Goldenrods temporarily duck their heads during pest season

R.K. Pachauri, an engineer and economist by training, is director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, India, and a corecipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his role as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC periodically issues consensus reports on the science of climate change. Senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with him about changes he hopes to see from the Obama administration. (p. 32)

A new federal rule makes it harder to destroy protected forests.

Virus could explain one symptom of colony collapse. (p. 5)

Scientists tally the economic toll of fertilizing pollutants on water quality.

A widely used agricultural weed killer teams up with fertilizer to render frogs especially vulnerable to debilitating parasites. (p. 12)

Species vulnerable to enslavement may evolve ways to fight their captors.

The number of coastal areas known as dead zones is on the rise. A new tally reports more than 400 of the oxygen starved regions worldwide.

A new study provides strong evidence that fruits harm predators with the same chemicals that, for example, give chili peppers their spice.

A species of ants not well understood surprises researchers with a nomadic lifestyle, roaming the rainforest on fungal forays.

Tanked half-way houses allow people and fish to get acquainted on their own terms — and exhibit their individual personalities.

The discovery of Tahitian vanilla’s heritage could set off a custody battle between nations.

Tasmanian devils have started mating much earlier in response to an epidemic, called facial tumor disease, that is wiping out much of their population.

First big species audit finds coral extinction risks severely under-reported