Infectious microbes can flourish on sandy beaches. Scientists are now exploring how to find and monitor these hotspots for pollution that can make vacationers sick.
Cities have turned into experiments in evolution for both plants and animals, from the taste of clover to the stickiness of lizards’ toes.
As plastic floats in the ocean, it can acquire its own colony of microbes and algae. We call this ecosystem the plastisphere.
Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.
Scientists worry that increasing temperatures could combine with air pollution to up rates of illness and premature death — perhaps dramatically.
Increasing levels of the greenhouse gas are changing diminishing the food value of pollen, bees’ only source of protein.
Burning fossil fuels is causing the planet to heat up, causing weather patterns to change, sea levels to rise and diseases to spread.