All Stories by Jonathan Lambert
- Life
‘Wild Souls’ explores what we owe animals in a human-dominated world
The new book Wild Souls explores the ethical dilemmas of saving Earth’s endangered animals.
- Life
Pikas survive winter using a slower metabolism and, at times, yak poop
Pikas endure bone-chilling temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by reducing their metabolism, and when possible, eating yak poop.
- Health & Medicine
Human cells make a soaplike substance that busts up bacteria
Nonimmune cells can fight off pathogens by releasing a detergent-like molecule that dissolves bacterial membranes.
- Earth
Mixing trees and crops can help both farmers and the climate
Agriculture is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. But integrating trees into farming practices can boost food production, store carbon and save species.
- Animals
Froghoppers are the super-suckers of the animal world
To feed on plant xylem sap, a nutrient-poor liquid locked away under negative pressure, froghoppers have to suck harder than any known creature.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists found a virus lurking in human cancer cells
In 1971, scientists were building a case for viruses as a cause of cancer. Fifty years later, cancer-preventing vaccines are now a reality.
- Health & Medicine
How one medical team is bringing COVID-19 vaccines to hard-to-reach Hispanic communities
Unidos Contra COVID’s Spanish-speaking volunteers go to where Philadelphia’s Hispanic people gather, giving shots and addressing concerns one-on-one.
- Animals
The mere sight of illness may kick-start a canary’s immune system
Healthy canaries ramp up their immune systems when exposed to visibly sick birds, without actually being infected themselves.
- Climate
‘Zombie’ forest fires may become more common with climate change
Wildfires that survive winter underground can flare up after warm summers and account for more than one-third of the scorched ground in some regions.
- Health & Medicine
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions
As U.S. vaccination efforts shift to get shots to the hard-to-reach, we take a look at some big questions about vaccines that still remain.
- Ecosystems
Wild donkeys and horses engineer water holes that help other species
Dozens of animals and even some plants in the American Southwest take advantage of water-filled holes dug by these nonnative equids.
- Life
Only 3 percent of Earth’s land hasn’t been marred by humans
A sweeping survey of terrestrial ecosystems finds that vanishingly little land houses all the animals it used to. Species reintroductions could help.
