Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2009

Antarctic Meltdown Would Flood Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., and other coastal U.S. cities could find themselves under several more feet of water than previously predicted if warming temperatures destroy the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a new study based on a model predicts. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) towers about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea...

Jan 31, 2009

New Shock Absorbers Generate Electricity

A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall...

Jan 31, 2009

Same Species Found at Both Ends of Earth

Scientists have determined that at least 235 species live in both polar seas despite the 8,000 miles (13,000 km) between the ends of the Earth. How some of the creatures wound up at the top and bottom of the planet is a mystery. Distance and habitat divisions — such as...

Jan 31, 2009

Most Wars Occur in Biodiversity Hotspots

More than 80 percent of the world's major armed conflicts from 1950-2000 occurred in regions identified as the most biologically diverse and threatened places on Earth. Scientists compared major conflict zones with the Earth's 34 biodiversity hotspots identified by Conservation International (CI). The hotspots are considered top conservation priorities because...

Jan 31, 2009

Odd Life Found in Great Lakes

Scientists have found some odd life forms in Lake Huron. Peculiar geological formations are supporting floating plumes and purple mats of microbes dwelling in enclaves of the Great Lake, researchers report. The odd biology is more akin to what is found in some of Earth's most extreme environments. The mats...

Jan 31, 2009

Plastic Bag Recycling Up Across U.S.

Driven by greater consumer access to recycling programs and new markets for recycled materials, plastic bag and film recycling increased across the U.S. in 2007, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The latest National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. estimated 830,180,000 pounds...

Jan 31, 2009

Complexity of Spit Revealed

Saliva tells a lot about a person these days, ranging from ancestry to criminal connections. But drool still holds many mysteries, including what the heck lives in it and why each of us has our own salivary signature. A new study tries to clean this up a bit, revealing that...

Jan 31, 2009

Extreme Green: Reusable Toilet Wipes

The New York Times reported yesterday that the softness sought in toilet paper by Americans is wiping out forests. After all, paper doesn't grow on trees. Oh wait, it does. and that's the problem. While toilet tissue can be made from recycled paper, U.S. customers demand soft and comfortable, said...

Dec 31, 2008

Breakthroughs That Will Change Everything

Will humans go extinct? Or will we instead evolve into divergent species? Can we stop killing each other? Perhaps old-fashioned wisdom will return and save the day. These are just some of the compelling thoughts generated when the forward-thinking Edge Foundation recently asked scientists, authors, futurists, journalists and other offbeat...

Dec 31, 2008

Bush to Create Large Ocean Sanctuaries

On Tuesday, President George W. Bush will create three ocean sanctuaries with a total area bigger than California. The national monuments, as they will be called, will be protected from mining and virtually all fishing. One of the marine monuments includes the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot on Earth at...

Dec 31, 2008

Life As We Know It Nearly Created in Lab

One of life's greatest mysteries is how it began. Scientists have pinned it down to roughly this: Some chemical reactions occurred about 4 billion years ago — perhaps in a primordial tidal soup or maybe with help of volcanoes or possibly at the bottom of the sea or between the...

Dec 31, 2008

Can Obama Save the Planet?

The wintry wind that blew through Washington D.C. Tuesday brought change, ushering in what many see as a new era of respect for science that researchers and government officials around the world hope will result in a significant new effort to combat climate change. Whether the task is worthy will...

Dec 31, 2008

White House Wants Your Green Ideas

The White House announcement today of a new Middle Class Task Force had a science sub-text that suggests campaign promises of a greener economy remain a focus of the new administration. The task force, run by Vice President Joe Biden, is charged with figuring out how to improve the economic...

Nov 30, 2010

Mysterious Microbes Found Deep in Earth's Crust

Microbes have been discovered living in the deepest layer of the ocean's crust, in a neighborhood so remote it's almost never been sampled. And although the microbe community uncovered was more like Wyoming than New York City the bacteria were few and far between the research revealed life goes on...

Nov 30, 2010

Mono Lake: Home of Arsenic-Eating Bacteria

NASA announced today that they have discovered bacteria that can survive on arsenic, even incorporating the normally poisonous substance into its DNA. The bacteria were found in California's Mono Lake. Mono Lake is located in eastern California, along the western edge of the Great Basin, one of North America's four...