Planet Earth
E. coli turns plastic waste into vanillin
Scientists have engineered E. coli bacteria to convert plastic waste into vanillin, an in-demand compound used in vanilla flavoring and more.
More than 5,000 tons of space dust hit Earth every year
We now know about how much space dust — micrometeorites that may have seeded Earth with the ingredients for life — hits the planet every year.
Light-driven levitation could lift probes to the edge of space
A new light-driven levitation technique can lift objects large enough to carry sensors to the understudied mesosphere near the edge of space.
How ‘mental time travel’ can lead us to sustainability
Bina Venkataraman, author of The Optimist's Telescope, believes that modern society’s shortsightedness is the root of many avoidable catastrophes.
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Guardians of the Apocalypse
Will we ever predict earthquakes?
In 2010, an earthquake killed 222,570 people in Haiti, injuring 300,000 and displacing over a million. In an attempt to discover how to predict earthquakes, these researchers are using machine learning to analyze the acoustic data from tectonic plates.
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Guardians of the Apocalypse
Could the human race survive a supervolcano?
The eruption of Mount Tambora pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Today, active supervolcanoes still have the power to nullify our future. What can we do to prepare?
The fleet of underwater drones probing Earth’s interior
The Earth’s interior may be the last wild frontier, but not for long. These underwater drones are scanning the ocean to create a 3D model of its internal dynamics.
The robot racing to study Antarctica’s massive ice melt
Icefin, a semi-autonomous research vessel, is on a mission to search for clues about one of the continent’s fastest melting glaciers, the Thwaites Glacier.
Diversity in the outdoors: bridging the adventure gap
This DC nonprofit is defying statistics by promoting diversity in the outdoors and connecting people from all walks of life with the wonders of nature.
NASA wants YOU to help track landslides
NASA is enlisting citizen scientists to collect important data on recent landslides, in an effort to improve prediction models and assist in disaster prevention.