Features 2021
How noise affects Greenland’s gentle giants
As Greenland continues losing its ice, there are plans to increase oil exploration in the Arctic. Now, a California researcher is studying how this may affect the physiology of naive narwhals.
Cypress Hansen
Peregrine falcons are back from the brink — and now they wear ID bands. Cypress Hansen explores what the San Francisco Bay Area’s peregrine population can tell us about urban ecosystems, raptor well-being, and community engagement.
Swimming Upstream
Tess Joosse reports on the race to rescue and recover a dwindling coho salmon population after a cataclysmic wildfire.
The Once and Future Earth
Studying past climates can help us prepare for climate change, but what the world looked like millions of years ago is up for debate.
The Plight of Rice
Rice feeds half the world, but climate change threatens to toxify its grains, Nikk Ogasa reports.
Meet the NASA scientist opening up exoplanet research
With the James Webb Space Telescope launch, exoplanet research is entering a new era. NASA scientist Natasha Batalha wants to make sure everyone has access.
Cracking the Case With Pet DNA
VGL-Forensics is performing complex domesticated animal DNA analysis to prosecute crimes when other evidence is not enough to link humans or animals to a crime.
The fly, the mouse, and the monastery: how one mountaintop retreat gave way to a new scientific field
The immune system is known for its ability to destroy pathogens, but more recently, scientists have found an additional way our bodies survive infections.