Not all medicines start out in labs; many life-saving medicines come from plants or animals, and more are being discovered all the time.
Category Archives: The Natural World
Monstrous ‘murder hornets’ have reached the US
A recent arrival to the United States, Vespa mandarinia is a species of hornet capable of stinging multiple times and destroying honeybee colonies.
Coronaviruses Often Start in Animals — Here’s How Those Diseases Can Jump to Humans
Learn about the complicated path a virus must take to jump from animals to humans.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Environment
President Theodore Roosevelt was brash, daring, and adventurous. He was also deeply committed to the cause of preserving America’s forests and wilderness. Explore the links in this American Experience website to learn more about what nature did for “TR” and what he did for nature.
The Story of Smallpox and Other Deadly Eurasian Germs
The European conquest of the Americas in the 1500s was brief and decisive. The established civilizations on this side of the Atlantic Ocean lacked the weaponry of the invaders. More significantly, they lacked immunity to the deadly germs that accompanied the Europeans.
Nature crisis: Humans ‘threaten 1m species with extinction’
A 2019 study by the United Nations suggests that human actions could cause as many as one million species to become extinct within the next few decades. Read to learn more about the situation and to find out what you can do to help.
How Plants Cope with the Desert Climate
How do desert plants survive their harsh climate? This article by Mark A. Dimmitt, Director of Natural History at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, explains the strategies plants use to keep the desert blooming.
Laws of Man and Laws of Nature
People have always sought to impose order on nature, not only by taming landscapes and creatures but also by developing an understanding of how and why nature works the way it does. In this blog post, Marcelo Gleiser ponders the differences between the laws humans make and the laws by which nature functions.
Social Insects Inspire Design of Autonomous Robots
Robotics may seem to owe little to nature and everything to technology. But engineers have used the actions of social insects to guide the movements of robots that are not directly controlled by humans. Read this article to discover what robots can learn from ants.
Oh Dear: Photos Show What Humans Have Done To The Planet
Photographers have captured the impact humans have made on nature in a series of deeply concerning pictures.
Scientists work out way to make Mars surface fit for farming
Scientists develop high-tech aerogel sheets that could help future farming on Mars.
Coral reefs provide flood protection worth $1.8 billion every year— it’s time to protect them
Coral reefs can provide protection from natural disasters. Find out what needs to happen in order to restore and better protect them.
Family Farmers Fighting Climate Change
Climate change isn’t only about cars; find out what farmers are doing to help the planet.
Solar Wind’s Effect on Earth
The sun obviously affects us everyday, bringing light and warmth from 93 million miles away. But it’s not as constant and helpful as it might appear. Learn about the cycles of storms on the sun and how they affect all aspects of life on earth.
Finding connections to nature in cities is key to healthy urban living
How does living in a big city, where there are relatively few opportunities to interact with the natural world, affect a person’s health? What’s it like to grow up in a place where city lights obscure the stars? This article explains why it’s important for urban dwellers to connect with nature.
Our laws make slaves of nature. It’s not just humans who need rights
Read this article to learn about efforts to grant legal rights to the natural world, such as the work some in Nepal are doing to recognize the rights of the Himalaya mountains to freedom from the threat of climate change.
The Best Technology for Fighting Climate Change Isn’t a Technology
The author of this article urges world leaders to consider how we can better use forests as natural carbon-capture systems to help fight climate change.
The Best Places to See the Arizona Deserts in Bloom
In her essay “Called Out,” Barbara Kingsolver describes the Arizona desert in bloom with colorful wildflowers. Where are the best places to see this natural spectacle?
The Perks of a Play-in-the-Mud Educational Philosophy
Is the natural world a better place for young children to learn than the classroom? Read to learn about the benefits some researchers see in providing preschoolers with an outdoor education.
How can we save our dying coral reefs?
Though we often hear a lot about human activity destroying coral reefs, humans are also taking strides in saving and restoring them. Learn more in this article by science reporter Gaia Vince.