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Ecology

A turtle swims out from a fishing net.
Food & Environment

How new fishing tech can reduce bycatch of turtles and other creatures

Nets equipped with water bottles and other tricks can help save some species, while allowing fisherman to still catch others

Photograph of sandy sea bottom covered in round nodules. The light is dim and greeny blue.
Physical World

Mining the deep ocean

Renewable technologies need a multitude of critical minerals. The seabed could supply these riches. But at what cost?

A curled-up dormouse sleeping in a nest of grass
Living World

The strange animals that control their body heat

Some creatures can dramatically alter their internal temperature — a strategy called heterothermy — and outlast storms, floods and predators

Photograph shows a close-up of an Aedes aegypti mosquito perched on a leaf.
Health & Disease

Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses

A drone hovers over two blue whales, a mother and baby, as they swim side by side.
Technology

Flying with whales: Drones are remaking marine mammal research

From collecting whale snot to capturing surprising behaviors, aerial drones are giving scientists a new view of life at sea

Photo of a handsome stripy frog sitting upright on what looks like some moss.
Living World

Animals that eat poisons and don’t die

Critters consuming species that contain deadly toxins have evolved a suite of clever strategies to keep out of harm’s way

Close-up of an alligator partially submerged in green water with only its snout and eyes visible.
Food & Environment

Tracking down the hidden pollutants that make wildlife sick

A new technique for detecting unknown and unlooked-for chemicals is revealing dozens of contaminants in alligators, sea lions and condors

Conceptual illustration shows various wildlife species situated around an analog clock. There is some DNA wound around the clock.
Living World

The clock is ticking: How epigenetics could help save wildlife from collapse

In polar bears, dolphins, baboons and more, molecular signatures of aging are changing how conservationists assess population health, resilience and risk

Photograph of a pile of oyster shells with water in the background.
Food & Environment

Shucking the past: Can oysters thrive again?

Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back.

Photo of surface-dwelling Mexican tetra on the left and a blind cave fish on the right. The color of the blind cavefish is much paler and pinker than its counterpart.
Living World

How the cavefish lost its eyes — again and again

Mexican tetras that got swept into pitch-black caverns had no use for the energetically costly organs. They lost their eyes in multiple ways — and gained some nifty traits too.

Black-and-white collage of beautiful small shells
Living World

The history of the ocean, as told by tiny beautiful fossils

Bountiful remains of foraminifera reveal how organisms responded to climate disturbances of the past. They can help predict the future, too.

Photograph of a group of grey colored sandhill cranes standing in water and stubble.
Food & Environment

How farmers can help rescue water-loving birds

Cranes, sandpipers, ducks, geese and many other waterbirds have lost essential rest stops along their seasonal migration routes. Bird-friendly agriculture can assist in filling the gaps.

A field of white button mushrooms; one has a brown, wrinkled cap.
Living World

Viruses that roam the fungal kingdom

Mushrooms and other fungi can harbor hidden companions — and some of these may fight pesky or dangerous molds

A young grizzly bear climbs over a highway guardrail.
Food & Environment

Getting along with grizzly bears

In rural Alaskan and Canadian communities, reducing conflict between people and their wild neighbors means both species must change their behavior

A collection of photos of sea cucumbers of different colors and textures.
Living World

Weird and wondrous sea cucumbers

These spiny or slimy ocean creatures display an astonishing diversity of appearances, behaviors and lifestyles. Many are increasingly threatened.

A collage of 11 flowers of thermogenic plants
Living World

Rotten tricks: How hot and stinky plants woo pollinators

To attract insects, thermogenic plants turn up the heat, emit strong odors and even disguise themselves as corpses

A collage of different kinds of wild seeds, varying in size and shape.
Living World

The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking

To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken

Black silhouettes of dead trees stand out against a pinky orange sky
Food & Environment

Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning

Insects crawl on, and mushrooms sprout from, a dead tree on the forest floor
Living World

The teeming life of dead trees

Rotting logs turn out to be vital to forest biodiversity and recycling organic matter

A condor spreads its wings on the summit of a mountain.
Food & Environment

Return of the California condor

North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.

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