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When researchers spotted clues that trees were growing to record heights in the rainforest, they tried, failed and tried again to reach the remote site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WHEN THE WORLD'S NATIONS GATHER IN PARIS THIS DECEMBER TO NEGOTIATE A CLIMATE TREATY, THEIR EFFORTS WILL CAP A 25-YEAR-LONG JOURNEY PLAGUED BY DETOURS AND DEAD ENDS. THE QUEST STARTED [...]

Seven centuries ago, tens of thousands of people mysteriously fled their homes in the American Southwest. Archaeologists are trying to work out why. Vultures carve lazy circles in the sky [...]

Momentum is building to establish a new geological epoch that recognizes humanity's impact on the planet. But there is fierce debate behind the scenes. Almost all the dinosaurs have vanished [...]

Of all the species that have populated Earth at some time over the past 3.5-billion years, more than 95% have vanished--many of them in spectacular dieoffs called mass extinctions. On [...]

Researchers who study the fossil record are seeking to determine whether the impact made by a comet or meteor really did decimate up to half of the life on this planet at the end of the Cretaceous period. Questions whether the extinction of plant and animal life was abrupt, started before the impact, or was a gradual change. (KR)

The lethal fault cuts through the middle of a Tennessee bean field and then ducks beneath the Mississippi River, making a beeline for New Madrid, Missouri. Named the Reelfoot fault, [...]

When US President Barack Obama released his budget proposal on 2 February, he gave scientists and engineers a ray of hope--albeit one that is almost certain to be dimmed, if [...]

In 2007, environmental writer Bill McKibben approached climate scientist James Hansen and asked him what atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide could be considered safe. Hansen's reaction: 'I don't know, but [...]

A few passing students do a double take as Sayeed Choudhury waves his outstretched right arm. In his crisply pressed dress shirt and trousers, the engineer looks as if he [...]

Discussed is the United Nations call for a climate treaty to be ready to sign in 1992. The international controls on the emissions of gases that threaten to warm the planet are at the core of the proposed treaty. U.S. policy and other policies are discussed. (KR)

At an industrial hangar in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, a plush toy dog stands guard next to a 5-tonne titanium sphere. Polished to a high shine, the 2.2-metre orb reflects the [...]

As soon as the shaking died down on 11 March last year, Ken-Ichi Sato stumbled back to his office and pressed the alarm button, triggering sirens throughout the city of [...]

Research in the Duke Forest in North Carolina shows that trees can only pull so much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The researchers simulated the carbon dioxide levels expected in 2050 by pumping carbon dioxide into the air in the forest. The trees thrived on the extra carbon at first, but later reached a plateau.

Climate scientists this week began a research blitz to study El Nino, the climate trouble-maker that disrupts weather around much of the globe. For the next two months, US researchers [...]