scientific research
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Linking ‘big weather’ to global warming
Most people are understandably confused about the relationship between global warming and natural variability in the weather. After the huge snowfalls in the northeastern United States over the past few months, for instance, many people can’t help but wonder: With a winter of such magnitude, how can scientists say the planet is warming? Day-to-day and […]
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A scientist dishes on the wild kingdom beneath our feet
Creature from the underworld: Scanning electron micrograph of an adult water bear (tardigrade).Photo: Goldstein labCross-posted from Cool Green Science. Water bears? Fungi that strangle worms? Roots that send off reconnaissance soldiers (that somehow report back)? There’s a world of bizarre organisms under our feet — millions of species that are also critical for life on […]
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Silly science: Animals make friends too
As anyone with cats already knows, animals can be buddies. Now scientists have caught up with the rest of us: “At least five types of animals maintain relationships that are comparable to human friendships,” says Discovery News. So which animals have BFFs? In addition to bats, the newest animal discovered to make long-term relationships, “elephants, […]
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Bad food makes kids dumber, study says
Look, ma! No nutrients!Photo: Amanda WestmontA new study says 3-year-olds who mostly eat processed foods have lower IQs five years later. (So Pop-Tarts and Sunny-D are why we’re “falling behind” China in math and science?) The study, cited in The Guardian, examined the diets of 14,000 wee Britlets, based on what their parents reported feeding […]
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Looking at meat drives men into a fit of calmness, happiness
Canadian researchers recently steaked the claim that the sight of a big, juicy burger and other well-done meats soothes the savage and beastly instincts in men. But can vegetarians remain calm?
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Measuring fast-melting Arctic sea ice
Julienne Stroeve shows how dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice are occurring right now -- with enormous consequences for the whole planet.
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How cities are good for science, and vice versa
The world's booming cities are a hotbed for scientific research. They also have big problems that only science can solve.
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Global warming promises stronger hurricanes
Thomas Knutson studies storms and his research predicts that global warming is likely to mean fewer, but stronger Atlantic hurricanes.
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Purdue’s Gebisa Ejeta on the vexing task of feeding a growing population
Over the next several weeks, I'll be attending the University of Washington's food and environment lecture series and harvesting knowledge from a diverse array of food-system luminaries. Plant breeding expert Gebisa Ejeta of Purdue University opened the series -- and a pot of worms -- by talking up a new petrochemical-dependent "Green Revolution" in Africa and talking down the potential of organic farming in feeding the masses.