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By EMILEE KLEIN

WHATLEY — John Berryhill and Jesse Bellemare wade through a sea of herbaceous plants, leaves and goldenrod flowers brushing against their waist, until their keen eyes spot three 6-inch tree seedlings, barely visible through the thicket of grasses and...

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — The internet is littered with reports of two NASA astronauts “stranded” at the International Space Station and how they will survive until they can be brought home in 2025. But a Shelburne resident and retired colleague says Sunita “Suni”...

By RACHEL QUIMBY

One of my favorite books from childhood is P.D. Eastman’s “Big Dog, Little Dog,” the story of two bi-pedal pooches who are best friends. But Fred is tall, and Ted is short; Fred drives slowly and Ted drives fast; Ted plays the tuba, and Fred plays the...

By DAVID SPECTOR

Most vertebrates — the large group of animals that includes humans — have many features in common, but some oddball groups have lost some of those characteristics. For example, snakes have lost their limbs, but they retain most of the other features...

By EMILEE KLEIN

With the state dealing with catastrophic consequences of climate change, the debate around forest management continues to make headlines as Massachusetts policymakers discuss the best way to maximize carbon sequestration in forests.Trees and other...

By XINJI YANG

AMHERST — Researchers at the University of Massachusetts will soon get help translating their work conducted in campus laboratories into solutions to real-world problems related to human health and well-being.That’s the broad focus of a new $5.5...

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Three faculty at the University of Massachusetts are joining the state’s new Climate Science Advisory Panel, a group of 21 experts who will attempt to bridge the communication and knowledge gap between policymakers and scientists. The UMass...

By MADDIE FABIAN

EASTHAMPTON – Inside one classroom at Mountain View School, students learn about adaptations by creating their own animal out of art supplies, understand bridges by building their own bridge, and discover angles by building their own catapults.That...

By CORINNE PURTILL

Earth has millions of fungi species, but the official emoji library has only one: Amanita muscaria, the red-capped, white-spotted mushroom found in fairy tale picture books and Super Mario Brothers.A staggering 180,000 species of butterflies and moths...

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Ice once both founded and hindered research for glacial geologist Julie Brigham-Grette.As a graduate student working off the coast of Alaska four decades ago, loose sea ice would accumulate onto the shores of Brigham-Grette’s campsite and...

By Lindsay Shachnow

Laura Kleiman was running a research center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.In exploring potential treatment options, Kleiman said she discovered that repurposing drugs — particularly generic ones that are...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

AMHERST — A new center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst aims to harness both Indigenous and Western environmental science to tackle issues relating to climate change, food insecurity and archeological preservation. The center, officially...

By STEVE PFARRER

AMHERST — Adding to its collection of work documenting social change, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has acquired the papers of social activist and writer Al Weinrub, co-founder of the anti-imperialist organization Science for the People...

By STEVE PFARRER

August in Northampton has a tradition of at least three things: late summer corn, back-to-school preparations, and a certain themed concert at Look Park’s Pines Theater.This year is no exception, and on Aug. 22, Performance 33 will bring area...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — What if all you needed to generate electricity was thin film material, microscopic fibers and air?Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have proved it can be done, and now they’re showing that many different kinds of materials can...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

AMHERST — Nested within a thickly wooded area behind UMass Amherst’s School of Education, a group of college students stand hunched over the soil in a fenced area, looking for bones.Using small 4½-inch trowels, the students slowly scrape the dirt...

By BELLA LEVAVI

A beautiful night sky view usually seen in countries much farther north than the United States recently delighted western Massachusetts stargazers, and local astronomy professors say there’s about a 50% chance of witnessing the spectacle again in the...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — With their backs against pillows and their outstretched legs crossed side by side on the floor, two kindergarten students read books out loud to one another in the corner of Jessica Sico’s classroom. All the while, their fingers follow...

By KEVIN HODGSON

I typed in: “How will ChatGPT change the way teachers are teaching writing in the classroom?” and clicked the “submit” button. Within seconds, words scrolled across the screen from ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chat tool:“ChatbotGPT is a variant...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

AMHERST — When the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Massachusetts Amherst tested water for lead and copper levels at schools statewide, the results — that 72 percent of school buildings had at least one...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — In 1995, Boston-area native Albert Sacco Jr. hurtled into space at 17,596 mph and saw “the blackest black you’ve ever seen.” “Blacker than the blackest velvet,” he said of space to a room of patients and other visitors at the CareOne at...