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Food & Environment

Mining the deep ocean

Renewable technologies need a multitude of critical minerals. The seabed could supply these riches. But at what cost?

The cataclysmic flood that wasn’t

Researchers have long believed that a sudden, massive deluge filled a dry, salt-filled Mediterranean some 5 million years ago. Turns out that probably didn't happen, but there was still drama aplenty.

Meet the mysterious electrides

These chemical oddities may explain why Earth seems to be deficient in certain elements — and could prove useful in catalysts and more

Top science stories of 2025

In a year of funding chaos, ongoing climate change and pollution perils, we also saw the most powerful telescope yet, personalized gene therapy, and the next-best-thing to an HIV vaccine — not to mention a brand-new color

When clouds flock together

Scientists are discovering that clumping clouds supercharge storms in surprising ways — driving heavy, deadly rainfall and flooding

Tracking down the hidden pollutants that make wildlife sick

A new technique for detecting unknown and unlooked-for chemicals is revealing dozens of contaminants in alligators, sea lions and condors

Shucking the past: Can oysters thrive again?

Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back.

The history of the ocean, as told by tiny beautiful fossils

Bountiful remains of foraminifera reveal how organisms responded to climate disturbances of the past. They can help predict the future, too.

Top science stories of 2024

This record-setting year for heat saw stunning auroras, a map of a brain, a Dengue epidemic, the first look at rocks from the far side of the Moon, an AI energy scramble and more

The great green building makeover

Getting our homes and workplaces to be energy efficient has major benefits — but not when it is done one window at a time. Here’s why deep retrofits and biomaterials are key to more sustainable living.

Can desalination quench agriculture’s thirst?

Miles away from the ocean, projects are afoot to clean up salty groundwater and use it to grow crops. Some say it’s a costly pipe dream, others say it’s part of the future.

Sustainable building effort reaches new heights with wooden skyscrapers

Wood engineered for strength and safety offers architects an alternative to carbon-intensive steel and concrete

The greening of planes, trains and automobiles

We need new fuels to transport people and goods around the globe as society moves away from coal, natural gas and oil. Here’s how things are shaping up.

Geothermal power heats up

Long confined to regions with volcanic activity, geothermal promises to become a much more versatile energy source thanks to new technologies

Hunting sky islands for genetic clues to climate resilience

OPINION: Isolated mountaintops are hotbeds of evolutionary adaptation and great places to study how climate change affects ecosystems

Moving trees north to save the forests

As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.

A big boost to Europe’s climate change goals

The bloc aims to become the first carbon-neutral continent. A new policy called CBAM will assist its ambitions — and may persuade other countries to follow in its footsteps.

Losing the connection between the Andes and the Amazon: A price of peace in Colombia

The South American country, where the biodiversity of the Andes meets that of the Amazon, is losing the great natural wealth of some 1,500 square kilometers of forest each year, mainly in areas formerly under guerrilla control

Top science stories of 2023

Twelve standout news events and trends in a tumultuous year

Why scientists are making transparent wood

Stronger than plastic and tougher than glass, the resin-filled material is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows and more

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