Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico early on September 20, 2017, with 250-kilometer-per-hour winds, torrential rains and a storm surge up to three meters high. In its wake:…
Category: Earth
The Tonga eruption may have spawned a tsunami as tall as the Statue of Liberty
The massive Tonga eruption generated a set of planet-circling tsunamis that may have started out as a single mound of water roughly the height of the Statue of Liberty. What’s…
A new seasoning smells like meat thanks to sugar — and mealworms
A spoonful of sugar may help the mealworms go down. Adding sugars to powdered, cooked mealworms creates a seasoning with an appetizing “meatlike” odor, researchers report August 24 at the…
Extreme climate shifts long ago may have helped drive reptile evolution
There’s nothing like a big mass extinction to open up ecological niches and clear out the competition, accelerating evolution for some lucky survivors. Or is there? A new study suggests…
Common, cheap ingredients can break down some ‘forever chemicals’
There’s a new way to rip apart harmful “forever chemicals,” scientists say. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are found in nonstick pans, water-repellent fabrics and food packaging…
The Arctic is warming even faster than scientists realized
The Arctic is heating up at a breakneck speed compared with the rest of Earth. And new analyses show that the region is warming even faster than scientists thought. Over…
Electrical bacteria may help clean oil spills and curb methane emissions
The small motorboat anchors in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Shrieks of wintering birds assault the vessel’s five crew members, all clad in bright orange flotation suits. One of…
How to make jet fuel from sunlight, air and water vapor
Jet fuel can now be siphoned from the air. Or at least that’s the case in Móstoles, Spain, where researchers demonstrated that an outdoor system could produce kerosene, used as…
Underground heat pollution could be tapped to mitigate climate change
The secret to efficiently heating some buildings might lurk beneath our feet, in the heat that humans have inadvertently stored underground. Just as cities warm the surrounding air, giving rise…
Sea sponges launch slow-motion snot rockets to clean their pores
The next time you spot a sea sponge, say “gesundheit!” Some sponges regularly “sneeze” to clear debris from their porous bodies. As filter feeders, sponges draw in water through inlet…
