Aug 16 Does the placenta carry germs? What parents should know before they eat one By Nsikan Akpan What started as an innocent look into the trend of people consuming placentas uncovered a heated academic debate over whether the placenta has a microbiome. Continue reading
Aug 16 Watch 2:58 Walton Ford’s brief but spectacular take on ‘the imagined animal’ Walton Ford is a painter whose work examines the relationship between humans and animals in the wild. These creatures, he believes, “would rather be left alone.” As a child, Walton was always inspired by the natural world and would bring… Continue watching
Aug 15 EPA reverses approval for poison traps used by ranchers By Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday reversed its preliminary decision allowing continued use of deadly sodium cyanide traps, blamed for injuring people and pets as well as their intended targets of coyotes and other predators. Continue reading
Aug 14 Watch 10:08 The danger of coal ash, the toxic dust the fossil fuel leaves behind By Miles O'Brien Coal ash is a particularly dangerous byproduct of our dependence on fossil fuels. In communities that have dealt with coal ash spills, the incidents sparked concerns about toxins potentially seeping into water. Utilities have been pushed to adopt tougher safety… Continue watching
Aug 14 Watch 6:08 New analysis finds parts of the U.S. have already warmed close to critical 2-degree level For years, scientists have warned that we need to stop the planet from warming an additional two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid catastrophic problems. But a new analysis by The Washington Post finds many major areas across the… Continue watching
Aug 13 Explainer: Why the August night sky lights up with the Perseid meteor shower By Christopher Conselice, The Conversation Many people have some idea that a meteor shower is when material in space falls to the earth. That is essentially true, but what these particles are and where they come from isn’t as well known. A greater understanding of… Continue reading
Aug 12 Watch 5:21 How Trump plans to change the Endangered Species Act The Trump administration has announced major changes to the Endangered Species Act, the landmark law signed by President Richard Nixon that's credited with saving iconic species like the bald eagle and the grizzly bear. William Brangham talks to Lisa Friedman… Continue watching
Aug 08 Watch 8:17 How our food is grown and consumed is making climate change worse. What can we do? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is warning of a devastating global feedback loop around how humans produce and consume food. A new report urges immediate action on agricultural practices that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, which exacerbate climate change… Continue watching
Aug 08 Forget coral bleaching. Warming oceans are killing reefs and dissolving their skeletons By Berly McCoy Hotter oceans are killing corals, not just bleaching them. Then their reef corpses dissolve. Continue reading
Aug 08 United Nations predicts hungry future, due to global warming, that can be avoided By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press A new United Nations report examines how global warming and land interact in a vicious cycle. Human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the land, while the way people use the land is making global warming worse. Continue reading