Billions of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was hostile, with barely any oxygen and toxic conditions for life. Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute studied Japan’s iron-rich hot springs, which mimic the ancient oceans, to uncover how early microbes survived. They discovered communities of bacteria that thrived on iron and tiny...
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Scientists just found the shocking reason Chile’s quake shook so hard
A massive quake struck Calama, Chile, in 2024, surprising scientists with its unusual depth and destructive power. Unlike typical deep quakes, it broke past thermal limits and triggered an intense “thermal runaway” rupture. Researchers say the event challenges long-held theories and highlights the need for improved monitoring and preparedness. Their...
Scientists just recreated a wildfire that made its own weather
In 2020, California’s Creek Fire became so intense that it generated its own thunderstorm, a phenomenon called a pyrocumulonimbus cloud. For years, scientists struggled to replicate these explosive fire-born storms in climate models, leaving major gaps in understanding their global effects. Now, a new study has finally simulated them successfully,...
Study Demonstrates How Frequent Wildfires and Heat Intensify Air Quality Issues in Megacities
Air quality in America’s largest cities has steadily improved thanks to tighter regulations on key sources of particulate pollution.
Researchers Wake Up Microbes Trapped in Permafrost for Thousands of Years
In a new study, a team of geologists and biologists led by CU Boulder resurrected ancient microbes that had been trapped in ice—in some cases for around 40,000 years.
Antarctic Sea Ice Emerges as Key Predictor of Accelerated Ocean Warming
A groundbreaking study published today in the European Geosciences Union (EGU) journal Earth System Dynamics provides a critical and previously underestimated connection between Antarctic sea ice, cloud cover, and global warming.
As Floods Worsen, Pakistan Is the Epicenter of Climate Change
The South Asian monsoon is a life-giver for 2 billion people.
Strengthening Soy for Better Bioplastics
Soy proteins are used in plant-based natural polymers meant to eventually supplant plastic materials.
Rare Glimpse at Understudied Ecosystem Prompts Caution on Deep-Sea Mining
An enormous but poorly understood region of the global ocean–referred to as the abyssal benthic boundary layer–lies a few meters above the seafloor and has only been sampled a handful of times.
Before they sucked blood, leeches were ocean hunters
A 430-million-year-old fossil has rewritten leech history, showing they are at least 200 million years older than previously believed. Unlike today’s bloodsucking leeches, their ancient ancestors likely hunted small marine animals using a tail sucker rather than piercing skin.