Extinctions are already on the rise as a growing human population displaces animals and plants. But if global warming …
Animals
As Harvard Closes a Primate Research Center, Are Lab Chimps Becoming a Thing of the Past?
Harvard Medical School decided to close a major primate research center that had been linked to animal welfare problems. The pool of biomedical research money is shrinking, but is it even ethical to experiment on primates?
Traffic: Why It’s Time to Get Serious About the Bloody Illegal Wildlife Trade
Wildlife trafficking and poaching are on the rise, thanks to growing incomes in Asia and the involvement of major international crime syndicates. Is there hope for ending the war on wildlife?
Report: One in Five Reptiles at Risk of Extinction
A new study from the Zoological Society of London has found that one in five of the world’s reptile species are at risk of extinction
Tipsy Fish: When Anti-Anxiety Meds Get Into Rivers
Psychotropic drugs pass right through humans and into wastewater—and that’s a problem for wildlife
How a Kitty Walked 200 Miles Home: The Science of Your Cat’s Inner Compass
A house cat’s long-distance journey raises new questions about how animals navigate
Smart Fish: The Wisdom of Crowds—and Schools
Piscine choreography is a lot more complex—and a lot simpler—than it seems
Denizens of the Deep: Alexander Semenov’s Pictures of Undersea Creatures
A Russian diver and zoologist produces astounding photography of undersea creatures.
Big Brains: What You and (Some) Guppies Have in Common
It can be awfully expensive to maintain an oversized brain—and the body pays for that.
Science & Space
In 55 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad of the past 12 months
