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July 18, 2012 The process can cause blooms of algae that have the potential to soak up huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A new study says this algae then drops to the sea floor, but some researchers caution that it's hard to track what happens to carbon in the ocean, and so-called "seeding" could have negative side effects.

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July 6, 2012 Rising water temperatures and increasing ocean acidity can kill coral reefs. But a new study finds that dead reefs can potentially recover from catastrophes if ocean temperatures stabilize. Some scientists say the resiliency of coral reef may be the key to their survival.

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July 4, 2012 The discovery of a new subatomic particle that may be the elusive Higgs boson has electrified the entire field of physics. The particle has profound implications for understanding our universe.

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July 2, 2012 The buzz is that on July 4, scientists may announce they're closing in on the elusive Higgs boson particle. The quest for the so-called "God particle" has gone on for decades; physicists say its existence is necessary to explain key information about our universe.

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July 1, 2012 Royal Dutch Shell could drill several exploratory oil wells into the waters off the north shore of Alaska this summer. The potential prize is huge, but so is the risk, should there be an oil spill in the pristine and remote region. So Shell is recruiting locals and training them to confront oil in icy waters.

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June 23, 2012 The international conference dedicated to alleviating poverty and leaving the planet livable was the biggest U.N. conference ever, but it may also have been one of the biggest duds. As the organizer put it, "equally unhappy means equally happy."

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June 19, 2012 The company has spent $4 billion since 2007 on preparations to explore for oil off the north coast of Alaska. Many Alaskans welcome the venture, which could lead to the development of trillions of dollars worth of oil. But not everyone's convinced Shell has all the environmental safeguards in place to protect areas of the pristine Arctic.

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June 19, 2012 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants to kick-start a big initiative to double the share of renewable energy worldwide, make sure everyone on the planet has power, and cut in half the amount of wasted energy. But critics say the agenda in Rio is so bloated that it's unclear what can be accomplished.

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June 5, 2012 Imagine how tough life would be if raindrops weighed 3 tons apiece as they fell out of the sky at 20 mph. That's how raindrops look to a mosquito, yet a raindrop weighing 50 times more than one can hit the insect and the mosquito will survive.

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May 30, 2012 The amount of radiation found in Pacific bluefin tuna spawned near Fukushima does not threaten our health, despite today's suggestive headlines. What a new study shows is that scientists can rely on tiny amounts of radiation to track animals across great distances.

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May 17, 2012 Back when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth, some hardy bacteria took up residence at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Eighty six million years later, they're still there. And a new study says they're living out the most Spartan lifestyle known on this planet.

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