Environmental Science
The environment is truly a thing of beauty and should be protected whenever possible. What can we do to save the environment, and what new technology is available to help us?
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A sculpted mammoth shows visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits what these ancient animals might have looked like, but the pits themselves have looked the same for thousands of years. How did they form, and what discoveries lie beneath the sticky surface?
The ozone layer prevents much of the sun's ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth. But there's a problem: a gaping hole the size of Antarctica. What can we do about it?
Artificial light lets us stay up through the night or feel secure in the dark. But those midnight noons push our bodies out of whack and confuse the natural world. Is there a fix for light pollution?
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Famine might bring to mind historical tragedies or modern media coverage of tiny children with swollen bellies. But how does the unimaginable -- a widespread loss of food -- actually happen?
At best, fossilization is a long and tricky process that mineralizes an occasional Tyrannosaurus rex or other extraordinary find. How has that affected our chances at charting a model of life itself?
By Robert Lamb
It's not so much about time as it is about money. What dictates how long an archeological team is permitted to dig at a particular site?
Each country and each region within each country has its own laws regarding the right to cultural property. So, how do you know which artifacts belong to the government and which are "finders keepers"?
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In "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Dr. Jones battles the Nazis for the Holy Grail. Did the Nazis really have an interest in archaeology? And if so, what fueled it?
In "The Raiders of the Lost Ark," Indiana Jones competes with grave-robbing Nazis for the lost Ark of the Covenant. But what defined Dr. Jones as legit and the Nazis as grave robbers?
Without its keystone, a Roman aqueduct collapses. Does the same travesty befall an ecosystem when a keystone species goes missing from the ecological equation?
Desalination has long been considered too expensive and too energy-intensive to make much sense. But with newer technologies, that line of thinking is changing. What are some of the most interesting desalination projects on the planet?
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The ever-changing price of a barrel of oil has a lot to do with what we pay for gasoline at the pump. But do you know the four major factors that contribute to the price of oil?
Could solar cells be the asphalt of the 21st century?
We live in a universe of clocks. The technology may not sound as dependable as your cell phone alarm clock, but humans have turned to water-powered clocks for more than three and a half millennia.
By Robert Lamb
This ancient rock adorns King Tut's coffin and the Sistine Chapel. And at one time it was more precious than gold. What is it about this deep blue rock that has drawn us in for centuries?
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There are caves all over the world, but some are in places that are hard to explore - hidden by rocks, ruins or even under ice. We've found seven secret caves you probably never knew existed.
Critics warn that cryptocurrency networks, whose computers use enormous amounts of electricity to verify transactions, could be a factor in warming the planet. The industry is working to change that.
Deep underneath Antarctica, there lies a hidden lake. Roughly the size of North America's Lake Ontario, the buried landmark has inspired curiosity and controversy for decades.
By Mark Mancini
It's possible that the giant, deadly serpent hanging out at the bottom of Fosse Dionne spring is just a legend, but divers have disappeared trying to find out, so who knows?
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Though a highly publicized 1989 cold fusion breakthrough was subsequently discredited, research is still being conducted in hopes of future success.
It's not just the size that differentiates a lake from a pond. The real distinctions flow much deeper.
In the search for Cleopatra's tomb, a team of archaeologists was surprised by two mummies with gold foil-covered tongues. What was the reason for this strange burial custom?
Only 25 percent of glass containers used by U.S. consumers were recycled in 2018, the most recent year for statistics. So, why aren't Americans doing better?
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Move over corn and soybeans, there's a better biofuel in town. And this one grows in abundance at the bottom of the ocean.
Tanzanite is so rare, it is sourced from just an 8-square-mile (20-square-kilometer) area in Tanzania. It was first discovered in the late 1960s and it burst onto the jewelry scene thanks to Tiffany & Co.