The Secret Sex Lives of Deep, Dark Corals
A unique fjord in Chilean Patagonia gives scientists a chance to unlock the reproductive secrets of cold-water corals that typically live thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface.
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The Ten Best Science Books of 2024
From a deep dive on a fatal space shuttle disaster to a study of a dozen iconic trees, these are our favorite titles this year
The Secret Sex Lives of Deep, Dark Corals
A unique fjord in Chilean Patagonia gives scientists a chance to unlock the reproductive secrets of cold-water corals that typically live thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface.
This Innovative Device Allows South American Paleontologists to Share Fossils With the World
PaleoScan offers scientists at far-flung institutions a less expensive way to digitize their collections and preserve at-risk specimens of fish, turtles, pterosaurs and more.
Sailing in Alaska? Watch Out for Tsunamis
Tour boat operators and cruise ship captains face a growing hazard: tsunamis generated by collapsing cliffs. If disaster strikes, what should they do?
How the Great Alaska Earthquake Shook Up Science
Sixty years ago, the largest earthquake in U.S. history shocked geologists. It’s still driving scientific discoveries today
Daring ‘James Bond’ mission to drill Antarctic ice cores could reveal future of sea level rise
To understand the glaciers holding back meters of sea level rise, climate scientists swoop in to extract ice from Antarctica’s remote west coast
Which animal is a better spy—a pigeon or a cat? We actually know the answer.
The CIA spent $20 million on an eavesdropping cat, but it’s the humble pigeon that’s pulled off the greatest intelligence heists.
In Alaska, Preparing for Tsunamis Is No Small Feat
A complex, volatile coast leaves Alaska vulnerable to tsunamis. Warning locals of the risks still comes with challenges.
In 1969, the U.S. turned off Niagara Falls. Here’s what happened next.
More than a century of engineering has radically re-shaped the natural wonder—but when the U.S. had the chance to bend the American Falls to its will, it folded. Here’s why.
The ice cores that will let us look 1.5 million years into the past
Scientists are drilling deep into the Antarctic ice to better understand the role atmospheric carbon dioxide plays in Earth’s climate cycles.
‘Folks in Alaska should take this seriously.’ Anchorage not safe from tsunamis, study finds
Low tide helped city dodge catastrophic 1964 wave, but future ones could destroy critical port, highways.
Why Iceland wants its medieval skulls back
Crania from a Nordic 'golden age' sit in a Harvard museum basement, and now researchers on both sides of the Atlantic want to reunite them with their bodies.
More Frequent Dust Storms Could Be in Our Future
A combination of climate change and unsustainable agricultural practices could lead to Dust Bowl–like conditions.
Dredged lake sediment could nourish new crops
To close the leaky agricultural nutrient cycle, scientists propose using runoff-rich sediment to return nutrients to the soil.
Can Geoengineers Learn to Work With Indigenous Communities?
Some projects aimed at climate solutions have a history of sidelining local voices.
Baseball’s sluggers hit more home runs thanks to global warming
In warmer air batted balls are flying farther, study finds, although the effect is small.
The Toxic Threat in Thawing Permafrost
Scientists are tracking neurotoxic methylmercury production in North America’s largest peatland.
NASA To Measure Forest Health from Above
Using hyperspectral and shortwave IR cameras, uncrewed aircraft and satellites could analyze forest canopy light to investigate the health of forests.
The First Fossil Finders in North America Were Enslaved and Indigenous People
Decades before paleontology’s formal establishment, Black and Native Americans discovered—and correctly identified—millennia-old fossils.
These underwater cables can improve tsunami detection
Telecom companies have long resisted letting scientific sensors piggyback on their subsea cables—until now.
Telling a New Kind of Polar Science Story
Any paleoclimatologist will tell you—the real work happens in the lab. Telling polar science stories set in labs—ones that focus on the work of teams instead of heroic individuals and on science instead of dramatic exploration—is necessary if we want to encourage more inclusive science.
Inside the Race to Find Earth's Oldest Ice
A global race is on to drill for the oldest known layers of Antarctic ice so researchers can peer back in time to a warmer climate to better understand the planet’s hotter future.
As Antarctic Fieldwork Ends, a Sexual Harassment Reckoning Looms
A 2022 report described harassment as a “fact of life” on the continent. Young researchers are particularly alarmed.
Salt Marsh Microbes Threaten to Reshape the Atmosphere
Turf wars between microbes dictate how much carbon salt marshes store and how much methane they pump into the air.
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