The Arctic Ocean could be largely ice free in summer within a decade, scientists announced today—the latest in a stream of wildly varying predictions. What does it all mean?

With summer ice apparently disappearing in the Arctic, the regions faces a stormy future, according to a recent atmospheric study—more rain, more snow, more whitecaps.

Data released this week by researchers who spent three months this spring measuring ice on the Arctic Ocean suggests that the North Pole could be largely open sea in summer within a decade—and ice free by 2029.

It's only a matter of time before swine flu jumps to U.S. pigs, experts say. Scientists say H1N1 could strengthen while in the animals, while farmers—already battered by the perception that pork is unsafe—fear even worse sales.

Giant alien snakes--some of which have been known to kill humans--could easily colonize Florida and other parts of the United States, a new report says.

Nine giant snakes could be on the verge of causing ecological catastrophe if they establish themselves in the U.S. wild—at least two have already set up shop in Florida—according to a new report.

If the largest snake that ever lived were still slithering today, it would feel right at home in South America's rain forests, newfound fossils from the snake's ancient home reveal.

Quick! What should you do if a venomous snake slithers into your workplace? A two-day course in Australia has the answers. Video.

From the skies of Venus to the Martian underground--a new tool pinpoints the three extraterrestrial worlds most likely to support life in our solar system, along with two also-rans.

Today's announcement that U.S. swine flu deaths among children are "shooting up" is generating headlines. Meanwhile swine flu is infecting another group up to five times more often than the general public, advocates say.

Enormous sheets of gelatinous mucilage—full of deadly bacteria and viruses—are becoming a more common sight throughout the Mediterranean Sea as temperatures rise, a new study says.

Miles-long sheets of mucus-like material are forming more often and in more places, a new Mediterranean Sea report says. More than just unpleasant, the blobs are an unexpected health hazard, the study found.

Giant, jelly-like sheets of dead and living organic matter, known as marine mucilages, are spreading throughout the Mediterranean. The blobs may smother marine life and carry diseases dangerous to humans.

Plastiki, a 60-foot-long (18.3-meter-long) catamaran made of more than 12,000 plastic bottles, will soon ply the Pacific Ocean to increase awareness of environmental problems.Video

Long-dormant volcanoes—including in Yellowstone—can awaken in a matter of hours, spewing a superheated, fast-moving mix of toxic gas and ash, according to a new study of a massive 2008 eruption in Chile.