By Ben Lybarger By now we all have seen viral posts of penguins and tortoises strolling the empty corridors of zoos and aquariums in place of human visitors. While these videos succeed in giving the public a reason to smile amidst the current pandemic, they do not tell the whole story. Just as our own […]
By Mrinalini Watsa Disease testing sounds complicated. Reading about it in the news in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is even worse. If you are pretty sure that you’ve read contradictory news articles — you are not wrong! Most of them don’t slow down to explain that there are actually multiple ‘coronavirus tests’ […]
By Efstathia Robakis As the COVID-19* pandemic continues to unfold, scientists are scrambling to answer old questions as new ones continue to arise. Though it doesn’t seem pressing now, given the urgency of so many other real and immediate issues related to the virus’ stranglehold on the world, the question of the virus’ origins is […]
As habitat and biodiversity loss increase globally, the novel coronavirus outbreak may be just the beginning of mass pandemics Author: John Vidal Top photo: Illicit Endangered Wildlife Trade in Möng La, Shan, Myanmar, courtesy of Dan Bennett from Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0). This article originally appeared at Ensia.com and is reproduced here under Creative Commons […]
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been characterized by the World Health Organization as a pandemic. As the virus spreads, so too does misinformation about its origins. Rumors that COVID-19 was manufactured in a lab or that we know with full certainty which animal host passed the disease to humans are unfounded. Given the clear […]
Ecosystem services such as pollination and carbon storage are increasingly factored into land management decisions. But what about less tangible benefits? Author: Olivia McRae Top Photo: Ben Lybarger This article originally appeared at Ensia.com and is reproduced here under Creative Commons licensing (CC BY-ND 3.0) Ecosystem services such as pollination and carbon storage are increasingly […]
Cover Photo: Yellow trout lily flowers nearly a week earlier now than in previous decades in the Appalachian Mountains. Katja Schulz/Wikipedia, CC BY Author: Theresa Crimmins, University of Arizona Across much of the United States, a warming climate has advanced the arrival of spring. This year is no exception. In parts of the Southeast, spring […]
Analysis by Alejandro Estrada and Paul A. Garber. (This article originally appeared at Mongabay.com on 29 December 2019. Republished here under Creative Commons license, CC BY-ND 4.0) Alejandro Estrada of the Institute of Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Paul A. Garber of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois-Urbana […]
By Efstathia Robakis Synthetic pesticides can be a hot-button issue–they may be important in maximizing crop yields for an ever-growing global population, but they have also been implicated in the ongoing decline in biodiversity, despite their perception as being highly regulated. This disconnect, between seemingly-tight regulations and the environmental reality we are facing, might be […]
Photo courtesy T Grace Emori / CDC Author: Lisa Herzog / Edited by Sally Davies The young doctor was desperate. ‘I need to talk to my patients,’ she said, ‘and give them time to ask questions. Some of them are foreign-born and struggle with the language, and all of them are in distress! But I […]
