Cofounders of a microbiome biobank speak with The Scientist about their new partnership with nonprofit OpenBiome and how to ethically work with donors.

Abundant environmental CO₂ can increase plant biomass and photosynthesis, but it has downsides for agriculture and ecosystems, a growing body of research finds.

Aridity appears to configure landscapes with a greater diversity of plant species that rely on symbiotic bacteria for nitrogen.

A seagrass relies on symbiotic bacteria inside its roots to fix nitrogen. This is the first time scientists have demonstrated that this relationship occurs in a marine plant.

Researchers can now explain how some marine plants obtain their nitrogen.

Scientists in Canada trace how aquatic communities change as Quebec’s Romaine River flows into the sea.

By breaking down urea, the animals’ gut bacteria recycle nitrogen, which can be then used to build new molecules during prolonged fasting.

Brood X’s emergence tunnels—numbering in the hundreds per square meter of soil—give researchers a special opportunity to study how such extreme soil aeration affects the ecosystem.

The discovery puts a nail in the coffin of a long-held assumption about the limits of where the essential process can occur.

A cancer patient who underwent the new fertility preservation procedure successfully gave birth five years after her immature eggs were collected.

Evolution imbued ants with an agriculture strategy that optimizes food rewards.

Anemones keep their algae populations in check.

Researchers say the Open Agricultural Initiative promoted a high-profile project with misleading claims, and documents show it violated state environmental regulations.

Coral reefs near Maui, Hawaii, show signs of erosion due to excess nutrients from wastewater.

The insects have already transformed parts of Signy Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and could drastically change Antarctic ecosystems if introduced by humans.

Isotope changes in the bones demonstrate a similar pattern across far-flung islands.

A new study reports finding corn species in Mexico that can trap nitrogen.

A study shows that by killing off seabirds on islands, rodents slash the flow of nutrients into the ocean.

Ancient bones from Ireland reveal that farming has changed nitrogen composition in land for the last 3,000 years.