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 is a project of The Atlantic, supported by the HHMI Department of Science Education.
Info
This work was commissioned, produced, and edited by The Atlantic's editorial staff. Support for this work was provided in part by the organizations listed here.
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.
The Dolphin Myth That Refuses to Die
Brazil’s pink river dolphins have long gotten blamed for all sorts of heinous crimes.
The Tree That Could Help Stop the Pandemic
The rare Chilean soapbark tree produces compounds that can boost the body’s reaction to vaccines.
Coffee Rust Is Going to Ruin Your Morning
Coffee plants were supposed to be safe on this side of the Atlantic. But the fungus found them.
The Worst Animal in the World
Every year, as many as 400 million people are infected with life-threatening diseases by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It wasn’t always so dangerous.
Forest Fires Are Setting Chernobyl’s Radiation Free
Trees now cover most of the exclusion zone, and climate change is making them more likely to burn.
Australia Has a Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Problem
In the beach towns south of Melbourne, everyone, it seems, knows someone who’s been attacked.
The Search for the World’s Simplest Animal
For centuries, scientists have obsessed over a primordial blob that can shape-shift, clone itself, and live indefinitely.
America’s Never-Ending Battle Against Flesh-Eating Worms
Inside the U.S. and Panama’s long-running collaboration to rid an entire continent of a deadly disease
The Rich Meals That Keep Wild Animals on the Menu
Samoa’s population of “little dodos” is dwindling down to nothing, but the appetites of wealthy people keep putting these rare birds at risk.
Nuclear Tests Marked Life on Earth With a Radioactive Spike
Even as it disappears, the “bomb spike” is revealing the ways humans have reshaped the planet.
Cancel Earthworms
The “crazy worms” remaking forests aren’t your friendly neighborhood garden worms. Then again, those aren’t so great either.
The Price of Protecting Rhinos
Conservation has become a war, and park rangers and poachers are the soldiers.
A Substance Like Nothing Else on Earth
Amber is helping scientists discover how the ancient world worked.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Seabird
To change the fate of the kittiwake, scientists are trying to model its world.
How Roadkill Became an Environmental Disaster
To save Brazil’s giant anteaters, scientists are grappling with one of the planet’s most transformative forces: roads.
The Next Olympics Mascot Might Have Been a Mutant Morning Glory
Scientists dreamed of genetically engineering a flower patterned in the Games’ blue-and-white checkerboard emblem.
Deadly Algae Are Creeping Northward
In a warming ocean, Alexandrium algae are shredding marine food webs—and disrupting beloved Alaska traditions.
Tree-Poaching Is On the Rise
The opioid epidemic may be to blame for a rising incidence of illegal tree-felling.
/media/img/mt/2019/09/TheAtlantice_LakeLab1/original.gif)
The Dark Side of Light
Beneath the surface of one of Germany’s deepest lakes, researchers are studying the hidden effects of artificial light.
The Human Cost of Amber
Fossils preserved in sap offer an astonishingly clear view of the distant past, but they come at a high price.
How Do We Solve the Problem of Predators?
Wolves pose a uniquely difficult conservation issue.
The Opioid Crisis Is Killing Trees Too
In the coastal rain forests of British Columbia, stolen timber is traded for a quick fix.
The Most Political Animal
Even in one of the world’s richest countries, humans have a hard time coexisting with wolves.
Death-Cap Mushrooms Are Terrifying and Unstoppable
A species of highly toxic fungi is making its way across North America at an alarming speed.
Climate Change Enters Its Blood-Sucking Phase
As winters grow warmer in North America, thirsty ticks are on the move.
Death-Cap Mushrooms Are Spreading Across North America
“There’s nothing in the taste that tells you what you are eating is about to kill you.”
Watching Venezuela’s Last Glacier Disappear
In the midst of political and economic chaos, Venezuelan researchers are struggling to save the scientific legacy of their country’s fast-melting ice.
Pulling Canada’s Caribou Back From the Brink
First Nations communities are leading the effort to rescue the last remaining caribou herds from extinction.
The Search for Alien Life Begins in Earth’s Oldest Desert
In the Martian landscape that is the Atacama desert, astrobiologists are learning how to recognize extraterrestrial organisms.