As extreme wildfires transform Alaska's boreal forest, more aspen and birch are coming in – that can slow fires and their climate impact

A new study finds deciduous trees are increasingly dominant after severe fires in the region, and that has some unexpected impacts.

Xanthe Walker, Assistant Research Professor, Northern Arizona University • conversation
April 15, 2021 ~8 min

As extreme fires transform Alaska's boreal forest, aspen and birch put a brake on carbon loss and how fast the forest burns

A new study finds deciduous trees are increasingly dominant after severe fires in the boreal forest, and that's having some unexpected impacts.

Xanthe Walker, Assistant Research Professor, Northern Arizona University • conversation
April 15, 2021 ~8 min


Plants thrive in a complex world by communicating, sharing resources and transforming their environments

We may think of plants as passive life forms, but they can cooperate, share resources, send one another warnings, and distance themselves from their communities when survival depends on it.

Beronda L. Montgomery, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology & Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Interim Assistant Vice President of Research & Innovation, Michigan State University • conversation
April 14, 2021 ~8 min

The secret life of fungi: how they use ingenious strategies to forage underground

Using tiny 'soil chips', researchers have observed the forgaging strategies of fungi for the first time.

Kristin Aleklett, Postdoctoral research fellow, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences • conversation
March 10, 2021 ~7 min

Growing food and protecting nature don't have to conflict – here's how they can work together

It's possible to feed the world's 7.8 billion people with more environmentally friendly farming practices. Here's how.

Thomas Hertel, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University • conversation
March 9, 2021 ~10 min

Invasive tawny crazy ants have an intense craving for calcium – with implications for their spread in the US

The spread of tawny crazy ants may be driven, in part, by their need for calcium.

Ryan Reihart, Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate of Ecology, University of Dayton • conversation
Jan. 21, 2021 ~5 min

Anti-nutrients – they're part of a normal diet and not as scary as they sound

Anti-nutrients naturally occur in food and can block the amount of other nutrients available for your body to use. But their effects aren't all bad, which is why they're undergoing an image makeover.

Jill Joyce, Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Oklahoma State University • conversation
Jan. 12, 2021 ~8 min

Can countries end overfishing and plastic pollution in just 10 years?

An international agreement has set an ambitious deadline for action on some of the biggest problems facing the world's oceans.

Henrik Österblom, Professor of Ocean Stewardship, Stockholm University • conversation
Dec. 4, 2020 ~7 min


A few heavy storms cause a big chunk of nitrogen pollution from Midwest farms

New research shows that one-third of yearly nitrogen runoff from Midwest farms to the Gulf of Mexico occurs during a few heavy rainstorms. New fertilizing schedules could reduce nitrogen pollution.

Chaoqun Lu, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University • conversation
Nov. 2, 2020 ~9 min

An effective climate change solution may lie in rocks beneath our feet

To avoid global warming on a catastrophic scale, nations need to reduce emissions and find ways to pull carbon from the air. One promising solution: spreading rock dust on farm fields.

Benjamin Z. Houlton, Professor of Global Environmental Studies, Chancellor's Fellow and Director, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis • conversation
July 16, 2020 ~8 min

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