How do ice sheets melt?
Scientists observed a glacier collapse in Greenland and proposed a new model of how ice sheets melt. Their model describes water as both…
Category: Big Questions
A new method to detect volcanic eruptions
Scientists developed a new seismic-based signalling system that provides early alerts of volcanic eruptions.
Brewing sustainable power from used coffee grounds
Researchers developed a fully biodegradable energy-harvesting device that uses spent coffee grounds to transform motion into electricity.
Were dinosaurs doomed before the asteroid hit?
Scientists analyzed a rock layer in New Mexico dating to the end of the dinosaur era and found that dinosaurs in the south remained diverse…
When glaciers retreat, microbes take over
Researchers demonstrated that the first microbes to colonize recently deglaciated soil can extract nutrients from air and rock to survive…
The history of tsunami-causing earthquakes in Japan
Researchers pieced together clues from seismic data and sediment samples to unravel the history of tsunami-causing earthquakes in the Japan…
Lithium mining impacts local waters
Researchers found elevated metal concentrations in surface waters and groundwater downstream of lithium-containing hard rock processing…
Using bacteria to fight fungal brown rot
Scientists compared the effectiveness of traditional chemical fungicides and newer biological fungicides in killing the fungus responsible…
Is Earth’s water why intelligent life evolved here?
A Columbia University scientist argued that the existence of humans provides strong evidence that intelligent life is more likely to evolve…
Plants changed the chemistry of magmas
Researchers used isotopes in magmatic minerals to demonstrate that continental magmas altered globally around 450 million years ago…