Environment
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo
Palm oil is an environmental scourge. Plant biology has a solution.
Dawn of the Heliocene
Why the next geological epoch should be named for when we tapped the sun’s energy.
Toxic but Fascinating
Jellyfish have mesmerized people for millennia, and much remains to be learned about them.
The Ocean Is Struggling to Breathe, Too
The little-appreciated but very big problem of marine hypoxia.
To Protect Coral Reefs, Protect Fishes and Birds
Biodiversity itself seems to nourish the rainforests of the sea.
Global Wave Discovery Ends 220-Year Search
An 18th-century physicist first predicted the existence of a chorus of atmospheric waves that swoop around Earth. Scientists have finally found them.
It’s Time to Redefine What Sustainable Fishing Means
Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals are killed each year by fishing gear. This should not be considered “sustainable.”
Beneath the Ocean, a World of Mountains
Scientists don’t even know how many seamounts there are—but the few they’ve explored are extraordinary.
Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis.
Plants ignore the most energy-rich part of sunlight because stability matters more than efficiency, according to a new model of photosynthesis.
Dolphins Are Helping Us Hunt for Aliens
Researchers look to dolphins as a model for alien intelligence.
The Idea of Entropy Has Led Us Astray
Let’s stop hustling as if the world is running toward disorder.
Uncovering the Spark of Life
What finding life on Mars could tell us about our own origins.