Global Seed Bank
A new global seed vault will safeguard food crops from around the world.
Podcast
How air pollution could cause heart disease. Global warming may make Antartica vulnerable to predators. "Virtual" children help real children thrive.
Antarctic Invasion
Global climate change could open the Antarctic up to predators it hasn't seen in millions of years.
Air Pollution & Heart Disease
Ultrafine particles of air pollution may interact with cholesterol in our bodies to cause heart disease.
Global Ocean Map
A new global map of human threats to the oceans reveals that few waters remain untouched.
To use the interactive map visit: www.nceas.ucsb.edu/GlobalMarine.
Podcast
AAAS 2008 ANNUAL MEETING SPECIAL: Sand spiders use elaborate camouflage, a new interactive map tracks threats to the oceans, and four healthful habits of long-lived people.
Tectonics Slowdown
Some researchers think plate tectonics may have come to a stop at different times in the past.
Podcast
Geology Special: glowing diamonds, intermittent plate tectonics and preventing a helium shortage.
Conserving Helium
Global helium resources are dwindling, and there'll be no substitute if we run out.
Podcast
Space Research Update: the 11-year solar storm cycle returns, the MESSENGER spacecraft reports back from Mercury, and the search for intelligent life in the universe continues with the help of your computer. Also: Unique animal and plant adaptations.
This week's web links:
Space Weather Network: www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN;
Latest MESSENGER photographs of Mercury: messenger.jhuapl.edu;
Sign up for SETI@Home: setiathome.berkeley.edu
Solar Storm Roundup
Early sun spots forecast rough weather ahead during new eleven-year solar storm cycle.
Podcast
Evolution Special: The history of dogs, butterflies vs. cabbages and the world's largest scorpion. Plus: Could there be life two miles beneath Antarctica?
Podcast
Hurricane Katrina and global warming, your skin and your health, and advances in prosthetics research
Katrina Carbon
By killing millions of trees, Hurricane Katrina and future storms may worsen global warming.
Podcast
Future Survival: A vaccine for antibacterial-resistant staph infections, future crops use space-age technology, and growing green roofs
Space Crops
Lighting, heating and recycling technology designed for survival in space could revolutionize how crops are grown here on earth.
Green Roofs
Growing plants on your roof has ecological benefits – and can save energy, too.
Fuelish Roundup
Low grade, high-sulfur bunker fuel is deadly to wildlife and humans. So why is it still in use?
Podcast
Mysteries of nature: Why do some leaves turn red in the fall? Global warming and the future of rivers. And the music of DNA.
Autumn Color
Fall colors come in several shades. But why the different colors?
Future River Flow
Climate change may alter how rivers flow in the future, and man-made dams could make things worse.
Podcast
A snail hides in plain sight. A high-speed continental collision. And what fossils tell us about future extinctions.
Hot Extinctions
Warmer temperatures have consistently preceded more extinctions throughout Earth's history.
Himalayan Collision
A high-speed continental cataclysm formed the Himalayas 50 million years ago.