Environmental Science

We all know the cartoons of prehistoric people running from dinosaurs aren't realistic. But many animals living today have ancestors from that time.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Scientists are hoping two enzymes are the key to breaking down huge amounts of plastic.

By Jesslyn Shields

The oceans on planet Earth cycle through daily tidal changes. But the ground beneath our feet experiences tides of its own, too.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists have found that chemicals in some sunscreens can cause coral bleaching, prompting the Hawaii state legislature to propose an exhaustive ban on them.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Will a town in southern Missouri be the epicenter of the next 'big one'?

By Mark Mancini

Wouldn't it be nice if we could pull CO2 out of thin air and transform it into a fuel that's better for the environment?Now we can.

By Mark Mancini

Ever wondered what's the difference between a river, a stream, a brook and a tributary?

By Amanda Onion

Getting your home to zero waste doesn't have to mean re-structuring your entire life. Sure, you'll have to make changes, but most of them are surprisingly easy.

By John Donovan

Ocean water is not actually blue, but appears in different shades for many reasons.

By Amanda Onion

The Sahara has expanded by about 10 percent in the past century, mostly due to natural causes, but not all. We can blame the rest on man-made climate change.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Plastic may be the longest-lasting legacy of human beings on this planet. But there are lots of ways, big and small, that we can all stop using it. Today.

By Jesslyn Shields

How, in today's world, could a cave this massive go undetected for so long?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Coral grows faster when it's cut or broken and scientists are taking advantage of that to replenish depleted reefs.

By Cherise Threewitt

Prior to the mid-1990s, the magnetic north pole traveled at speeds of around 9 miles per year. Now, it's 34 miles annually. What accounts for the acceleration?

By Mark Mancini

The pigment ultramarine was as expensive as gold in medieval Europe; so how did it end up in the teeth of a nun buried at a monastery in rural Germany?

By Jesslyn Shields

What makes peat bogs so perfect at preserving human remains? We look at what's behind these waterlogged areas of decaying plant matter.

By Mark Mancini & Desiree Bowie

These ancient wonders aren't static sculptures; they vibrate and shift throughout the day, creating a variety of sounds as they stretch their aging, eroding 'bones.'

By Nathan Chandler

Sastrugi are gorgeous snow formations found in the polar north, but they're also no fun to travel over.

By Jesslyn Shields

Some cities, even large ones, are making big strides in improving air quality.

By Loraine Fick

The Ancient Earth visualization map shows the movement of the planet's tectonic plates in a really cool way.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Massive gypsum crystals were discovered beneath Mexico's Sierra de Naica Mountain in very inhospitable environs — to humans anyway.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists set up two stations to capture this strange seismic activity.

By Mark Mancini

The Mushroom Burial Suit is designed to give our dead bodies new life by breaking them down and nourishing the soil.

By Jesslyn Shields

The circle is only 5,000 miles wide.

By Jesslyn Shields

The Denmark Strait cataract dwarfs every other waterfall in the world, but you can't see it because it's deep under the Atlantic Ocean.

By Jesslyn Shields