Ecology

Human Ancestors Used to be Snacks For Ice Age Predators

Humans have been fighting each other for thousands of years, but our ancestors had to worry about all sorts of savage killers. As an ancient, heavily gnawed femur bone highlights, we weren’t always at the top of the food chain. Half a million years ago during the mid-Pleistocene, it’s believed that humans and our hominin…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 27

We’re Fertilizing the Heck Out of Our Planet and That’s a Bad Thing

The world is getting greener. A global analysis of satellite data finds that an area two times the size of the continental US has gone from brown to green over the past thirty years. Human carbon emissions are doing a hell of a job fertilizing the planet—but we probably shouldn’t celebrate. “This was very surprising…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Apr 25

A Scientific Guide to the Fantastical Predators in Game of Thrones

The monsters in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones are magically badass. But are dragons, direwolves, and lizard-lions scientifically plausible on some level? Today we’re going to try to answer that question—with the help of some expert biologists. We’ll explore the hypothetical anatomy, ecology, and behavior of the iconic fantasy creatures of Westeros and Essos,…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 22

There’s a Gigantic Reef Surrounding the Amazon River and Nobody Noticed

It’s incredible that it escaped notice for so long, but scientists have just discovered a massive, 9,500 square-kilometer reef system at the mouth of the Amazon river. And it’s home to some truly bizarre life forms. When we hear “reef,” we typically think colorful corals and crystal-clear tropical waters. Which is probably why nobody ever…

Commerce Maddie Stone Apr 22

How To Tell If a Drought Is Going To Kill Off Your Trees

Droughts are hitting us harder, and they’re only going to keep on coming. But how do you know if your trees can make it through a severe drought? Now there’s a way to find out before the drought hits. Obviously, some species of trees need more (or less) water than others. But scientists didn’t know…

Tech News Ria Misra Apr 18

Trees Are Even More Amazing Than We Realized

Trees, is there anything they can’t do? Doubtful. Let’s see: producing half the world’s oxygen, providing habitat for millions of species, creating the soil and timber resources we depend on. Not bad. But all that’s just scratching the surface. As new research shows, there’s a lot more going on beneath the forest floor than we…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 15

This Is Why the Great Barrier Reef Is Dying

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most celebrated ecosystems on Earth—and it’s dying. Months of extreme heat have turned thousands of miles of pristine habitat into an endless watery graveyard. This year’s coral bleaching event comes as a warning. If we don’t bring carbon emissions down fast, the Great Barrier Reef will not…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Apr 14

The Death Valley Super Bloom Is Incredible

Death Valley is one of the harshest environments on the planet, but you wouldn’t know it if you happened to visit last month. As weeks of El Niño-fueled rains percolated into the soil, thousands of dormant seeds were awakened, and the barren landscape bloomed into an ocean of wildflowers. A “super bloom” is a rare…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 14

Supermaterial Made From Seaweed Could Replace Bubble Wrap

As a civilization we are blanketing our planet with plastic. One of the most frightening illustrations of this fact is a prediction that by 2050, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish. Amazingly, a smart solution for reducing our reliance on plastic, and protecting marine life, could come from those very oceans, as well.…

Tech News Alissa Walker Apr 13

Preserving Land Isn’t Enough to Save the Tropics

The signs of human impact in the tropics are often stark. Vast tracts of forest leveled for pasture. Fires in the Amazon that are visible from space. A colossal oil spill that’s been festering for decades. But even the rainforests we set aside for preservation are slowly transforming. This is something conservation biologists have instinctively…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Apr 11

The Future of the Great Barrier Reef Just Got Worse

As if the Great Barrier Reef needed more terrible news, the Queensland government issued permits this week for a controversial new coal mine that marine biologists fear could choke out portions of the reef with pollution. On Sunday, Queensland premier approved leases for the Carmichael mine, Australia’s largest proposed coal project, which would tap into…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 6

How to Survive a Mass Extinction

If we want to know what sorts of creatures will survive the next mass extinction, the best place to look is the fossil record. After examining the bones of Lystrosaurus, a vertebrate that famously thrived during the worst apocalypse in the history of life on Earth, a team of paleontologists think they know how it…

Tech News Maddie Stone Apr 5

A Nightmare Is Unfolding in the Great Barrier Reef

If scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef is on your bucket list, you might want to book tickets soon. This week, marine biologists dropped some horribly depressing news: the Great Barrier Reef is dying. The world’s largest reef is in the midst of a widespread coral bleaching event, and scientists aren’t sure whether it…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Mar 29

Biologists Have Learned Something Horrifying About Prairie Dogs

Prairie dogs: fuzzy little socialites that live in elaborate burrows and chow down on grass all day, right? Seem like nice neighbors? Hate to shatter the illusion, but I’ve got some knowledge to share. Prairie dogs are cold-blooded killers. And if you’re a ground squirrel, you’re advised to move out of town immediately. I know…

Tech News Maddie Stone Mar 23

The Same Rules of Nature Apply to Elephants and E. Coli

On the surface, herds of zebras roaming the Serengeti don’t seem to have much in common with the number of cells in our bodies. But what if there is an underlying hidden logic behind it all—a set of universal rules regulating the numbers of things that applies across all size scales? That’s the provocative thesis…

Books & Comics Jennifer Ouellette Mar 23

Storks Are Now Trash Birds

Storks used to be majestic creatures, but now, they are trash birds. That is the conclusion of ornithologists at the University of East Anglia, who have confirmed that white storks are abandoning their normal migratory pattern in droves, instead choosing to nest at landfills and eat our garbage year round. Since the mid 1980s, a…

Tech News Maddie Stone Mar 15

It Looks Like Climate Change Drove These Giant Marine Reptiles To Extinction

A hundred million years ago, ichthyosaurs—massive marine reptiles that look like a dolphin mated with a fish—ruled Earth’s oceans. But nearly 30 million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs, these badass predators vanished. It wasn’t an asteroid that killed the ichthyosaurs, so what did? A new study argues that it was climate change. The…

Tech News Maddie Stone Mar 8

Why Scaring Animals Shitless Is Good for the Environment

Big carnivores are scary, both to humans and the animals they prey upon. But as a new study demonstrates, the fear that these predators instill among their prey can have a positive influence on ecological health and biodiversity, a finding with important implications for conservation. By playing the threatening sounds of large carnivores over speakers,…

Tech News George Dvorsky Feb 23

This Is What Millions of Hungry Jellyfish Sound Like

Every day, troves of hungry marine organisms—shrimp, jellyfish, squid and bony fish—migrate from the ocean’s murky depths to the surface. For the first time, marine biologists have captured the sound of their collective lunch outing. May it be the sonic backdrop to all of your future, jellyfish-induced nightmares. Cynics will point out that this sounds…

Biology Maddie Stone Feb 22

A Global Tragedy Is Unfolding In Tasmania

The blackened skeletons of scorched trees jut out of the smoldering Earth like angry bee stings. A smell of ash, dust, and death hangs in the air. This isn’t a scene from a post apocalyptic movie. It’s part of a Tasmanian World Heritage Site that harbors some of the oldest trees on Earth. “These forests…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Feb 12

Human Ancestors Used to be Snacks For Ice Age Predators

We’re Fertilizing the Heck Out of Our Planet and That’s a Bad Thing

A Scientific Guide to the Fantastical Predators in Game of Thrones

There’s a Gigantic Reef Surrounding the Amazon River and Nobody Noticed

How To Tell If a Drought Is Going To Kill Off Your Trees

Trees Are Even More Amazing Than We Realized

This Is Why the Great Barrier Reef Is Dying

The Death Valley Super Bloom Is Incredible

Supermaterial Made From Seaweed Could Replace Bubble Wrap

Preserving Land Isn’t Enough to Save the Tropics

The Future of the Great Barrier Reef Just Got Worse

How to Survive a Mass Extinction

A Nightmare Is Unfolding in the Great Barrier Reef

Biologists Have Learned Something Horrifying About Prairie Dogs

The Same Rules of Nature Apply to Elephants and E. Coli

Storks Are Now Trash Birds

It Looks Like Climate Change Drove These Giant Marine Reptiles To Extinction

Why Scaring Animals Shitless Is Good for the Environment

This Is What Millions of Hungry Jellyfish Sound Like

A Global Tragedy Is Unfolding In Tasmania

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

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