Biosphere 2's latest mission: Learning how life first emerged on Earth, and how to make barren worlds habitable by Scott Saleska, Chris Impey, Ghiwa Makke, The Conversation edited by Gaby Clark, ...

ORACLE, Ariz. — Plopped in the Sonoran Desert, just outside Tucson, Ariz., sits a massive, multilevel greenhouse that's probably best known as the inspiration for a Pauly Shore movie. A slick, stepped ...

Weathering occurs when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere chemically reacts with material on Earth's surface—such as rocks, minerals and water—to create soils imbued with nutrients that can support ...