He Spoke for the Trees (and Also the Soil)
A champion of agroforestry, J. Russell Smith argued for the restoration of forests as key to sustainable agriculture in his seminal work Tree Crops.
The First Lunar Lander and the Great Moon Dust Debate
In 1966, the Soviet Union’s Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon, helping to resolve questions about the nature of the lunar surface.
The Caterpillars That Can Kill You
Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.
Greenland: Polar Politics
Though it may seem like a new topic of concern, the glaciated landscape of Greenland has floated in and out of American politics for decades.
When Everything in the Universe Changed
The revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope and next-gen radio telescopes are probing what’s known as the epoch of reionization.
The Secrets of Butterfly Migration, Written in Pollen
Trillions of insects move around the globe each year. Scientists are working on new ways to map those long-distance journeys.
Antarctica Unveiled: From Accidents to Airborne Labs
Twentieth-century surveys revealed the landscape beneath the Antarctic ice using radio echo-sounding, a technique that emerged largely by accident.
A Blind Beetle Named Hitler?
The case for changing offensive names of animals and plants, and how it can be done