
Environment
Widely used pesticides may threaten Earth’s ozone layer
Data show a major class of long-used “eco-friendly” copper chemicals unexpectedly react with soil, making gases harmful to Earth’s protective ozone layer.
Data show a major class of long-used “eco-friendly” copper chemicals unexpectedly react with soil, making gases harmful to Earth’s protective ozone layer.
Bacteria get a bad rap for making people sick, but only a tiny portion of these single-celled creatures cause disease.
When heat waves and droughts collide, water is precious. Some thirsty plants try to cool off by opening tiny pores — only to lose water even faster.
Restoring the missing species can help undo human-caused problems by aiding forests, slowing climate change and reducing wildfires.
Savannas exist where there is more rainfall than in a desert, but less than in a forest.
Forest fungi are far more than mere mushrooms. They explore. They move nutrients and messages between plants. They can even help fight climate change.
Flesh-eating bees have acid-producing gut bacteria, much as vultures do. It lets them safely snack on rotting meat.
The amount of food that some whales eat and then poop out suggests these animals have a powerful influence over ocean ecosystems.
Look closely at Triantha occidentalis, and you’ll see gluey hairs — and a trail of insect corpses on its stem.