Articles By Charity Smalls

3d printers

Oceans

Coral Reefs Could Be Rescued By 3D Printers

3D printers’ latest task could save endangered coral reefs worldwide, according to a recent Popular Science article. Due to rising water temperatures, coral reefs are facing extensive and widespread bleaching globally. Coral bleaching occurs when coral reefs eject colorful algae from within in response to higher temperatures. Unless the...

  • Posted July 1, 2016
Amazon rainforest. (Credit: Neil Palmer / Center for International Forestry Research via Creative Commons 2.0)

Earth

Saving The Amazon By Selling Tea

Selling tea could save the Amazon, according to a recent Scientific American article. Runa LLC is partnering with Kichwa villagers to preserve the Ecuadorian Amazon by purchasing guayusa tea leaves. Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, founders of Runa LLC, wanted to market the tea but not at the expense...

  • Posted June 30, 2016
Land Evolution Observatory hillslope (Credit: Paul M. Ingram/Biosphere 2)

Earth

Biosphere 2 To Host Large-Scale Weather Experiment

This summer, a first of its kind experiment seeks to shed light on chemical weathering, according to a New Scientist article. Biosphere 2, an artificial ecosystem in the Arizona desert, will host a large-scale study to increase understanding of how water moves through the landscape. To create Biosphere 2’s...

  • Posted June 23, 2016
elephant seals

Oceans

Tracking Elephant Seals Reveals Antarctic Melt Insights

Elephant seals are helping scientists get to the bottom of Antarctic ice melt, according to the Washington Post. Antarctic ice sheets are melting from the bottom up instead of from top to bottom. The reason for this is a phenomenon known as circumpolar deep water. However, it is nearly...

  • Posted June 22, 2016
carbon dioxide

Earth

Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide To Stone

A new method puts carbon dioxide on lockdown, according to a recent article by Live Science. In Iceland, researchers took carbon dioxide spewed from a geothermal power plant and treated it to a sped-up version of rock weathering. Rock weathering is a natural process where carbon dioxide and other...

  • Posted June 21, 2016
grasslands

Earth

More Grasslands Burning Could Preserve Kansas’ Flint Hills Ecosystems

In order to preserve delicate ecosystems, a new study advocates for increased cullings of grasslands, according to a Kansas State University release. University researchers say planned burning of the Flint Hills grasslands should be more regular than every three years. Their study utilized 40 years’ worth of data collected...

  • Posted June 13, 2016
bees

Earth

For Some Bees, Climate Change Could Be Good

The latest scientific buzz is that climate change could be good for certain bees, according to a press release from Pensoft Publishers. Australian small carpenter bees’ numbers seemed to have increased exponentially after the previous Ice Age.The bees are found in various locations ranging from southern to northeastern Australia....

  • Posted June 10, 2016
Far northern section of the Great Barrier Reef (Credit: NASA)

Oceans

Severe Bleaching Takes Toll On Great Barrier Reef

Large-scale bleaching has claimed a majority of the Great Barrier Reef, according to a New York Times article. Australian scientists say the bleaching has occurred over three months and is the most severe incident in nearly two decades. Widespread bleaching blurs the lines between more resilient and weaker coral,...

  • Posted June 9, 2016
Prickly pear cactus. (Credit: Public Domain)

Earth

Cacti Can Help Clean Fish Farms

Scientists have turned to an unlikely natural source to clean up contaminated water, according to an Amercian Chemical Society press release. In order to eliminate pollution in fish farm water, researchers are using cacti. Farm fishing serves as both a source of income and of food. However, a common...

  • Posted March 30, 2016

Earth

Bad Air Linked To Emotional Problems In Children

Kids behaving badly? A new study says air pollution may be to blame, according to a press release from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute researchers collaborated on a first-of-its-kind study. The study reports that children exposed to polycyclic aromatic...

  • Posted March 24, 2016
Coral Reef (Credit: NOAA)

Earth

High Nitrogen Levels Make Plants Greedy

An overabundance of nutrients is straining nature’s symbiotic relationships, according to a University of California – Santa Barbara press release. Researchers say increased levels of nitrogen from nitrogen-laced fertilizer and burning fossil fuels are changing how co-dependent organisms are relating to one another. In these partnerships, the animals swap...

  • Posted March 17, 2016
Guinea Pig. (Credit: Public Domain)

Earth

Guinea Pigs Take On Climate Change And Win

A new study shows guinea pigs have climate change figured out, according to a New Scientist article. A team of researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research observed South American guinea pigs and found the animals modified their DNA in response to exposure to warmer temperatures...

  • Posted January 12, 2016
Researchers have found that many substances used in fracking fluids have been linked to reproductive and developmental health problems. (Credit: Pat Lynch / Yale University)

Rivers

Fracking Fluids, Wastewater Full Of Toxins

A new study reveals fracking fluids are fraught with toxins, according to a release from Yale University. The study is an important step toward future studies to identify and rank the toxicity of chemicals found in fracking fluid and wastewater. Yale researchers analyzed more than 1,000 chemicals found in...

  • Posted January 11, 2016
Researchers have found that kangaroos produce methane as part of their digestive process. (Credit: A. Munn / University of Wollongong)

Earth

Australian Scientists Study Methane Emissions From Kangaroos

Yes, kangaroos do fart, a new study from the University of Wollongong reveals, according to LiveScience. Since the 1970s, a popular misconception was that kangaroos don’t pass gas, or that the gas they passed had low methane levels. Methane, found in herbivores’ intestines, helps the animals digest grass and...

  • Posted November 16, 2015
Mass changes over Antarctica from 2003-2008. (Credit: Jay Zwally / Journal of Glaciology)

Oceans

Antarctic Gaining More Ice Than It’s Losing

The Antarctic is gaining more ice than it’s losing, according to a recent NASA press release. NASA scientists say that snow buildup from 10,000 years ago is responsible for keeping the Antarctic ice sheet stocked in spite of shrinking glaciers. Their findings refute current studies that declare the Antarctic...

  • Posted November 16, 2015
Piling a human-made snowdrift in the breeding habitat of the ringed seal in Lake Saimaa, Finland. (Credit: Mervi Kunnasranta)

Oceans

Human Activities Aid Endangered Seals

A new study shows that human activity can be a force for good in helping endangered animals cope with climate change, according to a University of Eastern Finland press release. In Finland, endangered Saimaa ringed seals are experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. A successful mating season requires...

  • Posted November 11, 2015
A new study suggests that a magnitude 5.0 or greater earthquake is likely in the Los Angeles area in the next few years. (Credit: JPL)

Earth

NASA-Led Study Finds Los Angeles Earthquake Likely By 2017

A NASA-led study predicts the Los Angeles region may see a significant earthquake soon, according to LiveScience. The study, published in the Earth and Space Science journal, states that the region has virtually a 100 percent chance of having an earthquake with a minimum 5.0 magnitude as early as...

  • Posted October 30, 2015
Boreal forest fire from 2007. (Credit: Colocho/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Earth

Arizona Researchers To Dissect Impacts Of Arctic Wildfires

A new study is focused on recent severe wildfires in the Arctic, according to a release from Northern Arizona University. NASA is funding a 10-year, $100-million project to measure severe fire impacts in North America. The Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) is tasked with determining the Arctic’s rebounding capability...

  • Posted October 27, 2015

Earth

Science’s Understanding Of Evaporation Found To Be Flawed

A new study indicates we were wrong about evaporation, according to a release from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Traditionally, evaporation rate was understood using the Hertz-Knudsen equation. However, sophisticated computer models showed that some numbers for criteria describing evaporations were many times...

  • Posted October 26, 2015
Rain forest. (Credit: rosinakaiser/CC0 Public Domain)

Earth

Extreme Weather In Amazon Can Affect Rest Of World

A new paper predicts that extreme weather in the Amazon could have dire consequences for the rest of the globe, according to a Woods Hole Research Center press release. Woods Hole Research Center scientists tested the accuracy of 35 existing climate models and used them to predict dry and...

  • Posted October 21, 2015