Mountain lake surrounded by evergreen forest

Reframing the challenge of living with wildfire

Oct. 17, 2023

What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West.

missle launch

Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system works well – here’s how Hamas got aroundÌýit

Oct. 13, 2023

After the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, research explains how one of the world's best defense systems was not fully effective.

A sukkah constructed for Sukkot

Finding home and community in a temporary shelter

Sept. 26, 2023

On Sukkot, the Jewish ‘Festival of Booths,’ each sukkah is as unique as the person who builds it.

field of rice grass

A close look at Indian rice grass

Sept. 18, 2023

Native Americans used the staple for many foods for thousands of years, and it is now recognized as the state grass in Nevada and Utah.

Hubble

Is it hubris to think we matter?

Aug. 30, 2023

It is a mistake to conclude from here that our planet and we, as a species, matter much less than we thought.

Mushrooms

Can you eat this mushroom or not?

July 18, 2023

It’s complicated; shaggy parasols can be eaten by some people, not all, but only after cooking. I advise against taking a risk.

flowers

Alcove columbines thrive on vertical stone walls

June 15, 2023

My hope for this expedition to the San Rafael Swell was to find flowers on scarlet monkeyflower, which grows in hanging gardens on vertical walls.

Claytonia rosea

Why are pink spring beauties varying shades of pink?

May 17, 2023

Pink spring beauties are ephemerals that sustained the earliest Americans, and selection pressure may hold the clue to color variation.

Image of white buffaloes

What the White Buffalo Calf tells us about Indigenous history

May 11, 2023

Native Americans have been associated with bison in North America for more than 15,000 years.

sage

Sagebrush has an arsenal of defenses for an army of herbivores

March 15, 2023

That potent aroma prized by humans serves many functions for the plant.

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