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.
A television with an image of the earth from space, in front of a green plant background

What’s Wrong with Planet Earth?

According to one critic, the BBC documentary inspired more appreciation for HD television than it did for engaged environmentalism.
This infographic details the locations of the participating telescopes of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA).

Seeing Black Holes

Two of the scientists on the huge team that eventually captured the world's first image of a black hole discuss the particular challenges of the task.