Frontiers | Science news

Our power, our planet: Five Frontiers articles for Earth Day

Earth Day, an annual event to show support for the protection of the Earth and what’s living on it, is almost upon us. To celebrate, we’re highlighting five recently published Frontiers articles on energy, ecosystems, and the environment.

Image: Yellowstone Nation Park on flickr, image in public domain, PDM 1.0

The bear in the (court)room: who decides on removing grizzly bears from the endangered species list?

In a new Frontiers in Conservation Science article, Dr Kelly Dunning discusses the politicization of wildlife management. The team analyzed hundreds of documents to track the case of grizzlies being taken off or staying on the list of endangered species. This editorial highlights some of the issues that come with wildlife management becoming ever more political.

Mining often happens in artisanal and small-scale mining operations that burn gold-mercury amalgams to extract gold particles. Credit: Simon Topp.

Environment

Published on 08 Apr 2025

Trees could be spying on illegal gold mining operations in the Amazon rainforest

By examining mercury concentrations in tree rings, researchers showed that trees could be witnesses to illegal gold mining activities in the Amazon, highlighting their potential as biomonitors

A man wearing glasses lies awake in bed, using his phone.

One hour’s screen use after going to bed increases your risk of insomnia by 59%, scientists find

Using a screen in bed at night makes it much more likely you’ll sleep less and sleep badly — but social media use is no worse than any other form of screen use.