Earth

What bee would fly back and forth through a massive, 60-acre death cloud ten times over the course of 12-and-a-half hours? That question forms the basis for a new paper stating bees are not only doing that, but they are doing it for no benefit to agriculture, because the pesticide they are flying through doesn't work at all. 

Skyrmions, quasi-particles first observed in 2009, arise from the collective behavior of electrons in magnetic materials under certain conditions. Due to their spins, the electrons act as tiny magnets where their magnetic poles align with their spins. A phenomenon called the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) -- which occurs at the interface between a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic metal -- tilts the spins and arranges them into circular patterns.

These circular arrangements of spins, which behave collectively like particles, are skyrmions. 

When did animals evolve on earth? It's a harder question to answer than it might seem. Though fossil embryos suggest a little more than half a billion years ago, fossils are rare, difficult to interpret, and always being replaced by older fossils as paleontologists, biologists and geologists take a multi-disciplinary approach to determining where fossils are most likely to be found.

The Northeast has experienced an increase in the number of storms with extreme precipitation, with an increase in extreme Northeast storms in 1996, particularly in the spring and fall, rather than as a steady change over several decades.

With climate change, a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture, which is likely to affect the frequency, intensity and location of extreme precipitation. Understanding historical changes in extreme storms, including in the Northeast, can improve our understanding of future precipitation projections with continued climate change.

Activists have convinced the public that "natural" is better, but studies show that isn't really true. Malaria is certainly not healthy and natural banana flavor can be more toxic than the synthetic kind, according to the American Council on Science and Health.

A new study found that the overall health of honey bee hives actually improves in the presence of agricultural production.

The authors evaluated the impacts of row-crop agriculture, including the traditional use of pesticides, on honey bee health. Results indicated that hive health was positively correlated to the presence of agriculture. According to the study, colonies in a non-agricultural area struggled to find adequate food resources and produced fewer offspring. 

A desire to find new ways of separating oil from water, such as to treat the frothy mixture of briny water and crude oil produced from certain oil wells, has led to ways to manipulate the water using only light.

Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes another growing season. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help lower calorie intake; reduce risks for heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes; and protect against certain cancers.

Neonicotinoids, a targeted (as opposed to broadly sprayed) insecticide common in agriculture, have been detected in drinking water. Since in modern times we can even detect parts per quadrillion in drinking water, is the health of Iowans at risk?

Do you know species are going extinct at an alarming rate? Do you know bees are in peril?

What if you found out those are all based on surveys? As we saw in the US election in 2016, surveys are not science, no matter how much groups claim they weight them. Unless the results are easily predictable (like the 2012 election) there is no way statistical significance will mean an accurate result.

Rogue waves can cause loss of life as well as damage to ships and offshore structures but we shouldn't allow nature to be exploited for political gain by claiming they are new - and caused by CO2 emissions - just because we can finally detect them better. 

A new study shows they can occur roughly twice daily at any given location in a storm.

The manufacture of cement, bricks, bathroom tiles and porcelain crockery normally requires a great deal of heat: a kiln is used to fire the ceramic materials at temperatures well in excess of 1,000°C. Now, material scientists from ETH Zurich have developed what seems at first glance to be an astonishingly simple method of manufacture that works at room temperature. The scientists used a calcium carbonate nanopowder as the starting material and instead of firing it, they added a small amount of water and then compacted it.

Here are some surprising facts about humans’ effect on planet Earth. We have made enough concrete to create an exact replica of Earth 2mm thick. We have produced enough plastic to wrap Earth in clingfilm. We are creating “technofossils”, a new term for congealed human-made materials – plastics and concretes – that will be around for tens of millions of years.

About 85 percent of the Earth's core is made of iron, while nickel makes up an additional 10 percent. What is the final 5 percent? A variety of of light elements, it's been assumed, but no one knows.

The core, which is the deepest region of the Earth, is composed of a liquid outer core (2900~5100 km in depth) and solid inner core (5100~6400 km in depth). The core is one of the most important "final frontiers" for scientists looking to understand the history of Earth, and the conditions during its formation 4.5 billion years ago.

One of the most frustrating claims by people raising money promoting an environmental apocalypse has been that species are about to go extinct or diversity will be lost. It leads to rampant distrust in science because advocates know if their side is spinning facts to suit an agenda, the science side might be too.