This season's tornado outbreak in the U.S.
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Feed SubscriptionSquid Studies: Back to the Sea of Cortez
Editor's Note: Marine biologist William Gilly embarked on new expedition this month to study jumbo squid in the Gulf of California on the National Science Foundation-funded research vessel New Horizon.
Read More »Arabian Oryx Makes History as First Species to Be Upgraded from "Extinct in the Wild" to "Vulnerable"
The latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes an all-too-rare victory: The Arabian Oryx ( Oryx leucoryx ) has been upgraded from the Endangered category to Vulnerable. This is quite an achievement, because the species was extinct in the wild just a few decades ago. The last wild Arabian Oryx was shot in 1972
Read More »How Physics Limits Intelligence
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Read More »Leap Seconds May Hit a Speed Bump
For most of human history, we have defined time through the movements of planets and stars.
Read More »Female Ejaculation: The Long Road To Non-Discovery
I confess: this subject--the science of female ejaculation--is not an easy topic for me to write about. I could, in principle, feign complete gynaecological objectivity, affixing to my literary visage the stone-faced look of a caring urologist palpating your pudendum. But I suspect you know me better than that by now
Read More »MSU China Paleontology Expedition–New season starts with division of egg duties, petrified trees, soybean Popsicles
Editor's Note: MSU China Paleontology Expedition is a project led by Frankie D. Jackson and David J. Varricchio, professors in the Department of Earth Sciences, Dinosaur Paleontology at Montana State University and Jin Xingsheng, paleontologist and Vice Director of the Zhejiang Natural History Museum in Hangzhou, China
Read More »Early 20th Century Botanist Gave Us Domesticated Blueberries
Mmmm, blueberries. It’s the height of the season, and I’ve been tossing a handful onto cereal, into pancakes or just straight into my mouth.
Read More »High Wired: Does Addictive Internet Use Restructure the Brain?
Kids spend an increasing fraction of their formative years online, and it is a habit they dutifully carry into adulthood. Under the right circumstances, however, a love affair with the Internet may spiral out of control and even become an addiction
Read More »Better Lasers Developed to Defend U.S. Choppers from Shoulder-Fired Missiles [Video]
At next week's Paris Air Show , the U.S. military hopes to get a good look at the latest technology designed to protect low-flying aircraft against small arms and shoulder-fired missiles, a persistent threat to our helicopters throughout the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns
Read More »NOAA Makes It Official: 2011 Among Most Extreme Weather Years in History
The devastating string of tornadoes, droughts, wildfires and floods that hit the United States this spring marks 2011 as one of the most extreme years on record, according to a new federal analysis. Just shy of the halfway mark, 2011 has seen eight $1-billion-plus disasters, with total damages from wild weather at more than $32 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Agency officials said that total could grow significantly, since they expect this year's North Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, will be an active one.
Read More »Sad Sacks: Can Reusable Shopping Bags Leach Lead into Food?
Dear EarthTalk : I heard that some reusable bags contain lead. Is this a major health concern?
Read More »The Hole Picture: Growth of Black Holes and Galaxies Linked from an Early Age
It's the source of a long-standing cosmological quandary. Galaxies or black holes: Which came first?
Read More »MIND Reviews: Neuroscience of Bullying
Three new books reveal how we deal with suffering and trauma. A child who is bullied by her playmates may kick her kitten in retaliation. Passing pain to others is not just a human trait--payback can also be seen in many animals
Read More »Too Hard for Science? Neutrinos from the Big Bang
Cosmic neutrinos could yield key insights, but detection devices would need to be the size of a star or galaxy In "Too Hard for Science?" I interview scientists about ideas they would love to explore that they don't think could be investigated. For instance, they might involve machines beyond the realm of possibility, such as particle accelerators as big as the sun, or they might be completely unethical, such as lethal experiments involving people. This feature aims to look at the impossible dreams, the seemingly intractable problems in science
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