Earth & Climate

On the trail of the Cretaceous speedsters

Artist's impression of a theropod dinosaur moving quickly on soft ground. (Image: Pablo Navarro-Lorbés) In today's Spain, over 100 million years ago, dinosaurs were...

How plants buy us time in the face of climate change

Photosynthesis in plants is an important CO2 sink. (Image: Jeja / iStock) How does the photosynthesis rate of plants change when more CO2 is...

Plants now remove much more CO2 from the air

But not enough to stop climate change. Wooded areas and similar ecosystems are considered to be one of the planet's most important carbon sinks. ...

Scientists are hunting for microplastics using… sound waves

Using acoustic waves, small pieces of plastic can be effectively fished out of polluted water. Microplastics are tiny, but a huge problem. Over the...

Your plastic chip tray exacerbates that other major health crisis: the rise of resistant bacteria

Because discarded plastic appears to make an important contribution to the threat of resistance to antibiotics. We are currently experiencing some major health crises. ...

“Venice of the Stone Age” sank in floods

In addition to the remains of monumental water infrastructure, fascinating jade works of art also testify to the high culture of the Stone Age...

Some coastal animals can now suddenly also thrive in the open sea

It's thanks to… plastic! Coastal animals have found a remarkable way to survive in the open ocean, colonizing floating plastic debris and then bobbing along...

Towards eco-friendly gasoline: sugar-eating microbes lend us a hand

A genetically engineered E. coli bacterium efficiently converts glucose into hydrocarbons, which in turn can be used to produce sustainable biofuels. We are currently looking...

Photo worth seeing: Helpful healing miracle

This axolotl, which looks almost mischievously, is an important aid to medicine. Because its cells and tissues provided crucial clues as to why...

Elusive and mysterious particles leave their mark for the first time in Swiss particle accelerator

Researchers have detected possible neutrinos using a particle accelerator; a milestone. Neutrinos are actually everywhere: they are one of the most abundant subatomic particles...

On the way to the age of electrification

Electricity will play a bigger role in the future. (Image: arthon meekodong / iStock) So far, electricity has been a rather expensive energy source....

How smart is an octopus?

Octopuses are often praised for their intelligence. And now researchers have also revealed the unique brainpower of different species, teaching us more about...

Photo worth seeing: Well-traveled rock

The photo shows cooled lava that was found in Costa Rica. It is astonishing that it bears the geochemical fingerprint of the earth's...

Extinction with a dizzying effect

Before the extinction events, a comparatively large number of grass-eaters took food from the fire, especially in South America, according to a study. ...

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