Thinkstock/Comstock Our toothpaste and face scrubs may be doing a number on corals. The tiny microbeads, or exfoliants, found in several common household products are of Great Barrier Reef corals, according to new research from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia. "Corals are non-selective feeders, and our results show that they can consume microplastics when the plastics are present in seawater," Dr. Mia Hoogenboom, a chief investigator with ARC said in a news release. (MORE:...

Hanukkah began Tuesday, Dec. 16, and runs for eight nights. In honor of the Festival of Lights, we decided to look at eight beautiful light shows from the natural world (OK, the solar plant technically isn’t “natural,” but its aim is to generate electricity from the sun, so we think it counts). Here’s a little bit about each of these natural wonders: 1. The Aurora BorealisWhen the yellows, purples, greens and blues of the Northern Lights splash across the sky,...

You’ve probably heard the phrases El Niño and La Niña, likely in the context of weather patterns and your local forecast. What are they, exactly? “In the Pacific Ocean, around about the equator, there is either an upwelling of cold water, which goes westward, or there’s warm water. The warm water condition is called El Niño and the cold water condition is called La Niña,” John Allen, a scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, explained to...