White ants: The Earth"s backboneless backbone
The first thoughts that probably come to mind when you read the words "white ant" are images of house destruction, wood damage, pest control, and spending money! While white ants are in fact a major structural and agricultural pest, they are among th.....»»
How did the building blocks of life arrive on Earth? Zinc fingerprints in meteorites offer clues
Researchers have used the chemical fingerprints of zinc contained in meteorites to determine the origin of volatile elements on Earth. The results suggest that without 'unmelted' asteroids, there may not have been enough of these compounds on Earth f.....»»
What"s behind the northern lights that dazzled the sky farther south than normal
Another in a series of unusually strong solar storms hitting Earth produced stunning skies full of pinks, purples, greens and blues farther south than normal, including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City......»»
Asteroid mining: A potential trillion-dollar industry
Earth's newest celestial neighbor has finally arrived. Astronomers using a powerful telescope in Sutherland, South Africa, first detected the 33-foot-long asteroid in August, reporting their discovery in Research Notes of the American Astronomical So.....»»
Jude Law battles white supremacists in the riveting trailer for The Order
In the trailer for The Order, Jude Law is an FBI agent asked to investigate a series of crimes that may have been committed by white separatists......»»
How did magma oceans evolve on early Earth and Mars? Iron chemistry and primordial atmospheres offer clues
Before Earth became the blue planet, it was engulfed by a very different kind of ocean: a vast, deep magma ocean reaching down hundreds or perhaps even thousands of kilometers......»»
Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than previously thought, say climate scientists
What will the future climate be like? Scientists around the world are studying climate change, putting together models of the Earth's system and large observational datasets in the hopes of understanding—and predicting over the next 100 years—the.....»»
Scientists recreate sound of Earth"s magnetic flip 41,000 years ago
Approximately 41,000 years ago, Earth's magnetic field briefly reversed during what is known as the Laschamp event. During this time, Earth's magnetic field weakened significantly—dropping to a minimum of 5% of its current strength—which allowed.....»»
Northern lights may be visible in much of upper US on Thursday, Friday
Still haven't caught a glimpse of those shimmery northern lights? Minnesotans have a good chance to snag one of those popular aurora borealis photos at the end of this week thanks to a "severe" geomagnetic storm expected to reach Earth on Thursday......»»
US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
A massive ball of plasma and accompanying magnetic field ejected from the sun is expected to strike Earth on Thursday morning, potentially triggering auroras as far south as Alabama, according to US forecasters......»»
How to watch Crew-8 depart the space station on Sunday
Three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are preparing to depart the International Space Station about 250 miles above Earth......»»
Jupiter"s Great Red Spot shows unexpected size changes
Astronomers have observed Jupiter's legendary Great Red Spot (GRS), an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years. But there are always new surprises—especially when NASA's Hubble Space Telescope takes a close-up look at it......»»
NASA terminal transmits first laser communications uplink to space
NASA's LCOT (Low-Cost Optical Terminal), a ground station made of modified commercial hardware, has transmitted its first laser communications uplink to the TBIRD (TeraByte Infrared Delivery), a tissue box-sized payload formerly in low Earth orbit......»»
Severe solar storm could stress power grids even more as US deals with major back-to-back hurricanes
A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said Wednesday......»»
The transition to a circular bioeconomy requires getting prices right, study says
Conventional food and agricultural production systems employ a linear "take, make, waste" approach: taking natural resources from the Earth to make food and fuel, generating waste that contaminates the soil and water, and emitting harmful pollutants......»»
How accessible is titanium on the moon?
Mining the moon to extract its resources is a critical step on humanity's path into the solar system. One of the most common resources on the moon is considered relatively valuable here on Earth—titanium......»»
Injured comb jellies can fuse into a single organism
Ctenophores merge with neighbors at wound sites, making animals with duplicate parts. Comb jellies, technically known as ctenophores, are one of the weirdest creatures on Earth. T.....»»
Documenting the impact of a fungal outbreak on a forest over half a century
An entomologist and his ecologist daughter have outlined the dramatic changes that have occurred over the past half-century in the forests of White Oak Canyon in the Shenandoah National Park due to a canker fungus......»»
Study finds early STEM success doesn"t boost college enrollment for Black, Latine students
Research studies have consistently identified early academic disparities as the greatest barrier to STEM representation for non-white students. To address the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in STEM, education policies have sought to improve math.....»»
Control the path and power of hurricanes like Milton? Forget it, scientists say
Hurricanes are humanity's reminder of the uncontrollable, chaotic power of Earth's weather......»»
The other greenhouse gases warming the planet
While carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the best known greenhouse gas, several others, including methane and nitrous oxide, are also driving global warming and altering the Earth's climate......»»