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Jul 31, 2015

10 Years After Hurricane Katrina: Have Weather Forecasts Improved?

The fierce Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast, taking more than 1,800 lives, made landfall 10 years ago. And though meteorologists knew then it would slam New Orleans with levee-toppling intensity, today's weather forecasters are even better equipped to give notice of a storm's coming havoc. Overall, meteorologists have...

Jul 31, 2015

Common Mullein: Stunning Photos of the 'Flannel Leaf' Plant

Common mullein, Verbascum thapsus, is a perennial herb that was first introduced into the United States in the mid-1700s by colonies in Virginia and was used as a piscicide, a chemical substance that is poisonous to fish. Check out these photos of this fascinating herb. (Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick...

Jun 30, 2015

'Hacking' Gut Bacteria Could Spur New Medical Treatments

Faintly glowing mouse droppings are now evidence that one of the most common microbes in the human gut can be easily hacked, or genetically modified, researchers say. The finding means that the microbe could one day be used in making medicines or detecting diseases, the researchers said. Of the 100...

Jun 30, 2015

Oldest Animal Sperm Lasted 50 Million Years in Antarctica

It's time to call Guinness World Records: Researchers on an Antarctic expedition have uncovered sperm cells dating to a whopping 50 million years ago, making these the oldest known animal sperm cells, a new study finds. The researchers found the sperm fragments embedded within the walls of a fossilized cocoon....

Jun 30, 2015

Photos: Spectacular saltwater marshes of the Eastern US

The extensive estuarine saltwater marshes of eastern North America are large, flat, grassy areas that are flooded daily by the semidiurnal tides of the Atlantic Ocean. Most areas experience two high tides and two low tides each day, but when the high and low tides are about the same height,...

Jun 30, 2015

Sparse Snow on Cascade's Mount Baker Viewed from Space

New photos taken from space show the significant snow loss this year atop Mount Baker, in Washington state. The mountain sits about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of the Canadian border and 85 miles (135 km) northeast of Seattle. The steep, cone-shaped volcano rises 10,780 feet (3,286 meters) above sea...

May 31, 2015

Origin-of-Life Story May Have Found Its Missing Link

How did life on Earth begin? It's been one of modern biology's greatest mysteries: How did the chemical soup that existed on the early Earth lead to the complex molecules needed to create living, breathing organisms? Now, researchers say they've found the missing link. Between 4.6 billion and 4.0 billion...

May 31, 2015

Seismic Risk? Research Addresses Dangers of Older Concrete Buildings in U.S.

Jacqueline Conciatore is a science writer for the U.S. National Science Foundation. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In the heart of the worst U.S. earthquake zones, an alarming number of older, low-rise concrete buildings have not been retrofitted for earthquake safety. These two-story...

May 31, 2015

Astronaut Spies Menacing Tropical Storm Bill from Space

Tropical Storm Bill lurks menacingly near the coast of Texas in a photo taken from space yesterday (June 15). The image was captured from the International Space Station, and shows the storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of the Lone Star State. The storm made...

May 31, 2015

Giant 'Earth Stethoscope' Spies on Planet's Wonky Behavior

The planet is crawling with tiny spies: Hidden undersea microphones, instrument-clad satellites and infrared cameras are listening, watching and smelling all the action on planet Earth, from a migrating whale to a meteor crash. The international system, called the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), has been spying on Earth for...

May 31, 2015

Flowering Beauty: Photos of Desert Ironwood Trees

The desert ironwood tree, Olneya tesota, can be found growing only in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico, California and Arizona. Check out these spectacular photos of ironwoods. A desert tree Desert ironwoods grow along the dry washes of the desert region, below 2, 500 feet (762 meters) in elevation. The...

May 31, 2015

Real Climate Change as World Does More Than 'Show Up' (Op-Ed)

Lynn Scarlett, managing director of public policy at The Nature Conservancy, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Actor and comedian Woody Allen is often quoted as saying 80 percent of life is showing up. During the past 20 years, the United Nation's (UN) annual climate...

Apr 30, 2015

Amazing Waves Discovered in Deep-Ocean Trench

Surf's up more than 2 miles under the sea, where ice-cold waves as tall as skyscrapers tumble over an underwater waterfall. Yet the ocean surface is calm, and a tropical sun bakes scientists aboard a research ship moored between South America and Africa just south of the equator. Without the...

Mar 31, 2015

Tornado Alert in Central US: The Science of Severe Storms

This story was updated on April 9 at 9:48 a.m. ET. A wide swath of the central United States is at risk of thunderstorms and possible tornadoes over the next couple of days, according to the National Weather Service. There is severe weather forecasted today (April 8) in two regions...

Mar 31, 2015

In Photos: Beautiful Cactus Flowers Signal Spring Is Here

Most scientists today agree that North America has four distinct desert regions: the Great Basin, the Mojave, the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan. The subjective delineation of one from another is based primarily upon the different species of plants that can be found growing in each region. When the cacti found...