nature

How these 3 experiments went from goose egg to science gold

By Rashmi Shivni

Science projects that were once admonished for being too quirky, too convoluted or a waste of money get a second chance to prove their worth at Wednesday's Golden Goose Awards.

Wetlands stopped $625 million in property damage during Hurricane Sandy. Can they help Houston?

By Nsikan Akpan

For the first time, a new study gives us a sense of how much property damage these natural habitats can prevent during severe storms like Hurricane Harvey.

B is for bug when preschoolers make nature their classroom

By PBS News Hour

In the age of standardized testing, screen time and what some see as a generation of excessively coddled children, a new movement of preschools is pushing kids outdoors, come rain or shine, heat or cold, to connect with nature and…

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When faced with pollution, these sea snakes shed their stripes

By Teresa Carey

Australian ecologists found turtle-headed sea snakes cope with excessively polluted waters by losing their white stripes.

Why the first flowers may have looked like magnolias

By Mario Vallejo-Marin, The Conversation

An international team of botanists has achieved the best reconstruction to date of an ancestral flower.

This mom leads young people on walks in the woods to prevent and heal from tragedy

By PBS News Hour

In our NewsHour Shares moment of the day, Boston’s inner city often sees a spike in violence during the summer, when many students are out of school and on the streets. But as special correspondent Tina Martin from PBS station…

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This common herb will keep bee pollinators buzzing in your garden

By Karin Alton and Francis L. W. Ratnieks, The Conversation

There is a common assumption that those plants which delight human eyes will also be the most attractive for bees. Two scientists at the University of Sussex can offer a more empirical take.

Elephant seals recognize vocal rhythms to avoid bullies

By Teresa Carey

Elephant seals become the first mammal, other than humans, to recognize rhythmic patterns in the voices of their kind.

Humans have made 8.3 billion tons of plastic. Where does it all go?

By Roni Dengler

The plastic debris housed in landfills and natural environments — currently 4.9 billion metric tons — will more than double by 2050, scientists reported Wednesday in Science Advances.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are slowly killing bees

By Roni Dengler

Neonicotinoid pesticides commonly found in agricultural areas kill bees and hurt their ability to reproduce, two separate large-scale studies confirmed Thursday.