http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/index.aspx This feed contains the 10 latest features and special reports from Planet Earth online en-gb Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:19:12 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1095 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1095 How techniques developed to study ancient footprints are finding unexpectedly direct uses in modern life. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:53:52 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1099 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1099 Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) is a clear liquid, widely used in everything from LCD displays to paint strippers and anti-inflammatory drugs. It could be important for climate regulation too, but its natural life cycle remains something of a mystery. What have scientists discovered about this enigmatic chemical? Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:09:32 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1097 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1097 Alien species -- plants and animals that become established outside their native home -- can cause problems for indigenous species. But things don't always end badly for the locals, as Thomas Ings and colleagues from Queen Mary University found out. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:26:50 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1100 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1100 One of the most ambitious Antarctic projects ever undertaken kicks off later this year. Scientists are planning to drill through kilometres of ice to sample the waters of a lake that's been cut off from the outside world for hundreds of thousands of years, while avoiding the risk of contaminating this unique environment. How do they hope to pull it off? Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:14:15 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1091 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1091 What would you do with surplus energy from your solar panels? Switch off more lights to maximise that warm green feeling, or splash out on a bigger TV to soak up the free power? Energy-efficient buildings will cut carbon emissions faster if we can become energy-conscious citizens. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:27:51 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1092 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1092 Most of us learned about plate tectonics in school, and how cities like San Francisco, built where two plates collide, are most vulnerable to earthquakes. But is it that straightforward? Perhaps not. Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1094 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1094 How do you map the comings and goings of a bird that can travel thousands of miles to find food? Ewan Wakefield began on the high seas, and ended up in an imaginary block of flats... Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:48:55 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1090 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1090 Just when you thought CFCs had gone away, new ozone-depleting compounds and greenhouse gases are turning up in the atmosphere. Scientists are using everything from helium balloons to a former Russian spy plane to track them down. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:30:19 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1089 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1089 You might think constant conflict with others would bring a group closer together. It's true in humans - in fact, some think this is how society got started. But what about other animals? How scientists are shedding light on strife and solidarity in an African bird. Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:04:56 GMT http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1055 http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1055 Earth scientists from the British Geological Survey are applying new techniques to advance our understanding of the geological evolution of Anglesey, North Wales, unravelling over 600 million years of Earth history. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:11:44 GMT