Ecosystems

Animals

Clearing land to feed a growing human population will threaten thousands of species

Changing where, how and what food is grown could largely avoid biodiversity losses, scientists say.

Animals

Plastic waste forms huge, deadly masses in camel guts

Eating plastic isn’t just a sea animal problem. Researchers found suitcase-sized masses of plastic in dromedaries’ guts in the United Arab Emirates.

Environment

Plastics are showing up in the world’s most remote places, including Mount Everest

From the snow on Mount Everest to the guts of critters in the Mariana Trench, tiny fragments called microplastics are almost everywhere.

Microbes

50 years ago, scientists suspected microbes flourished in clouds

In 1970, scientists presented early evidence that microbes in clouds may be alive and kicking.

Life

A new map shows where Asian giant hornets could thrive in the U.S.

Suitable habitat along the Pacific West Coast means so-called “murder hornets” could get a foothold in North America if they aren’t eradicated.

Ecosystems

Trapped under ice, light-loving algae grow in the dark Arctic winter

Blocked off from nearly all light beneath a thick layer of ice and snow in the winter, marine phytoplankton in the Arctic still find a way to thrive.

Environment

What we know and don’t know about wildfire smoke’s health risks

As wildfires become more frequent and severe in California, Oregon and throughout the West Coast, concerns rise about harmful air pollution.

Ecosystems

Protecting half the planet could help solve climate change and save species

An analysis lays out where new land protections could complement existing protected areas to achieve various conservation and climate goals.

Animals

Female hyenas kill off cubs in their own clans

Along with starvation and mauling by lions, infanticide leads as a cause of hyena cub death. Such killings may serve to enforce the social order.

Ecosystems

To save Appalachia’s endangered mussels, scientists hatched a bold plan

Biologists have just begun to learn whether their bold plan worked to save the golden riffleshell, a freshwater mussel teetering on the brink of extinction.

Plants

This parasitic plant consists of just flashy flowers and creepy suckers

With only four known species, Langsdorffia are thieves stripped down to their essentials.

Oceans

These ancient seafloor microbes woke up after over 100 million years

Scientists discover that microbes that had lain dormant in the seafloor for millions of years can revive and multiply.