Photo by Hannes Wolf on Unsplash
When evolution's path leads to a dead end
The fossil record shows that nature doesn't always make the right choices
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Geology
Government of Greenland
Report № 1
We've gathered a team of geneticists, biologists, and environmental scientists to bring you the most up-to-date report on the science, history, and safety of genetically-modified organisms.
Rising seas are threatening historical sites around the world
As climate change encroaches, our heritage is drowning
Archaeology
New York University
Tracking the history – and future – of the world's largest penguin breeding colony
Climate change is upending migration patterns that predate Cleopatra
Environmental Physiology
McMaster University
1 peer comment
Tree-murdering fungi and insects increasingly contribute to climate change
New research suggests carbon dioxide released from dying forests equals emissions from 11 million cars
Ecology and Biogeochemistry
Virginia Commonwealth University
1 peer comment
How atmospheric dust might help cool the planet
New research suggests an old idea of geoengineering has more merit than long suspected
Oceanography
University of Washington
'Being Ecological' is a book with admirable aims and a tangled execution
Prioritizing data over action can be counterproductive – but so is a muddled message
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Ecology
Wake Forest University
How farmers on the Great Plains are changing the local climate
New crop practices trap more carbon in the soil, increasing rainfall and adding profits
Ecology and Biogeochemistry
Virginia Commonwealth University
1 peer comment
Why don't Americans care about chemicals?
We need chemicals for daily life, but seem to feel 'apocalypse fatigue' around their dangers
Marine Science
University of Rhode Island
2 peer comments
Climate change harms everyone's health. Yes, even yours
No one evades global increases in extreme weather, disease, and injury
Emergency Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University
What Pokémon GO can teach conservationists about public engagement
In six days, players collected as much data as naturalists had in 400 years
Ecology
Wake Forest University
Low doses of contaminants, long ignored, can have vast consequences
Scientists found cocaine – and a lot of other chemicals – in Minnesota snow
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Marine Science
University of Rhode Island
To predict the future of Southern California's seas, scientists are looking to the past
The west's dramatic coastlines have masked rising tides, but that doesn’t mean the future is dry
Oceanography
University of Washington
Scientists were long baffled by a methane surplus in our atmosphere. The culprit: trees
It's not just flatulent cows
Ecology
Wake Forest University
2 peer comments
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Creationism helped push climate skepticism into classrooms
Science education has become a political issue, but civic engagement can still work wonders
Polar Science
University of Texas at Austin
What does California's future look like? Scientists asked trees
Blue oaks have up to 500 years of climate history written in their rings
Ecology
University of Minnesota
1 peer comment
What the Ice Age tells us about how plants will manage in a hotter world
New research seems to resolve a puzzle of why plants struggled in the past
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Earth System Science
UC Irvine
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Is light pollution changing how plants do – and don't – grow?
Plants depend on cycles of light. Now, they're always on
Ecology
2 peer comments
Tiny computers are transforming weather data collection
Sometimes my job is to fly sensors on kites – for science
Atmospheric Science
University of Hawaii
How fieldwork on a remote, tiny island taught me to navigate family dinners
Doing science far away helped this ecologist talk to those close to home
Ecology
Wake Forest University
It's time to stop excluding people with disabilities from science
You can be a great scientist without being able to carry a 50-pound backpack out of a cave
Marine Geology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Biodiversity doesn't just arise out of healthy ecosystems. It helps create them
Why researchers are starting to think differently about biodiversity
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Ecology
Wake Forest University
We can no longer count on nature's 'self-correction' to curb warming
Plants are reaching their carbon-storage limit
Ecosystem Ecology
University of Montana
2 peer comments
Toxic chemicals are being freed from melting glaciers
Scientists are finding decades-old DDT and PCB flowing from the Tibetan Plateau
Oceanography
Colorado School of Mines
3 peer comments
Pollution and climate change hurt children most of all
An ER doctor explains how these shifts compound childhood illness
Emergency Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University
2 peer comments
Alaska's oilfield has been subtly changing the state's environment for decades. Will Congress notice?
A new study reveals decades of cumulative change at an oilfield where caribou raise their young
Polar Science
University of Texas at Austin
1 peer comment
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How Saharan dust can influence health all the way in Florida
Bacterial blooms could cause disease in humans and coral
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Environmental Health
University of Georgia
The most cost-effective ways to fight climate change are literally under our feet
A new study says forests, swamps, and soil are the cheapest ways to help save the planet
Ecology
University of Wyoming
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What ancient corn farmers can teach us about engineering crops for climate change
In the era of GMO crops, farmers can learn old lessons of diversity
Marine Geology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1 peer comment
Can Hawaii's waterfall-climbing fish survive when mountain rains change?
O'opu make extreme treks to breed that depend on stable climate conditions
Atmospheric Science
University of Hawaii
1 peer comment
Can termites teach us to build environmentally friendly communities?
Meet the researchers searching for more climate-friendly architecture
Architecture and Thermal Engineering
Harvard University and McGill University
3 peer comments
Boobies of the Galápagos are replacing their disappearing food source with junk fish
Decades of research show how the sardine's decline threatens an entire ecosystem
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Ecology
Wake Forest University
Life is evolving through a hurricane of human pollution
Animals are adapting to pollutants in surprising and often costly ways
Environmental Physiology
McMaster University
1 peer comment
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Only eight hurricanes hit New England in 100 years. Soon more will head for Boston
Climate change is shifting storm paths, and new targets are underprepared
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
1 peer comment
We know how to fight wildfires effectively. Why don't we do it?
Prescribed burns lessen the damage, but the risk repels lawmakers
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
We know terrifyingly little about how our bodies respond to pollutants, but that's changing
Fish DNA can change in response to pollution. What about the rest of us?
Marine Science
University of Rhode Island
2 peer comments
What modern conservationists can learn from humanity's long history with rainforests
There's a growing body of evidence that humans have been modifying tropical forests for over 40,000 years
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Ecology
Wake Forest University
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Feeding the world as the climate changes will depend on genetic engineering
CRISPR and other tech could help us produce more food, but only if we drop the GMO stigma
Molecular Biology
Princeton University
Some good news: peatlands might help store more carbon as temperatures rise
Don't drain these swamps
Environmental Science
Nova Scotia Nature Trust
Want to know where hard-to-find squid live? Ask their predators
Look, sometimes you need to "offload water" from a giant albatross...for science
Environmental Science
University of Rhode Island
How stressed-out fish are teaching us about human heart disease
Farmed fish and office-bound humans face a common problem
Physiology, Marine Biology, and Ecology
Harvard University
We've poured thousands of manmade chemicals into the ocean. Now they're mixing in unpredictable ways.
We're just starting to learn about the effects of POP soup and what we can do about it.
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Marine Science
University of Rhode Island
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Seagrass meadows protect fish, coral and humans from disease – and we’re losing them
This seemingly mundane plant might be more important than we realize.
Marine Biology
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Conservationists can't tackle all of the ocean's problems at once, so scientists are helping them triage
The ocean contains many vulnerable ecosystems that need protecting. So where should we start?
Marine Chemical Biology
Scripps Institution of Oceanography