The Earth is losing animals, plants and other living things so fast that some scientists believe the planet is entering its sixth mass extinction. But there’s some surprising good news: Urban areas may be key to slowing down or even reversing this crisis.This idea may seem counterintuitive, since studies show that urbanization is a big driver of biodiversity loss. Cities alter the environment with artificial lighting and noise pollution, which affect many species. And urban land cover is expec ...read more

Of all shipwrecks throughout history, one stands out for its sought-after treasures — sitting at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, the San José galleon contains an estimated $20 billion worth of gold, silver, and emeralds and is aptly dubbed the "holy grail" of shipwrecks. For years, multiple parties have coveted its treasures, becoming embroiled in disputes over ownership of the sunken ship. As new developments unfold — such as a recent pledge by the Colombian government to retrieve parts ...read more

Tumors that travel to the lungs, or lung metastases, pose a formidable challenge in the realm of cancer treatment. Conventional chemotherapy often falls short because it’s inefficient. It doesn’t directly target the lungs and accumulate in a high enough concentration to kill tumors.My colleagues and I from the Wang lab and Zhang Research Group at the University of California, San Diego have spent the past five years developing biohybrid microrobots, tiny objects made of both natural and synt ...read more

Madeleine Sweet’s fentanyl addiction started with an unexpected freebie. Already addicted to opioids and grappling with the sense that her life was going bottom-up as her student debts mounted, she was finding it difficult to access enough oxycodone and other opiates to satisfy her dependency.So, in 2016, Sweet gravitated to the dark web. That’s where sellers were hawking designer drugs crafted to hijack the brain’s reward system, including mass-produced fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 tim ...read more

Depression can sometimes be portrayed as a deep but passing sadness. However, the National Institute of Mental Health warns that although depression is a common mood disorder, it is a serious one that can cause severe symptoms that impact every part of life.Many people may have seen a loved one show symptoms of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5 percent of the global population experiences depression, which is about 280 million people.Medications and other therapies ...read more

The Bavarian city of Ingolstadt was no stranger to secrets. It wasn’t in May 1776, anyway, when it became the birthplace of the Illuminati. Shrouded in shadows, this secret society convened for close to 10 years, circulating its ideas without censure or condemnation. It wasn’t until 1785 that its activities were banned, as an active conspiracy against the state of Bavaria.The Illuminati and other secret societies inspire our imaginations, both for better and for worse. There’s something ab ...read more

Each day, thousands of animals face one of the most deadly predators in America — a road.More than 4 million miles of public roads across the U.S. provide vital links for commerce, services, and travel, but they’re treacherous barriers for wildlife seeking food, water, and mates. Exposed and unsure about the noisy, unfamiliar terrain presented by an open road, an animal that hesitates or misjudges the speed of an approaching vehicle risks fatal consequences.Unfortunately, those encounters ar ...read more

“It’s my feet,” the 50-year-old man said.Medium height, hair tousled, Harold looked as if he had thrown on his sweatpants and loose flannel shirt in a moment of concern. Still, he appeared more intrigued than anything.My low-key shift in the emergency department’s walk-in section had brought the usual array of back pain, ear infections, sore joints, and lacerations. This sounded no different.“Both feet,” he continued. “I woke up this morning, and they were numb and tingly. Here.” ...read more

Lakes, streams and aquifers across North America are crawling with salamanders of all shapes and sizes. For most people, though, finding a 2-foot-long amphibian in the eastern United States might sound like a tall tale. But giant salamanders are more common than you might think. The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), which can grow up to 29 inches long, is the largest salamander native to North America, and the fourth largest in the world. And unlike most salamanders, it spends ...read more

When University of Chicago physiologist Nathaniel Kleitman told fellow faculty members he was seeking a locale for a month-long sleep experiment — someplace as isolated from the rhythms of day and night as the Arctic in summer — a colleague in the geology department said he knew just the spot.Between 10 million and 15 million years ago, in what is now south‑central Kentucky, trickles of groundwater began probing the cracks in a fossil seabed. Over the eons, the pockets grew and grew until ...read more