A large tree with moss-covered roots.

How Trees Can Save Lakes From Algae Blooms

In addition to cleaning air pollution, trees absorb excess nutrients from soil, preventing algae blooms in waterways.
Two IAEA experts examine recovery work on top of Unit 4 of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

How to Clean Up After a Nuclear Disaster

Workers are still cleaning up after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant partial meltdown. There's a lot of contaminated material to contend with.
An illustration of an elephant between crosshairs

The Military Response to Poaching

Is militarizing rangers really the best way to cut down on poaching? It's more complicated than you might imagine.
Yttrium crystal

The Downside to Renewable Energy

Rare earth elements are used in virtually all electronics, and mining them is a messy business.
A doctor talking to a female patient

Blaming Women for Infertility in the 1940s

In the early days of fertility treatments, some doctors theorized that women’s unconscious hatred of their husbands kept them from conceiving.
A drone delivering a package

The Drone Will See You Now

As drones become normalized, companies like Zipline are using them to deliver life-saving medicines to faraway places.
A flamingo feeding its young

How Non-Mammals “Nurse” Their Young

Some birds feed their young with "crop milk," while discus fish feed their fry with a special mucus. It may not seem as cute as nursing, but it works.
Lee Smolin

Lee Smolin: Science Works Because We Care to Know the Truth

Lee Smolin speaks on quantum gravity, the nature of time, the role of ethics in science, and the importance of realism.
Illustration of a wild boar, between 1868 and 1874

Denmark Builds a Wild Boar Wall

Is constructing a fence along the Denmark/Germany border really the best way to keep wild pigs away from domestic pigs?
A gardener planting yellow flowers in the soil.

Five Steps to Making Your Garden a Carbon Sink

If the 81 million U.S. households with yards adopt these practices, they could absorb more carbon and help combat climate change.