Bacteria are wildly underrated. From farming to flavoring, these microbes are essential in ways you probably didn’t even realize. There are three other stories in this series about bacterial fertilizers, art restoration, and the microbes that make vinegar.

A new report from state environmental regulators found stay-at-home orders during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted noticeable declines in air pollution in Wisconsin last year. The reductions were short-lived, but long-term trends show air quality is improving across the state.

The world’s wildlife populations have plummeted by more than two-thirds since 1970 – and there are no signs that this downward trend is slowing. The first phase of Cop15 talks in Kunming this week will lay the groundwork for governments to draw up a global agreement next year to halt the loss of nature. If they are to succeed, they will need to tackle what the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) has identified as the five key drivers of biodiversity loss: changes in land and sea use; direct exploitation of natural resources; climate change; pollution; and invasion of alien species.