Life May Be Even Older Than We Thought!
How long has life been around on Earth? Is life an inevitable part of planet formation? The second question is tough to answer, but if life…
Category: Earth Systems
These articles summarize studies that are all about how the planet Earth works!
Is Organic Farming Really Better? It Depends.
Organic farming and conventional farming each have their own strengths and weaknesses that depend on application.
Forests Recover Well When Humans Get Out of the Way
It goes without saying that forests are important. As the lung of our planet, they strongly contribute to converting carbon dioxide that we…
Bacteria-Powered Battery Helps Remove Lake Pollution
Nitrogen pollution is a big problem in standing water such as lakes and ponds. The nitrogen comes from many sources, often agricultural…
Grow High-Tunnel Lettuce Year Round on Fish Waste
A group of agricultural researchers at West Virginia University wanted to find out if it was possible to grow lettuce year round using high…
What Causes Ice Ages? A New Proposal.
A new international study casts doubt on the leading theory of what causes ice ages around the world — changes in the way the Earth…
When Dolphins Learned to Swim
For more than 250 million years, four-limbed land animals known as tetrapods have repeatedly conquered the Earth’s oceans. These…
Hydrofracturing in the Greenland Ice Sheet
Surface meltwater regularly travels to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet and lubricates the flow of the ice into the ocean, but new…
Abnormally high plume observed above surface of Mars
Plumes seen reaching high above the surface of Mars are causing a stir among scientists studying the atmosphere on the Red Planet On two…
Is the mind algorithmic?
Disagreements in how we use words can cause major confusion. Sometimes, someone uses the word “far” to mean 50 miles, and other times…