Ecosystems
- Earth
Decades of dumping acid suggest acid rain may make trees thirstier
Acidified soil loses calcium, which can affect trees’ ability to hang on to water.
- Animals
A deadly fungus gives ‘zombie’ ants a case of lockjaw
Clues left on infected ant jaws may reveal how the ‘zombie-ant-fungus’ contracts ant muscles to make their death grip.
- Ecosystems
Planting trees could buy more time to fight climate change than thought
Earth has nearly a billion hectares suitable for new forests to start trapping carbon, a study finds.
- Oceans
A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reefs
Scientists are racing to learn what’s behind a disease that’s “annihilating” whole coral species in hopes of stopping it.
- Ecosystems
Moonlight shapes how some animals move, grow and even sing
The moon’s light influences lion prey behavior, dung beetle navigation, fish growth, mass migrations and birdsong.
- Health & Medicine
Breaking down the science behind some of your favorite summer activities
Inject some science into your summer.
- Ecosystems
Why some insect eggs are spherical while others look like hot dogs
Analyzing a new database of insect eggs’ sizes and shapes suggests that where eggs are laid helps explain some of their diversity of forms.
- Animals
Parasites ruin some finches’ songs by chewing through the birds’ beaks
Parasitic fly larvae damage the beaks of Galápagos finches, changing their mating songs and possibly causing females to pick males of a different species.
- Oceans
The world’s fisheries are incredibly intertwined, thanks to baby fish
A computer simulation reveals how one nation's management of its fish spawning grounds could significantly help or hurt another country's catch.
- Paleontology
Hyenas roamed the Arctic during the last ice age
Two teeth confirm the idea that hyenas crossed the Bering land bridge into North America, a study finds.
- Ecosystems
Many of the world’s rivers are flush with dangerous levels of antibiotics
Antibiotic pollution can fuel drug resistance in microbes. A global survey of rivers finds unsafe levels of antibiotics in 16 percent of sites.
- Environment
Some Canadian lakes still store DDT in their mud
Yesterday’s DDT pollution crisis is still today’s problem in some of Canada’s lakes.
