Ecosystems
Magic mushrooms evolved to scramble insect brains, send them on wild, scary trips
Researchers discovered that the way fungi independently gained the ability to produce psilocybin is because of horizontal gene transfer.
Where does the plastic in our oceans come from?
Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?
Turning Appalachia’s contaminated creek water into art
Acid mine drainage turns thousands of creeks orange in Appalachia. True Pigments is pulling that pollution to create paint pigments.
Why haven’t plastic-eating bacteria fixed the plastic problem yet?
Texas scientists have created an enzyme that could keep billions of pounds of plastic out of landfills.
What the world will look like in the year 250,002,018
On Pangaea Proxima, the supercontinent of the future, Cape Town and Mexico City are just a day’s drive apart.
WWF report highlights tiger population gains for the Year of the Tiger
The global tiger population is finally increasing after more than a century of gradual decline, a new study from WWF reveals.
Researchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean
These discoveries help scientists better understand not only the evolutionary history of viruses but also the evolution of life on Earth.
One-horned rhino population increases by 200 in four years
A census of the one-horned rhino population at Kaziranga National Park found that the vulnerable species is on the rise.
World’s largest bee, thought to be extinct, found in Indonesia
The giant bee was first discovered in 1859, but since has only officially sighted once. Now, researchers have found a specimen alive and well.
Combining crops and solar panels is allowing Kenya to “harvest the sun twice”
The panels are mounted high enough for crops to be grown underneath, sheltering them from the sun and allowing rainwater harvesting.