Tropical forests have been heavily degraded because of human activities. (Representational photo) Planting trees across vast areas may not be the only way to restore damaged tropical forests, according to a new study. Instead, small patches of native trees can gradually help degraded forests recover.The study was carried out by Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG)…

Originally designed to be a groundbreaking canal project, this site succumbed to a fate of pollution as industrial and municipal waste accumulated over decades. The catastrophic rainfall in 1976 triggered the release of these harmful chemicals into nearby homes, displacing numerous families. This incident catalyzed the formation of the Superfund program, dedicated to remedying toxic…

Wondering how vultures can eat a carcass and not get sick? Well vultures may have one of the toughest diets in the animal kingdom but their bodies are built to cope. These birds can feed off carcasses that would make most animals dangerously sick, because their digestive systems are specially adapted to destroy harmful bacteria,…

Some of the world’s most dangerous plants may also be among its most useful. Researchers have now identified a key set of enzymes in wolfsbane and larkspur that could help scientists recreate difficult-to-synthesize natural compounds in the lab, opening new doors for future medicines.These plants are notorious because even tiny doses can cause neurotoxicity and…

Photo by: Taronga Conservation Society Australia A tiny snail once feared lost forever has just reached a major conservation milestone. More than 1,000 critically endangered Campbell’s keeled glass snails (Advena campbellii) have now been released onto Norfolk Island, marking the latest phase of a recovery program that has turned a presumed extinction story into one…

Greenland sharks entered popular science writing on the strength of one number, 400 years. Some individuals swimming in the North Atlantic today were alive during Isaac Newton’s lifetime, born centuries before anyone thought to ask how old a shark could get. That figure alone would be enough to make the species a fixture of “strange…