Oceans
The world’s largest coral is longer than a blue whale
Scientists found the coral off the coast of the Solomon Islands.
By Nikk Ogasa
Environment
More Stories in Environment
- Tech
To stay cool, some future homes may build on past power-free tech
Accordion-pleated walls and other heat-managing structures could cool homes in hot, dry places naturally — without electricity.
- Earth
A landslide in a Greenland fjord echoed around Earth for 9 days
Warming permafrost and glacial melt destabilized a fragile mountain slope, leading to a landslide-triggered tsunami in a fjord. Is this a sign of more to come?
- Animals
Wayward baby puffins get help from a community-led Puffling Patrol
Fitted with ID tags or tracking devices, birds from one Iceland colony give scientists an eye into puffins’ largely unknown lives at sea.
- Climate
Trees may be even bigger climate heroes than we thought
These plants absorb methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in addition to carbon dioxide. Methane’s uptake is likely thanks to microbes living in tree bark.
- Environment
Scientists want to create a sort of Noah’s Ark on the moon
Climate change is threatening Earth’s biodiversity banks. A lunar “ark” would safeguard seeds and cells against changes happening on Earth.
- Earth
Meet the sneaky and surprisingly dangerous squall-line tornado
These destructive, radar-dodging twisters often form at night. Emerging data from the U.S. Southeast might soon make forecasting the tornadoes possible.
- Earth
As Yellowstone’s supervolcano slumbers, another big danger lurks
Superheated water beneath Yellowstone could fuel hydrothermal explosions with the force of an atomic bomb. And lessons from the past suggest they could happen today.
- Tech
Lasers help put the cork on spilled oil
Treating cork with lasers made the material able to quickly sponge up oil while repelling water, scientists in China and Israel found.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Methane
Used to cook food and heat homes, this potent greenhouse gas accounts for 30 percent of the warming of our climate.
