Scientists working in lab

To Save the Threatened, Scientists Clone Cacao, Fertilize Mollusks, and Hunt Porpoises

All over the world, researchers are trying to better understand a world in constant flux and to prevent species from extinction as they battle for survival.
Orca Juvenile

Starving Killer Whales Are Losing Most of Their Babies

The southern resident killer whales of the northeast Pacific are in trouble. As habitats and food dwindle, they increasingly miscarry and lose their babies.
India Campbell and Child

The New Victims of Climate Change: Plants, Parasites, and Pregnant Women

The recent series of hurricanes has demonstrated, climate change is no longer a nebulous futuristic menace, but an existential threat.
acorn lyme disease connection

Can the Acorn Crop Predict Lyme Disease?

Will cutting fewer forests, where tick hosts and their predators live, help curb Lyme disease? Scientists debate.
Bushy-tailed woodrat

When Packrats’ Hoards Are Helpful

Packrat nests, preserved by a combination of the chemistry of urine and the desert air, open a window into centuries of local climate change.
Smokestacks with pollution

Plastic in Your Beer, Toxins in Your Air, and Heavy Metals on Your Doorsteps

From household plastic to industrial waste, anthropogenic activity has created compounds that poison ecosystems from water to air.
Satellite view of Hurricane Irma.

Hurricanes May be Getting More Severe: Do We Need a Whole New Cateogry to Describe Them?

There’s been a devastating trail of destruction and flooding along the east Atlantic coast in the last few ...
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston - August 27 2017

How To Recycle Half A Million Flooded Cars

Although a car seems like a long-term capital investment, it is only a crash or disaster away from becoming two tons of mass-consumer junk.
Zika virus kills some cancer

Meet Zika’s Lifesaving Side: It Kills Cancer

A new study suggests the Zika virus may kill some cancer cells. It can destroy the stem cells of glioblastoma, the most common type of brain tumors.
flooded houston hurricane harvey impact

Natural and Man-Made Disasters, from Atom Weather to Fire Ants

Mother Nature’s wrath can be unpredictable and random, but history shows that humankind is ultimately responsible for many "natural disasters."