Articles by Jessica Leigh Hester

The Brood X bonanza is almost here, and ecologists will have a lot of work—and bugs—on their hands.

Here’s why it’s really, really hard to count how many of the apex predators once stalked Earth’s surface.

More than a year into the pandemic, scientists are seeing the impact of disposable gloves and masks on ecosystems.

In 19th-century Philadelphia, an anatomist dissected and mounted a human nervous system. Now researchers are trying to figure out whose remains are stretched out in a glass case.

Zebra mussels showed up in imported aquarium accessories across 32 states. Ecologists want your help killing them.

Thanks to waterlogged ground, sturdy bodies, and a little luck.

In search of otherworldly sights? Just find the right icy pond.

Researchers mined crowdsourced photos to figure out how city life suits the southern alligator lizard.

Garbage doesn't belong in water, but in some of Britain's urban areas, it makes for a surprising habitat.

Meet Podokesaurus holyokensis, a prehistoric resident of the Commonwealth.

Trace fossils are useful paleontological allies—but they can't tell us everything.

A new $1.5 billion cleanup effort is underway, targeting its "black mayonnaise" of pollutants.

This newly described species has been dubbed "the ugliest."

In Maryland, archaeologists raced rising waters to find traces of the past.

The answer could help researchers detect bleaching events before they happen.

Filthy infrastructure has long been a site of artistry and civic pride.

It's not too late to explore the weird and wonderful all over America.

A high-profile T. rex sale is a reminder that paleontologists get stressed when fossils vanish into private hands.

Penitent pilferers can—and should—return their finds.

A new exhibit traces the experiences of seven narrators before, during, and after World War II.

Under UV light, some of them look downright magical.

Everything looks cool from the International Space Station.

The Spring House had been hidden for decades.

It may take years—even decades—to fully understand the impact of disposable masks and gloves on the environment.