Stories by Douglas Fox

A gigantic space rock that slammed into Earth more than three billion years ago grievously wounded the biosphere—and then helped it heal

Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops

Two expeditions to the Thwaites Ice Shelf have revealed that it could splinter apart in less than a decade, hastening sea-level rise worldwide

Yet the unfit creatures survive, challenging our long-held view of evolution

Tests are underway to pull carbon from the air and turn it into minerals belowground

Its perseverance is rewriting the history of life, and of ice, across the continent 

Physicists who have revived experiments from 50 years ago say nerve cells communicate with mechanical pulses, not electric ones

An experimental procedure is exposing links between nervous and immune systems  

An evolutionary burst 540 million years ago filled the seas with an astonishing diversity of animals. The trigger behind that revolution is finally coming into focus

The laws of physics may well prevent the human brain from evolving into an ever more powerful thinking machine

Nearly a kilometer below the ice scientists have found a Yellowstone-like geothermal glow that could create life-rich subglacial lakes—and lubricate Antarctic ice loss

An astonishing discovery is forcing scientists to reconsider whether life can exist in the most extreme places on Earth and in space

Discovery of fish under Antarctic ice may provide clues about ecosystems on Jupiter’s moon Europa and other extraterrestrial environments

Scientists find translucent fish in a wedge of water hidden under 740 meters of ice, 850 kilometers from sunlight

A surprise finding may reveal how fast glaciers could slip into the sea

Samples from Lake Whillans, hidden under ice, contain thousands of microbes and hint at vast ecosystems yet to be discovered

The crabs' arrival due to warming seas could deal a crushing blow to archaic species of starfish, sea spiders and ribbon worms at the Antarctic continental shelf

As glaciers collapse toward the sea, scientists struggle to figure out how fast the southern continent is melting and what that means for sea-level rise

The laws of physics may well prevent the human brain from evolving into an ever more powerful thinking machine

Their results could change the way we imagine life arose on early Earth