Humans have built so many dams around the world that the Earth’s poles have wandered away from the planet’s rotational axis, new research suggests. Over the last 200 years, humans have constructed nearly 7,000 massive dams, impounding enough water to nudge the Earth’s poles by about three feet (one meter) and cause a 0.83-inch (21-millimeter) […]
Your Pruney Fingers After After a Bath Always Wrinkle the Same Way, Study Reveals
Pruney fingers and toes after a long time in the pool or the bathtub are one of those things we all expect but couldn’t explain scientifically until recently. In 2023, Binghamton University biomedical engineer Guy German and colleagues found that this happens because the blood vessels in our digits contract when we spend too much […]
A Meteorite From Alaska Challenges Theory of How Earth Got Its Water
Water is essential to life as we know it, but scientists are still unsure about how it originated on Earth. One theory is that asteroids express-shipped us hydrogen, essential to the formation of water molecules, by colliding with our planet in its early history. New research, however, suggests Earth already had enough hydrogen of its […]
Wild ‘Waterbending’ Technique Uses Waves to Steer Floating Objects With Precision
Imagine hopping onto a large floatie in a lake or pool, and then trying to move. We’ve all been there—without paddling limbs, wind-catching sails, or a propelling engine, you’re stuck. But what if we could make the water itself move you? An international team of researchers has developed a technique to manipulate water and move […]
Star Wars-Style Fog Collectors Could Provide Water to the World’s Driest Cities
With less than 0.04 inches of rainfall each year, cities in Chile’s barren Atacama Desert—one of the driest places in the world—collect their water from ancient underground water sources. Now, researchers have identified another simple method that could help address water scarcity. An international team of researchers in Chile has tested the viability of a […]