Reducing earthquakes caused by fracking
Scientists tested four methods to reduce earthquakes caused by drilling for geothermal energy, and proposed a safer approach to replace the…
Category: Big Questions
Objects at the border between planets and stars
Researchers studying a star-forming region in our galaxy found mysterious objects that are neither stars nor planets, but could be a new…
Why is Earth’s crust layered?
Researchers found that the enrichment of radiogenic elements in the upper continental crust requires high-temperature metamorphism to melt…
Common DNA damage could cause neurodegenerative diseases
Researchers discovered that neurons from patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis share…
Is modern farming sustainable?
Scientists studied sediments from the Mississippi River catchment to determine whether modern agriculture caused more landscape erosion than…
Dark matter influences the size of galaxies
Researchers simulated the effects of dark matter halos on galaxies and found that denser halos produced smaller galaxies.
Thawing permafrost is affecting fish health
Researchers showed that thawing permafrost reduces the quantity and quality of fish species in Arctic streams by raising water temperatures…
Wildfires and forest harvesting worsen severe weather impacts
Scientists found that forest harvesting and wildfires in British Columbia are causing severe weather events to create more geohazards, like…
Are horseshoe crabs truly “living fossils”?
Scientists discovered a 445-million-year-old horseshoe crab fossil showing that these animals have maintained the same reproductive system…
The long-term fate of Earth’s biosphere
Scientists modeled how Earth’s temperature and atmosphere will change over billions of years and predicted that plants and the life they…