Botanic Gardens | Life & News

Friday, December 26, 2025

Old rat nests can contain fabrics, papers, animal bones, plant remains and other materials that have been undisturbed for hundreds of years. Andyworks/E+ Collection via Getty Images

Health

I study rat nests − here’s why rodents make great archivists

Staff Writer - December 25, 2025

Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, Columbia University Rats and other rodents and pests can make great archivists. That’s...

EXPLORING NATURE

Colorado was the first state to pass a law requiring warning labels on gas stoves. mapodile/GettyImages

Business

What are gas stove manufacturers trying to hide? Warning labels

Staff Writer - December 18, 2025

Alan K. Chen, University of Denver Colorado passed first-in-the-nation legislation requiring warning labels on gas stoves in June 2025....

Could this be the next Blitzen? Feeding a reindeer in Lapland, Finland, north of the Arctic Circle. Roberto Moiola/Sysaworld/Moment via Getty Images

The North Pole keeps moving – here’s how that affects Santa’s...

December 16, 2025

Some bird species on neighboring tips of the evolutionary tree can interbreed, with interesting genomic results. Kaleb Anderson

Songbirds swap colorful plumage genes across species lines among their evolutionary...

December 12, 2025

Dusk in downtown Lumberton, county seat in Robeson County, N.C., the most diverse rural county in America. AP Photo/David Goldman

6 myths about rural America: How conventional wisdom gets it wrong

December 9, 2025

Meditation can make us more aware of the miracle of existence of everything in this world. Anna Sunderland Engels

Meditating on the connectedness of life could help reunite a divided...

December 4, 2025