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.

Returning giant tortoises are helping recreate the Galapagos islands Darwin saw

Scientists are just beginning to discover the transformative power these herbivorous behemoths wield.

Improving wild bat habitat could prevent a new deadly disease outbreak

Researchers have meticulously traced how habitat loss and climate conspire to drive deadly disease outbreaks; and how saving flowering trees is a key part of the solution.

Grey headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)

How to Die in The Anthropocene

Death is inevitable, but its
environmental toll may not have to be.

A memo from the year 2050

Here's how we avoided the worst of zoonotic diseases

Want to jumpstart habitat restoration? Try a soil transplant.

Work to restore ecosystems have long struggled. Now scientists say and injection of natural soil - and all the microbes and plants mixed in - could help.

Which disease that mosquito gives you depends on a landscape’s human footprint

The most common insect-borne diseases change dramatically as a landscape goes from lightly-inhabited forest to jam-packed city, scientists find.

Benign by Design

The search for biodegradable drugs

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.