When unsafe levels of lead are found in drinking water, the culprit has typically been lead pipes or lead-containing brass and bronze fittings, but in a new study researchers clearly show that lead present in the zinc coating of galvanized steel pipes can be a very sign
On July 11, 2015 we received our first images in over three months from NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory Ahead spacecraft, or STEREO-A. Since March 24, 2015, STEREO-A has been on the far side of the sun, where it has had to operate in safe mode, collec
A new California earthquake forecast by the USGS and partners revises scientific estimates for the chances of having large earthquakes over the next several decades. The Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, or UCERF3, improves upon previous models by in
At 23:59:60 UTC on June 30, 2015, a Leap Second will be added, making this day last for 86401 seconds instead of the usual 86400. This practice started in 1972 and since then a total of 25 leap seconds were added to the UTC time, last one in 2012. Correction of each UTC
A systematic overview of more than 100 studies comparing organic and conventional farming finds that the crop yields of organic agriculture are higher than previously thought. The study, conducted by UC Berkeley researchers, also found that certain practices could furth
An analysis of 727 mass die-offs of nearly 2,500 animal species from the past 70 years has found that such events are increasing among birds, fish and marine invertebrates. At the same time, the number of individuals killed appears to be decreasing for reptiles and amph
In a new study that sheds light on space weather's impact on Earth, Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues show for the first time that plasma waves buffeting the planet's radiation belts are responsible for scattering charged particles into the atmosphere.T
The fault responsible for the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake had been relieving stress at a gradually accelerating rate for years before the 2011 quake.Stanford scientists have found evidence that sections of the fault responsible for the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquak
Almost 3 billion gallons of oil industry wastewater have been illegally dumped into central California aquifers that supply drinking water and farming irrigation, according to state documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity. The wastewater entered the aq
Hydraulic fracturing triggered a series of small earthquakes in 2013 on a previously unmapped fault in Harrison County, Ohio, according to a study published in the journal Seismological Research Letters (SRL) on October 14, 2014. Nearly 400 small earthquakes occurred be
