Two fish heads against a slate background

Something in the Water: Life after Mercury Poisoning

From 1932 to 1968, the Chisso chemical factory discharged up to 600 tonnes of mercury into the Shiranui Sea. This led to mass poisoning and a UN treaty.
gene edited pigs

You May Soon Be Eating These Gene-Edited Pigs

Scientists have produced pigs that can resist a billion dollar animal virus.
Dead European Beech

What’s Killing European Trees?

Soil fungi supply nutrients to trees, but as they wither from pollution, trees suffer too.
A bloat of hippos in a watering hole

Hippo Poop Kills Fish, but There’s an Upside

A robot disguised as a crocodile is helping scientists understand that mass fish die-offs serve a purpose.
waveform

A History of Noise

What's noisier, nature or civilization? Whether we consider the sounds of nature to be pleasant or menacing depends largely on our ideologies.
Girl and dog relaxing on a healthy green lawn

Fixing the Grassroots of the American Lawn

A citizen scientist bred low-mow, slow-grow grass that needs little water and fertilizer.
Cuckoo chick

Russian Cuckoos are Invading Alaska. Songbirds, Beware!

Songbirds may loose their entire broods to cuckoos’ parasitic tricks.
Gator eating crab

Alligators on Beaches May Become the Norm

As conservation efforts succeed, wolves, leopards, alligators, and other predators colonize new lands.
Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys sphegodes)

Bees’ and Orchids’ Pseudo-Romance Broken by Climate Change

Rising temperatures are upsetting the bee-orchid pollinating schedule, threatening to snuff out the flower.
Two ichtyosauruses swimming in the ocean

These Lizard-Dolphin Creatures Ruled the Seas for 150 Million Years

Ichthyosaurs gave birth to live offspring, had huge eyes and lived all over the world.