in China triggered the 2008 Sichuan earthquake

UPDATED: How Humans Cause Earthquakes

Fracking is just the latest cause to make the news for its link to quakes

The Glaucus atlanticus sea slug, or blue dragon, feeds on toxins from much larger species.

Glaucus Atlanticus: Science Picture of the Week

Atlanticus Pokemon, er, Sea Slug: What is this far-fetched ocean creature and why is it so poisonous?

Madelia, Minnesota is a small town with a big plan to produce fuel made from local materials for local markets.

A Little Independent Energy Experiment on the Prairie

If you can fight your way through the dirt storms of Madelia, Minnesota, you may be able to find the future of renewable energy

Chart Sources: Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.L., Randers, J. and Behrens III, W.W. (1972)

Looking Back on the Limits of Growth

Forty years after the release of the groundbreaking study, were the concerns about overpopulation and the environment correct?

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Using Space Satellites to Spot Ancient Cities

Computer analysis of satellite imagery has revealed what could be a record number of archaeological sites

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