Environment
- Health & Medicine
Worries grow that climate change will quietly steal nutrients from major food crops
Studies show that rice, wheat and other staples could lose proteins and minerals, putting more people at risk of hunger worldwide.
- Animals
Seeds coated in a common pesticide might affect birds’ migration
Eating small amounts of a neonicotinoid pesticide can disorient white-crowned sparrows.
- Animals
Even a tiny oil spill spells bad news for birds
Just a small amount of crude can make birds less active.
- Animals
The key to breaking down plastic may be in caterpillars’ guts
Caterpillars that feast on plastic have different gut microbes than those that eat a grain-based diet.
- Environment
Pollution killed 9 million people in 2015
First global look estimates the massive human and financial toll caused by pollution-related health problems.
- Chemistry
Chong Liu one-ups plant photosynthesis
Chong Liu mixes bacteria and inorganics into systems that can generate clean energy better than a leaf.
- Environment
Radioactive material from Fukushima disaster turns up in a surprising place
Radioactive cesium is reaching the ocean through salty groundwater.
- Environment
The way poison frogs keep from poisoning themselves is complicated
Gaining resistance to one of their own toxins forced some poison dart frogs to make other genetic tweaks, too.
- Environment
The list of diseases linked to air pollution is growing
Air pollution levels have come down since the 1970s, but smog is being linked with a growing list of diseases, including dementia, obesity, diabetes and even Parkinson’s.
- Environment
Air pollution takes a toll on solar energy
Dust and other tiny air pollutants can reduce solar energy output by as much as 25 percent in parts of the world.
- Archaeology
Ancient mud documents the legacy of Rome’s lead pipes
Researchers used lead levels in Rome’s ancient harbors to track lead pipe use and urbanization.
- Animals
Giant larvaceans could be ferrying ocean plastic to the seafloor
Giant larvaceans could mistakenly capture microplastics, in addition to food, in their mucus houses and transfer them to the seafloor in their feces.
