Top Stories

Study finds new primary driver of extreme Texas heat waves

More intense and prolonged excessively hot temperatures in The Lone Star State have raised concerns over how global warming may impact this upward trend.

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Polluted Groundwater Likely Contaminated South Pacific Ocean Coral Reefs for Decades

Groundwater containing excess nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers likely contaminated coral reefs on the Cook Islands according to a new study.

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Can Sustainable Development Co-Exist with Current Economic Growth?

New research reveals the vast incompatibility of current models of economic development with environmental sustainability.

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It is All About the Distribution

Wind turbines could cover 40 percent of the current electricity consumption in Germany.

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When it Rains, Snake Bites Soar

Hikers and trail runners be warned: Rattlesnakes and other venomous reptiles may bite more people during rainy years than in seasons wracked by drought, a new study shows.

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Coastal Strip in Brazil Sheds New Light on Early Farming

Humans may have been cultivating plants on a narrow coastal strip in Brazil as far back as 4,800 years ago, according to a new study.

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Researchers Discover New Source of Formic Acid over Pacific, Indian Oceans

Sunlight drives molecules far from equilibrium, enabling new chemical pathways.

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New Approach Could Help Improve Severe-Storm Forecasting

A geostationary hyperspectral infrared sounder can provide significant support to meteorologists to improve local severe-storm forecasting, according to Dr. Jun Li, Distinguished Scientist at the Space Science and Engineering Center of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and one of the authors of a recently published study. 

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Fighting Fire with Fire: California Turns to Prescribed Burning

Adam Hernandez walked across a blackened woodland past logs smoldering near Shaver Lake, 200 miles north of Los Angeles in the Sierra National Forest. With each step, gray ash puffed from under his heavy boots, and tiny flames flickered through a thick layer of pine needles on the forest floor.

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Losing Just Six Hours of Sleep Could Increase Diabetes Risk, Study Finds

Losing a single night’s sleep may affect the liver’s ability to produce glucose and process insulin, increasing the risk of metabolic diseases such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) and type 2 diabetes. The findings of the mouse study are published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Endocrinology and Metabolism. The research was chosen as an APSselect article for September.

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