Study reveals new clues about how 'Earth's thermostat' controls climate

Study reveals new clues about how 'Earth's thermostat' controls climate
Rocks, rain and carbon dioxide help control Earth's climate over thousands of years — like a thermostat — through a process called weathering. A new study led by Penn State scientists may improve our understanding of how this thermostat responds as…

Published March 08, 2023 at 03:16PM
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Aquatic organisms respond to flooding and drought in different ways

Aquatic organisms respond to flooding and drought in different ways
Populations of various species of aquatic insects and other invertebrates respond to flooding and waterway drying in different ways that can be anticipated, according to a new Penn State-led study that employed a novel method to assess the stability…

Published March 08, 2023 at 03:19PM
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Researchers uncover secrets of how Alaska's Denali Fault formed

Researchers uncover secrets of how Alaska's Denali Fault formed
When the rigid plates that make up the Earth's lithosphere brush against one another, they often form boundaries, known as faults, on the planet's surface. Strike-slip faults, such as the San Andreas Fault in California and the Denali Fault in Alaska…

Published March 07, 2023 at 03:24PM
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Harmful bacteria can elude predators when in mixed colonies

Harmful bacteria can elude predators when in mixed colonies
Efforts to fight disease-causing bacteria by harnessing their natural predators could be undermined when multiple species occupy the same space, according to a study by Dartmouth College researchers. When growing in mixed colonies, some harmful…

Published March 06, 2023 at 02:39PM
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Plants seek climate refuge across our changing planet

Plants seek climate refuge across our changing planet
Plants, like animals and people, seek refuge from climate change. And when they move, they take ecosystems with them. To understand why and how plants have trekked across landscapes throughout time, researchers are calling for a new framework. The…

Published March 06, 2023 at 02:37PM
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This week with NSF Director Panchanathan

This week with NSF Director Panchanathan
The three I’s to impactful change, according to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, are innovation, inclusion and international collaboration — and finding opportunities to advance impactful change continued to be the focus this week for the…

Published March 03, 2023 at 09:08PM
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Computers that power self-driving cars could become a driver of global carbon emissions

Computers that power self-driving cars could become a driver of global carbon emissions
In the future, self-driving cars' computational needs may fuel a large increase in global carbon emissions. The energy needed to run the powerful computers onboard a global fleet of autonomous vehicles could generate as much greenhouse gas emissions…

Published March 01, 2023 at 02:38PM
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