Detective Fiction Has Nothing on This Victorian-Science Murder Mystery
William Saville-Kent was a pioneering coral photographer. Was he also hiding a grisly secret?
Life Up Close
Traveling the world to see microbes, plants, and animals in oceans, grasslands, forests, deserts, the icy poles—and wherever else they may be.
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Life Up Close is a project of The Atlantic, supported by the HHMI Department of Science Education.
The Pandemic Has Undone South Africa’s National Parks
Without tourism, the funding that sustains some of the world’s most treasured wildlife has atrophied.
The Pandemic Is Undoing Field Researchers’ Oldest Assumption
With the right partners, scientists don’t have to visit their study sites to get good data.
An Entire Group of Whales Has Somehow Escaped Human Attention
The only way to give them the space they need might be to seek them out.
This Tiny Fish Can Withstand Almost Anything
In Virginia’s Elizabeth River, the unremarkable-looking mummichog has survived decades of industrial pollution—but the price it has paid has worrying implications for human health.
The Mediterranean’s Red Gold Is Running Out
For centuries, red coral was traded all over the world. Now it’s disappearing.
Life Is Tough for Teenage Parasites
For a deep-sea parasitic worm, the epic journey to adulthood starts in a fish’s intestines.
Humanity Is Flushing Away One of Life’s Essential Elements
We broke phosphorus.
A Group of Orca Outcasts Is Now Dominating an Entire Sea
Killer whales that feast on seals and hunt in small packs are thriving while their widely beloved siblings are dying out.
An Enormous Bird Has a Real-Estate Problem
The helmeted hornbill can’t procreate without a particular type of tree hole, so scientists are trying to build it artificial ones.