News & Commentary

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October 23, 2015 DispatchWyomingAlisa Opar

New Wyoming laws stifle freedom of speech and make citizen science illegal.

The Smell Test

October 21, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalAlisa Opar

The reasons a man has for holding poop and feathers under the beaks of sleeping penguins.

No "I" in Sagebrush

September 22, 2015 Latest NewsWest, United StatesAlisa Opar

The greater sage grouse is staying off the Endangered Species List, thanks to unprecedented collaborative conservation efforts.

Mite-y Watchman

September 17, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

In the fight to protect honeybees from parasites, researchers turn to ’shrooms and sperm banks.

Resistance Movement

September 8, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

Pesticide pollution actually creates toxin-tolerant frogs—to a point.

Not-So-Vacant Lots

August 28, 2015 DispatchNew Orleans, LouisianaAlisa Opar

From birds to trees to rats, post-Katrina New Orleans is a study in “disaster ecology.”

Northward Ho!

August 27, 2015 Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaAlisa Opar

Obama is headed to the Arctic. Here are five things the president should put on his must-do-in-Alaska list.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (from Distant Flames)

August 7, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, Colorado, Alaska, CaliforniaAlisa Opar

Wildfires may be harming the health of people who live hundreds or thousands of miles from the flames.

Bringing the Noise

July 13, 2015 Latest NewsArcticAlisa Opar

How will Shell’s Arctic drilling affect marine mammals in the Chukchi Sea?

Innovation Has Not Run Dry!

July 8, 2015 Latest NewsCaliforniaAlisa Opar

As summer heat compounds four years of drought, Californians are coping with water shortages in some wacky and smart (and desperate) ways.

Moveable Feast

July 1, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

When dead whales sink to the ocean floor, they give life to an array of bizarre creatures—including gutless, bone-devouring worms.

Roam, Roam on the Range

June 24, 2015 DispatchMontanaAlisa Opar

This Montana cattle ranch is trying to ensure its operations benefit wildlife—and yes, that means wolves, too.

A Horny Issue

June 4, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

To try and curb demand for black-market rhino horn, a bioengineering startup is making 3-D substitutes.

Fearing the Burn

May 26, 2015 Latest NewsWestAlisa Opar

Western states prepare for an “explosive” wildfire season.

Down with TPP

May 18, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

From fracking to tainted fish, how the Trans-Pacific Partnership could affect the West.

Out of Solitary Confinement

May 14, 2015 PerspectivesUnited StatesAlisa Opar

Shot, stuffed, and stuck with reptiles for decades, these hyenas are headed to their rightful home in the museum.

The Secret Life of Plants

April 28, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesAlisa Opar

Plants can hear, feel, and tell one predator from another—and this researcher is spying on their defense strategies.

A Delicate Dance

April 21, 2015 Latest NewsWestAlisa Opar

Conservation efforts kept the bistate sage grouse off the Endangered Species List. Will they work for the rest of the grouses?

Rat Pack

April 6, 2015 DispatchNew York CityAlisa Opar

New York is the city that never sleeps—and neither do its rat researchers.

Fish Out of Water

April 3, 2015 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

Scary-low snowpack may spell disaster for some California wildlife and ecosystems.