Headlines trumpeted the dire news: a new U.N. report says human beings have put one million species at risk of extinction within decades. They point the finger at five major culprits – habitat destruction, exploitation, invasive species, pollution, and climate change. Researchers at San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research are fighting back with what they call The Frozen Zoo. It’s a collection of frozen cell and tissue samples that might be used to bolster failing populations of

Each month, we check in with the editors at Nature News for a roundup of top science headlines. This time, we talk to multimedia editor Benjamin Thompson of the Nature News podcast and video team.

“There's no time we're going to be able to collect more biodiversity than now, because it's declining. So, I think if we were to have a a conversation with the future, they would tell us: ‘Biodiversity is declining. Just bank as much of it as you can, because we would be glad to have it.’” – Oliver Ryder This week on Living Lab Radio: Nature multi-media editor Benjamin Thompson talks through two major science stories from recent weeks – what the most complete Denisovan fossil to date reveals

A new CNN poll finds that climate change is the most prevalent issue on the minds of Democratic voters. Eighty two percent of survey respondents told CNN that they think it is very important that the Democratic for president support taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change. Not even universal healthcare garnered a “very important” rating from that many prospective voters. And, sure enough, some would-be Democratic nominees are making climate change a signature issue. Beto O

When it comes to sharks, great whites and the risk to human swimmers have dominated public attention in the northeast recently. But, there are hundreds of species of sharks, and for most of them, in most of the world, humans are a far greater threat to sharks than the other way around. That’s why Anna Oposa is working to establish a shark shelter in the waters around the Phillippines.

It’s estimated there are just over 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and that number has been declining in recent years. The two main causes of death are both related to human activities – ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. In particular, the lines that connect lobster and crab traps to buoys at the water’s surface are major culprits in entanglements.

Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to the diversity of plants and animals on Earth. Parks and wild lands are essential for conserving ecosystems. But it turns out our back yards and even urban balconies can also play an important role. “There are literally thousands of different ways that you could create this wildlife habitat garden, depending on how much space you have, what your budget is, what your aesthetic is, what kinds of wildlife you want to attract,” said naturalist David

" The current data suggests - and certainly the behavior of current candidates for the Democratic nomination strongly suggests - that this will be the first national election where climate change ends up playing a major role." - Ed Maibach, George Mason University This week on Living Lab Radio: Climate change communication researcher Ed Maibach shares a surprising reality about American attitudes toward the polarized issue - the majority of Americans know climate change is a problem and support

We spend a lot of our time on our rear ends. The average adult in the U.S. sits for more than six hours each day, while most teenagers are seated for over eight hours of the day. That’s according to new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association published last week.

There are few environmental debates more heated than whether or not to add - or drop - an animal from the Endangered Species Act . Case in point: the debate over whether or not gray wolves in the American West are sufficiently recovered to deserve removal from the list. In the Act’s forty five year history, only thirty nine species have been declared fully recovered. Critics of the Endangered Species Act often cite that as evidence that the law is ineffective, and too cumbersome to be worthwhile