ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Fierce Aftershock Compounds Recovery Efforts in Nepal

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE In the midst of digging out from the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck Nepal just three weeks ago, residents of Kathmandu find themselves once again in recovery mode. A powerful aftershock, with a preliminary magnitude registering 7.3, struck just east of Nepal's capital on Tuesday, sending an already rattled community running for cover yet again.

Egyptian Mummified Animals Contain Hidden Surprises

For over twenty years, scientists have used modern technology, in the form of CT scans and X-rays, to virtually unwrap mummified remains. These powerful tools, which allow researchers to peer inside mummies, provide information as to cause of death, burial treatment, and individual traits of the deceased. But now, this technology is being used to explore a new breed of Egyptian mummies: animals that were preserved to accompany the dead. And perhaps the greatest surprise is what's missing from these mummified treasures.

JPL Tech In Space And On Ground Helps Save Lives After Disaster

Technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) helped search-and-rescue teams find and save four men buried in rubble following the Nepal Earthquake. FINDER, a device no larger than a carry-on suitcase weighing less than 20 pounds, detected the heartbeats of the victims through 10 feet of wood, mud, and brick.

How's the Carbon Stacking Up? NOAA Says CO2 Has Passed Its Mark

The latest human first has chilling consequences for our species, and all others: for the first time since scientists began tracking global carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere, we have surpassed 400 parts per million worldwide.

Heavy Rain and Twisters Sweep the Midwest

The folks in Oklahoma City are waking up to a city ransacked by a bevy of storms that swept through the Midwest yesterday, sparking twisters that ripped through parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas on Wednesday night.

A Wintry Affair—How Oregon's Lost Lake Disappears

The volcanic roots of Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest become evident each year when the mysterious Lost Lake vanishes. Near the Hoodoo Ski Area, the water of Lost Lake escapes through a hole on the north shore like water down a drain.

Why Whales Are Known To Have Some Nerve

Marine biology researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have discovered a unique nerve structure that allows massive rorqual whales to fish effectively. The nerves within the tongues and mouths of these whales can "stretch" to more than twice their resting length and then snap back into position effortlessly.

Quake Shakes Papua New Guinea

On the heels of the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal comes another large tremor, this time off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

AS GLOBAL TEMPERATURES RISE, SPECIES MAY PLUMMET

As if submersion of coastal communities by rising sea levels weren’t bad enough, scientists have recently added another frightening repercussion to climate change: the loss of species. Scientists are still quibbling over the number of species that may perish with rising temperatures, some claiming zero while others predicting a whopping 54%. In an effort to refine the predictions, Marc Urban, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, has crunched the numbers, and although his results don’t spell the end for over half the world’s species, the numbers are still frightening.

Can Dinosaur Skulls Tell Us Just What They Ate and How?

With recent archaeological findings proving that researchers may not know as much about prehistoric life as they once thought, researchers with the American Museum of Natural History are taking another look at interpreting the diets of long-extinct animals, and what they’re finding points to finding the source of a prehistoric diet. Though teeth shape has been used for decades as a primary indicator as to the dietary habits of a fossilized subject, in a new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers are now saying that skull shape and ancestral lineages, both before and after extinction events, may serve as a proxy for what these animals truly once ate.

Extremely Hot Days—Why One Study Is Saying that Global Warming is to Blame

Climate change is already causing heat waves and other extreme weather events around the world. Now, a new study has confirmed that these types of extreme events will only get worse and as much as 75 percent of the planet's "moderate daily hot extremes" can be tied to climate change.

Could Excess Carbon Dioxide Be Coming From The Trees? New Forest Models Predict CO2

For several years now researchers have come to find a perplexing missing amount of carbon dioxide in their data. Models have repeatedly missed the mark, and though researchers don’t exactly know where all of the carbon emissions are coming from and where they are going, many assumed that the answer had to lie in the ‘sink’ of the world’s oceans. But now researchers at the Imperial College London are finding that perhaps the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide has something to do with forests—or rather, what humans leave behind.

Overfishing Leads to Aggressive Competition in Caribbean Coral Reefs

While they may make great loofas, in the coral communities of the Caribbean reefs sponges are a greater threat than perhaps even humans. Aggressive competitors for resources and space, these nefarious neighbors have been known to use shading, smothering, snot and even toxins to kill their coral counterparts, literally living on what’s left of their remains. And without many natural predators, these sponges continue to damage reef-building corals unless kept under control.
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