Human & Ecological Health Stories
Scientists continue to uncover surprising connections between our own health and that of the environment around us. The Anthropocene provides rigorous reporting on cutting-edge research—for example, how urban biodiversity can cut down on the prevalence of allergies and how industrial pollution may contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Burning forests now means fewer mega-fires later. But who’s gonna light the match?
One research team meticulously demonstrated the long-term benefits of low-intensity forest fires; while another documented the short-term political barriers.
Letting Biodiversity Get Under Our Skin
Some aspects of dirty living can be healthy. A new study posits that the decline of plant and animal diversity in cities may be linked to the recent surge of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
Pyrodiversity
The idea is pretty much what it sounds like. The trick is to get from here to there.
A memo from the year 2050
Here’s how we avoided the worst of zoonotic diseases
What does the decline of insect-eating bats have to do with infant mortality? More than you think.
New research finds strong links between the arrival of white-nose syndrome, increased insecticide use, and higher infant mortality.
A novel genetic analysis connects melting glaciers with viral spillover
As climate change and pandemics reshape the world we live in, say the researchers, we need to understand how the two processes interact.
Using dogs to create a “landscape of fear” could help livestock and wild predators coexist
A study of Maremma sheepdogs in Australia found they kept predatory foxes on the move, but still able to use habitat.
Think SARS-CoV-2 is just hitting humans? Add hundreds of species to high-risk list.
More than 500 mammal species are high-risk candidates for carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID, based on a new study of common traits among species with a protein gateway for the virus.
Dimming the sun could expose 1 billion more people to malaria
A new study illustrates how geoengineering doesn’t just turn back the clock on climate change, it alters the climate in new and perhaps profound ways
Farmers wiped out habitat to reduce disease from wildlife. For birds, their efforts backfired.
New study finds that birds caught on California farms with nearby wildlands had less problem bacteria than those at more manicured farms.
