Earth

  1. Earth

    Explainer: Telling a tsunami from a seiche

    Waves that hit coastlines with ferocious power, tsunamis are one of the planet’s most devastating forces of nature. And seiches: They’re tsunamis little, but still potentially deadly, cousins.

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  2. Environment

    Burning to learn

    Fires cause billions of dollars of destruction to homes and forests every year. But not all fires are bad, especially for forests. With a better understanding of fire, scientists can both help people prevent dangerous fires — and identify which ones it would be better to let burn.

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  3. Environment

    Explainer: How and why fires burn

    A fire’s colorful flame results from a chemical reaction known as combustion.

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  4. Tech

    Branching out for safer water

    Clean drinking water could be only a tree branch away, a new study finds.

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  5. Earth

    Earthquake-triggered lightning?

    An experiment with beads offers support for the claim that a rare type of lightning may accompany some quakes.

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  6. Earth

    Intel STS finalist takes on arsenic poisoning

    Concerned about arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, Intel Science Talent Search finalist Thabit Pulak invented an affordable filter to help people remove this toxic pollutant from their drinking water.

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  7. Earth

    Intel STS finalist brings earthworms to the big time

    Earthworms and charcoal help plants resist infections, according to research by Anne Merrill, a finalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search.

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  8. Environment

    China exports pollution alongside goods

    Many companies have moved the plants that make their products to developing countries, such as China. But the pollution linked to making those products can travel around the world.

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  9. Animals

    Birds versus windows

    Buildings in the United States can be deadly obstacles to flying birds. A new study estimates that as many as 1 billion birds die every year after colliding with windows. And low buildings — not skyscrapers — account for most of those deaths.

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  10. Earth

    Mining metals amidst seafloor animals

    Miners may need to get their feet — and everything else — wet as they carefully seek out loads of copper and other valuable natural resources.

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  11. Animals

    Sharks become science helpers

    Jaws may scare beachgoers. But sharks bring a smile to some environmental scientists, who are using the toothy fishes to collect data on the ocean.

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  12. Microbes

    Arctic thaw is spreading wildlife diseases

    Polar animals are encountering new, killer parasites as melting ice unlocks their access to new hosts.

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