Men and women are each about half the population. Recent studies revealed that according to billions of words on the internet, people think of a “human” more as a man than a woman. Such gender bias in our collective understanding of a “human” may privilege men, and might create costs and risks for others.

Usually, we identify plants by their showy and delicate flowers. Because flowers are selected to be more attractive compared with leaves, stems, or the hidden roots for most species. However, sometimes, when flowers from different but related species are similar, even the botanists might feel confused and misidentify them, which might lead to mistakes. So how can we identify them correctly?

The common perception of cacti as heat- and drought-loving desert plants causes climate change to be overlooked as a potential threat to their conservation. Our work forecasting the distribution of cacti under various climate change scenarios reveals that a majority of species will lose suitable habitat. This discovery adds to a long list of factors threatening cacti.

Some tadpoles living in the Himalaya were recently discovered to be overwintering in cold stream water. We asked how the modification of these stream habitats by check dams installed for water extraction influences tadpole behaviour and morphology. We found tadpoles living in check dam pools are showing variations in body size and activity pattern from the ones in natural pools.

Many families buy too little fruits and vegetables because market imperfections drive up their prices. With disturbed supply chains and rising inflation, imperfections become more pronounced, forcing many to choose less healthy alternatives. We propose a subsidy on fruits and vegetables financed through a progressive tax and show that it would strongly push diets in the right direction.  

Pluto has such a peculiar orbit that people have wondered how it exists. In our new work, we found that the orbital architecture of the giant planets lies in a Goldilock's zone that allows for the survival of Pluto and many other similarly peculiar trans-Neptunian objects. A slightly different arrangement of the giant planets would’ve ejected Pluto long ago from the solar system.