Butt-Breathing Turtle Now Critically Endangered
Few reptiles can breathe underwater. Australia is home to one of the exceptions, the white-throated snapping turtle (Elseya albagula), which can extract oxygen from water through its backside via a process called cloacal respiration.
Birds Roost on New Evolutionary Tree
In a massive first-of-its-kind whole-genome analysis involving 48 bird species, researchers have created a new avian evolutionary tree. Steve Mirsky reports
Are Algae Blooms Linked to Lou Gehrig's Disease?
Medical researchers are now uncovering clues that appear to link some cases of ALS to people’s proximity to lakes and coastal waters
Louisiana's Moon Shot to Rescue Its Coast
The state hopes to save its rapidly disappearing coastline with a 50-year, $50 billion plan based on science that has never been tested
Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues
Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years, and if current rates of degradation continue all of the world's top soil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN official said
As Sea Ice Disappears, Arctic Ringed Seals Could Get Largest Critical Habitat Ever
Arctic ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida) could soon get a critical habitat more than twice the size of California within the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
Ants Are Cleaning Up the Streets of NYC
A new study demonstrates the role of arthropods in clearing food waste from city streets
Pests Flourish in Warmer World, Heat Cities Further
Cold temperatures that control insect pests may falter as the climate changes
Big Apple's Insects Eat Streets Clean
Researchers working in New York City found that hungry urban arthropods help dispose of tons of edible trash. Allie Wilkinson reports
Bhopal at 30: Lessons Still Being Learned
In 1989, I was working as an at editor at IEEE Spectrum when I was assigned to write a feature on Bhopal. The thirtieth anniversary of that industrial disaster that killed thousands is tonight.
Competition Between OPEC, U.S. Drives Oil Prices to Four-Year Low
On Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an economic cartel responsible for approximately one third of global oil production, announced it would not decrease its rate of oil production.
How the World Can Fight Global Warming No Matter What Happens in Lima
Imagine if the world’s two largest polluters unilaterally decide to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the ubiquitous gas responsible for the bulk of global warming.