Jul 31 This new nanotech could help clean up Earth’s microplastics By Berly McCoy Chemists have adapted emerging technology -- called nanocoils -- to dissolve microplastics and turn the pollution into food for algae. Continue reading
Jul 17 By making plant roots grow deeper, these geneticists hope to curb climate change By Berly McCoy A new genetic discovery could help researchers trap more climate-altering carbon underground. Continue reading
Jun 26 Are commercial honeybees making wild bees sick? By Berly McCoy Everyone wants to save the bees, but we may be saving them to death. Continue reading
Jun 11 A ‘dead zone’ the size of Massachusetts could hit the Gulf this summer By Nsikan Akpan Here is what a "dead zone" the size of Massachusetts could mean for the Gulf of Mexico and seafood prices. Continue reading
May 14 How a snail’s shell gets its twist By Vicky Stein Gene-editing with CRISPR reveals why snail shells are asymmetrical and coil either left or right. Continue reading
May 06 Safety concerns mount over neonicotinoid pesticides in unexpected places By Jim Daley, Scientific American As scientists discover neonicotinoid pesticides in unexpected locations and associated with health problems, a growing body of research challenges the assumption these are safer and less likely to spread than other types of pesticide. Continue reading
Apr 22 How these water fleas could save your water quality — and your life By Vicky Stein On this Earth Day 2019, we celebrate water fleas and ecologist Meghan Duffy. Duffy studies how these water fleas maintain healthy waterways and fight deadly diseases. Continue reading
Apr 03 Watch 9:25 Antarctic penguins have existed for 60 million years. Can they survive climate change? By William Brangham, Emily Carpeaux, Mike Fritz Ron Naveen used to be a lawyer for the EPA, but he left government in the 1980s to start Oceanites, a nonprofit that tracks the health of penguins that breed on the Antarctic Peninsula. Now, that 800-mile stretch of land… Continue watching
Mar 15 This new ‘army’ of spiders is named after Star Wars stormtroopers By Vicky Stein They wouldn’t survive the deserts of Tatooine or the frigid planet Hoth, but these newly described, tarantula-like spiders are named after the stormtroopers who marched through the “Star Wars” movies. Continue reading
Feb 06 Watch 6:55 How cutting-edge engineering borrows nature’s innovations By Miles O'Brien In the never-ending hunt for new designs that jump, pump, or run faster and better, scientists are finding inspiration in nature. The field of biomimicry blurs boundaries between living things -- like the butterfly’s proboscis or the flea's powerful legs… Continue watching