MICROGRAPH BY ALFRED PASIEKA, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
It’s the most common vector-borne disease in North America, and half of Americans live where ticks (above) spread Lyme disease.
As a new season of infection begins, researchers are testing possible vaccines in the pipeline, trying to stop a scourge that afflicts nearly a half million Americans a year.
A key step, discovered: Plants can split water molecules to create energy, which then releases oxygen into the air. But how has remained a mystery. Now—thanks to laser beams and x-rays—scientists are privy to how plants do it, filling in a missing piece to the photosynthesis puzzle. But this discovery has opened another mystery. (Pictured above, visualizing the leaves of a smoke bush via x-ray.)
Once vibrant, now in trouble: Overfishing and climate change are hurting some of the world’s most beautiful and abundant coral reefs and underwater species. Will we be able to protect them? (Above, a boat captain frees a bumphead sunfish from a fishing net in the Philippines.)
LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES PHELPS CUSHING, CLASSICSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPH BY ARCHIVE PHOTOS, GETTY IMAGES
2,000 years dormant: Hebrew, a language that today is used globally and by millions, used to be thought nearly extinct. Where did the language go? And how did it make a comeback? (Above left, a New York store covered in Yiddish signs; right, a boy learns the Hebrew alphabet.)
Today’s soundtrack: Tick Tick Boom, The Hives
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