Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade -- even at the microplastic level -- in under seven months.
There Are Large Accumulations of Plastics in the Ocean, Even Outside So-Called Garbage Patch
When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles.
Fairy Circles: Plant Water Stress Causes Namibia’s Gaps in Grass
Namibia's legendary fairy circles are mysterious, circular, bald patches in the dry grasslands on the edge of the Namib Desert.
Climate Change Disrupts Vital Ecosystems in the Alps
Reduced snow cover and shifting vegetation patterns in the Alps, both driven by climate change, are having major combined impacts on biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems in the high mountains, according to new research published today.
The heat index — how hot it really feels — is rising faster than temperature
Researchers showed in 2022 that heat index calculations by NOAA based on analyses from the 1970s don't adequately reflect the heat stress humans feel during the extremes of heat and humidity accompanying climate change. Using their revised heat index, the researchers looked at Texas's summer 2023 heat wave and found...
The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean
More than 7,000 years ago, people navigated the Mediterranean Sea using technologically sophisticated boats, according to a new study.
Killer whales use specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals in the open ocean
Killer whales foraging in deep submarine canyons off the coast of California represent a distinct subpopulation that uses specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals, researchers report.
SWOT Satellite Catches Coastal Flooding During California Storms
Operated by NASA and the French space agency, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission provides a new view of water on land, at the coast, and in the ocean.
Cleaning up Environmental Contaminants With Quantum Dot Technology
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots — objects so tiny, they’re controlled by the strange and complex rules of quantum physics.
Icy Impacts: Planetary Scientists Use Physics and Images of Impact Craters to Gauge the Thickness of Ice on Europa
Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight.