Samantha Sutherland

At first, ancient squirrel poop may not sound like an important scientific discovery. However, frozen droppings from Arctic ground squirrels in the Yukon are giving researchers a surprisingly detailed look into ecosystems that existed up to 700,000 years ago. Preserved in deep permafrost, these droppings, called coprolites, contain ancient environmental DNA from plants, insects, microbes, and large Ice Age animals. Researchers studied frozen ground squirrel burrows from the Yukon, an area...

As global urbanization accelerates, cities are becoming the primary areas of human population growth, placing increasing pressure on traditional agricultural systems. Feeding dense urban populations sustainably is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. In response, vertical farming, which is the cultivation of crops in vertically stacked layers within controlled indoor environments, has emerged as a transformative approach to food production. By integrating advances in...

Fish live in environments where temperature can change dramatically—daily, seasonally, or even suddenly during heat waves. Unlike humans, fish can’t regulate their own body temperature. So how do they survive? The answer lies deep inside their cells, in tiny structures called mitochondria, often known as the “powerhouses” of the cell. Why mitochondria matter in fish hearts The heart is one of the most energy-demanding organs in any animal. In fish, this is especially important because their...