Mar 3, 2017 -

Jul 7, 2015 - Scientists and policymakers are simultaneously looking for new ways to feed the world and save the oceans. Global seafood demands are increasing, and fisheries and aquaculture already have large impacts on marine ecosystems. The concept of “balanced harvesting” aims to address both of these issues, and was the subject of several recent high-profile studies – […]

Feb 2, 2015 - The Sahara Desert in North Africa and the Amazon rainforest in South America are separated by a distance of 3,000 miles, including a 1,600-mile expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. At first glance, the two regions would appear to have no connection to each other. However, according to a recent study published in the journal Geophysical […]

May 5, 2017 - Ian Haydon, University of Washington There’s a revolution happening in biology, and its name is CRISPR. CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) is a powerful technique for editing DNA. It has received an enormous amount of attention in the scientific and popular press, largely based on the promise of what this powerful gene editing technology will someday do. […]

May 5, 2017 - The great white shark is the world’s largest known predatory fish. It has 300 teeth, yet does not chew its food. Sharks rip their prey into mouth-sized pieces which are swallowed whole. The shark’s heavy, torpedo-shaped body allows it to cruise efficiently for long periods of time, and then suddenly switch to high speed bursts […]

Apr 4, 2017 - Have you seen some “tips to spot fake news” on your Facebook newsfeed recently? Over the past year, the social media company has been scrutinized for influencing the US presidential election by spreading fake news (propoganda). Obviously, the ability to spread completely made-up stories about politicians trafficking child sex slaves and imaginary terrorist attacks with […]

Apr 4, 2017 - Euan Ritchie, Deakin University It’s remarkable how little we know about Earth. How many species do we share this planet with? We don’t know, but estimates vary from millions to a trillion. In some respects we know more about the Moon, Mars and Venus than we do about the ocean’s depths and the vast sea […]

Apr 4, 2017 - James Foster, Lund University Insects navigate in much the same way that ancient humans did: using the sky. Their primary cue is the position of the sun, but insects can also detect properties of skylight (the blue light scattered by the upper atmosphere) that give them indirect information about the sun’s position. Skylight cues include […]

Why is the illicit rhino horn trade escalating? Jacques Rigoulet, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN) – Sorbonne Universités In South Africa, domestic trade of rhinoceros horn, forbidden since 2008, is about to become legal again. On April 7 2017, a court effectively overturned the national ban. This controversial move was welcomed by commercial rhino breeders, who […]

Apr 4, 2017 - Thomas Hooven, Columbia University Medical Center As a neonatologist, I worry about patients with pulmonary hypertension. This unforgiving disease, sometimes seen after premature birth, can end with sudden death from constricting blood vessels in the lungs. One minute a baby in the neonatal ICU may be sleeping comfortably; moments later, doctors and nurses are giving […]