Why dozens of North American bird species are getting new names: Every name tells a story

What’s in a name? A lot, if you’re an Audubon’s Oriole or a Townsend’s Solitaire.

Jared Del Rosso, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology, University of Denver • conversation
Dec. 7, 2023 • ~9 min

Why iconic trees are so important to us – and how replacing those that fall is often complicated

The felling of iconic trees is a highly emotive issue – but the damage needs to be repaired with care.

Ewan Macdonald, Senior Research Fellow in Conservation Geopolitics, University of Oxford • conversation
Dec. 4, 2023 • ~7 min

New risk model better predicts river flood damage

A new natural disaster risk model offers a reliable and affordable way for governments to estimate expected damage from rivers that flood.

Lisa Ercolano-Johns Hopkins • futurity
Dec. 1, 2023 • ~5 min

How colonial violence in Tasmania helped build scientists' reputations and prestigious museum collections

New research shows the uncomfortable and shocking truth behind a revered scientist’s reputation.

Jack Ashby, Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, University of Cambridge • conversation
Nov. 29, 2023 • ~6 min

We rarely hear about the disasters that were avoided – but there’s a lot we can learn from them

We rarely see good news headlines when a cyclone, earthquake or wildfire does not turn disastrous.

Gareth Byatt, Visiting Lecturer, Risk Management, UNSW Sydney • conversation
Nov. 23, 2023 • ~8 min

'Many sleepless nights': why scientists who predict landslides are under enormous pressure

Satellites can detect land moving by just a few millimetres, but we can never be sure exactly how or when a slope will slide.

Dave Petley, Vice Chancellor and Professor of Geography, University of Hull • conversation
Nov. 17, 2023 • ~7 min

Volcanic Iceland is rumbling again as magma rises − a geologist explains eruptions in the land of fire and ice

Iceland’s volcanic activity is generally tame compared with explosive eruptions along the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. This time, it’s shaking up a town.

Jaime Toro, Professor of Geology, West Virginia University • conversation
Nov. 15, 2023 • ~9 min

How animals get their skin patterns is a matter of physics – new research clarifying how could improve medical diagnostics and synthetic materials

Understanding how the intricate spots and stripes, or Turing patterns, of many animals form can help scientists mimic those processes in the lab.

Ankur Gupta, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Nov. 8, 2023 • ~8 min

Planet Earth III: how cookie cutter nature programming could fail to educate and inform audiences

This season places environmental issues front and centre more than any BBC nature programme before it.

Leora Hadas, Assistant Professor, Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham • conversation
Nov. 6, 2023 • ~7 min

Planet III: how cookie cutter nature programming could fail to educate and inform audiences

This season places environmental issues front and centre more than any BBC nature programme before it.

Leora Hadas, Assistant Professor, Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham • conversation
Nov. 6, 2023 • ~7 min

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