The Missouri Botanical Garden wasn’t always a global leader in plant science. When Peter Raven took over in 1971, it was just a pretty garden with a few researchers. But Raven saw something bigger: plants weren’t just decorations—they were the foundation of life. Two-thirds of Earth’s species live i
Research into how well protected areas stop wildlife loss has grown a lot since 2000, but the picture is still unclear. Most studies use matching techniques to compare places with and without protection, focusing mainly on forest loss as the main measure. Only a single paper even used the Biod
Scientists used a modern DNA trick called eDNA metabarcoding to map fish life in Turkey’s rivers. Instead of catching every fish, they filtered water from 29 spots spread over seven big river basins. The DNA that sloshes through the water was amplified and read by a high‑throughput machine, producin
A new study shows that the way local governments borrow money could help keep bats alive and improve county finances. When a fungal disease called white‑nose syndrome killed many North American bats, farmers lost an inexpensive natural pest controller. Without the insects that bats eat, farms
Scientists once believed that having many different plant species in grasslands kept food supplies steady. The idea was that if some plants struggled, others would thrive, balancing things out. But new research shows this doesn’t always work when climate change and human activity push ecosystems to
The limestone caves that run across northwestern Cambodia are still a mystery. A recent field trip to the province of Battambang revealed several animals that science has never seen before. Among them are a bright turquoise pit viper, a snake that can glide through the air, new kinds of geckos, tiny
The planet is home to roughly ten million living kinds, from tiny fungi to giant whales. Every day, people around the world tap their phones and add a picture of something they spot to a free app that gathers this information. About six million people use it each month, giving scientists fresh data
Scientists have looked beyond the usual parks and reserves to find other lands that could help wildlife survive. They called these places “Other Effective Area‑Based Conservation Measures” or OECMs. The idea is that some areas, even if not officially protected, still play a key role in keeping speci
The martagon lily, a rare flower that grows under trees in Europe and Asia, was studied in three Polish woodlands. Researchers visited Wolski Forest, Mount Chełm, and Hrabeński Forest between 2018 and 2023. In each place they laid out ten plots of 100 square metres to record plant diversity and meas
Scientists used a powerful X‑ray machine in Germany to scan over two thousand ants from museums and private collections. The device, a synchrotron particle accelerator, captured detailed images of each insect’s body in a single week. Normally, doing the same work would take years with older technolo
