Earth
- Animals
Native pollinators boost crop yields worldwide
Farms with crops from coffee to mangoes don’t get the best yields if they rely solely on honeybees.
- Life
Impact craters may have been a toasty home for early life
The heat generated during a cosmic crash could have nurtured ancient organisms.
- Earth
Nutrients matter in tropical forests
Soil nutrients and rainfall predict tree species range in Panama’s tropical forests.
- Earth
Moderate climate warming could melt permafrost
Ancient cave formations in Siberia reveal effects of warmer past on frozen ground.
- Earth
Intensive care linked to BPA exposure in newborns
High levels of pollutant BPA occur in sickest babies, study finds.
- Earth
Blood levels of BPA become source of controversy
New data question whether human blood measurements of BPA reflect sample contamination or just exaggerated exposures.
- Earth
Aquatic predators affect carbon-storing plant life
Freshwater predator species can prevent the overgrazing of plants that suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Life
Melting Arctic may make algae flourish
More sunlight penetrates thinning Arctic sea ice, enabling algal growth.
- Life
Antianxiety drugs affect fish, too
Perch swim more and eat faster when exposed to concentrations of an antianxiety medication found in rivers.
- Life
Diversity breeds disease resistance in frogs
Species-rich amphibian communities prove better at fending off limb-deforming parasitic infections.
- Life
Ancestors of today’s placental mammals may never have shared the Earth with dinosaurs
A newly constructed family tree dovetails with the fossil record, but differs considerably from previous genetic studies by suggesting that placental mammals emerged after the dinosaur extinction.
- Animals
Compared with rodents, bat species carry more viruses
Viruses that can jump from animals to people may find the flying mammals a fine place to lurk.
