Nature

Scientists Uncover the Universal Geometry of Geology

An exercise in pure mathematics has led to a wide-ranging theory of how the world comes together.

Quanta Magazine

How Being in Nature Can Spur Personal Growth

Experiencing wonder and awe in nature has many benefits, new studies find.

Greater Good

Why Deforestation and Extinctions Make Pandemics More Likely

Researchers are redoubling efforts to understand links between biodiversity and emerging diseases — and use that information to predict and stop future outbreaks.

Nature

Familiar Culprit May Have Caused Mysterious Mass Extinction

A planet heated by giant volcanic eruptions drove the earliest known wipeout of life on Earth.

The New York Times

Why Carbon?

Musings on a symphony in C.

Scientific American

Children Don’t Like Nature as Much as Adults, UChicago Study Finds

A love of nature doesn’t necessarily come naturally, according to a new University of Chicago-led study exploring how kids develop a relationship with the outdoors.

WTTW

Strange Evolution: The Weird Future of Life on Earth

From walking trees to floating toads, the far future of nature on our planet could be like nothing we’ve seen before.

BBC Future

A Geologist Offers a Melodic Meditation on One of Earth’s Most Abundant Elements

Although organic chemistry is often described as the science of carbon, Robert Hazen’s latest book, Symphony in C, makes clear that this vital element cannot be contained by such a disciplinary boundary.

Science

Mind and Body Benefit from Two Hours in Nature Each Week

People who spent at least two hours outside — either all at once or totaled over several shorter visits — were more likely to report good health and psychological well-being.

60-Second Science, Scientific American

Humans Are ‘a Species in a Very Rare Planet’: Cosmologist Makes the Case Against Existential Dread

Templeton Prize recipient Marcelo Gleiser says we have a ‘moral imperative’ to protect life on this planet.

Tapestry, CBC Radio

The ‘Great Dying’ Nearly Erased Life On Earth. Scientists See Similarities To Today

It was the biggest extinction in Earth’s history. A new Smithsonian exhibit notes that some of the same things that killed over 90 percent of ocean species 250 million years ago are happening now.

All Things Considered, NPR

Is Ritual a Tool for Resilience?

The relationship between religion, ritual, and cultural resilience.

Science on Religion

Landmark Analysis Documents the Alarming Global Decline of Nature

“What’s at stake here is a livable world,” says Robert Watson of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K., who chaired the organization that produced the report.

Science

Human Exceptionalism Stifles Progress

The aversion to playing God is not just about God.

Nautilus

Life Satisfaction Boosted by a Sense of Oneness — Regardless of Religion, Study Finds

People who feel a sense of oneness with something outside of themselves are more likely to be satisfied in life, according to a study.

Newsweek

From Counting With Stones to Artificial Intelligence: The Story of Calculus

Anil Ananthaswamy savours a history of the mathematics used to track changes in everything from DNA to machine learning.

Nature

What Humble Kids Have in Common

Here’s what research has learned so far about humility in children.

Greater Good Magazine

How Beauty Is Making Scientists Rethink Evolution

The extravagant splendor of the animal kingdom can’t be explained by natural selection alone — so how did it come to be?

The New York Times Magazine

Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?

Our species possesses inherent value, but we are devastating the earth and causing unimaginable animal suffering.

The New York Times

Scientists Identify Vast Underground Ecosystem Containing Billions of Micro-Organisms

Global team of scientists find ecosystem below earth that is twice the size of world’s oceans.

The Guardian

What Is This Feeling We Call ‘Sublime’?

It is an aesthetic experience that modern, Western philosophers often theorize about, as well as, more recently, experimental psychologists and neuroscientists in the field of neuroaesthetics.

Aeon