Evolution
Tree Roots May Have Set Off a Mass Extinction
The evolution of terrestrial plant roots could have kicked off large-scale extinctions by throwing the planet’s mineral cycle into disarray
Stories by Joanna Thompson
Food
Why Is It So Hard to Make Vegan Fish?
Futuristic food science technology could finally bring plant-based salmon filets and tuna steaks to the table
Ecology
How the Moon Devastated a Mangrove Forest
In 2015 the moon’s wobble and an El Niño teamed up to kill off tens of millions of Australian mangroves
Evolution
Geologic Activity Lets Microbes Mingle Deep Underground
Tiny subterranean cracks can upend aquifer microbes’ ecology
Oceans
See Delicate Rib Vortices Encircle Breaking Ocean Waves
These little-studied mini twisters form beautiful loops under the water’s surface
Animals
Fantastic Sea Creatures Photographed Up Close and Personal
Sea angels, telescope fish and blanket octopuses can be real monsters
Climate Change
How to Recognize Heat Illness and Stay Cool during Extreme Weather
Scientists and medical experts weigh in on how to recognize the signs of heat-related illness and avoid the worst health impacts from increasingly intense heat waves
Education
News Briefs from around the World: August 2022
In case you missed it
Particle Physics
See the Strange Underground Detector Probing Neutrino Mysteries
The LEGEND-200 detector could help explain why matter dominates the known universe
Genetics
‘Frog Skin’ Cell Type Found in Mammal Mouths
Salivary glands make unexpected use of tiny ionocytes, essential to frogs and fish
Education
News Briefs from around the World: July 2022
In case you missed it
Animals
How Snakes Breathe while Crushing Prey
Boa constrictors wearing blood pressure cuffs and tiny masks reveal the answer to a biological puzzle
Particle Physics
What Are Neutrinos, and How Can We Measure Their Mass?
The weirdest subatomic particles require enormous equipment to study
Animals
Science News Briefs from around the World: June 2022
In case you missed it
Paleontology
Sex Life of One of Earth’s Earliest Animals Exposed
The first known male appendage from trilobites has been found in a 508-million-year-old fossil
Extraterrestrial Life
Scientists Sprout First-Ever Seedlings in Apollo Moon Dirt
We now know that plants survive but fail to thrive in lunar soil
Microbiology
Kitchen Sponges Help Breed Bacteria Better
There’s a structural reason your sponge hosts so many microbes
Space Exploration
Largest Marsquake Ever Recorded May Be InSight’s Swan Song
NASA’s three-and-a-half-year mission to collect seismic data from Mars is running out of juice
Quantum Physics
Physicists Find a Shortcut to Seeing an Elusive Quantum Glow
Once considered practically unseeable, a phenomenon called the Unruh effect might soon be revealed in laboratory experiments
Health Care
What Genetics Can—and Cannot—Reveal about an Individual’s COVID Risk
Genome-wide association studies can sleuth out genetic markers that raise or lower COVID risk, but they miss social factors
