‘Total surprise’ discovery overturns conventional understanding of rivers

Unlike self-interested humans, ants have a common goal: the colony's survival.

Breathing dirty air can make you sick. But according to new research, it can also make you more aggressive. That's the conclusion from a set of studies recently authored by Colorado State University researchers in economics, atmospheric science and statistics. Together, the team found strong links between short-term exposure to air pollution and aggressive behavior, in the form of aggravated assaults and other violent crimes across the continental United States.

Cape Town residents don't know who to blame for the disappearance of their great white sharks, which haven't been seen this year in False Bay.

The desert's age has been the topic of debate for decades among scientists.

Animals are disappearing at hundreds of times the normal rate, primarily because of shrinking habitats. Their biggest threat: humans.

Himalayan villages are growing food in the forests, a traditional model that can fight both land clearing and world hunger.

Photographer Edward Burtynsky explains his 40-year quest for striking images of our impact on the planet.

Activists say stinking sludge is linked to nitrates in fertilisers from intensive farming

The rock-eating, sulfur-breathing microbes have scientists wondering what other strange creatures dwell deep below Earth's surface.

If the Amazon rainforest functions as our planet's lungs, what do raging wildfires threaten? An atmospheric scientist explains why the fires, though devastating, won't suffocate life on Earth.

Human-driven land clearing and climate change are sending plants extinct at a rapid rate, risking a devastating biodiversity crash.

The ozone layer is finally healing from damage humans have caused, according to the United Nations.

New research finds micro-plastic particles in everything from Arctic sea ice to snow in the Alps to rain in the Rockies. There is almost no research about the health effects of micro-plastics on humans.

Explore the dynamics of our changing planet over the past three and a half decades.Google Earth time lapses, from 1984 to 2018.You can watch deforestation in the Amazon, glaciers disappearing, rapid city expansion.

The new measures could pose challenges to air quality, climate action, and Native American traditions

The world's appetite for meat hurts the climate. Here's why Australian steak isn't so bad.

New research suggests Earth's most recent magnetic field reversal took longer to complete than previously thought: around 22,000 years in total. Figuring out why this particular flip was so drawn out will let us better understand this mysterious proc

Earth didn't always harbor life. But around 4 billion years ago, something in the environment changed, and systems with biological properties began to emerge. Many scientists believe a lively dance of molecules called amino acids is partly responsible for the shift: Molecules linked up, broke apart and eventually came together to form life as we know it.

Without efforts to rebuild soil health, we could lose our ability to grow enough nutritious food to feed the planet’s population