How many species are there on Earth?
Prof Andy Purvis is a researcher at the Natural History Museum
I'd go back 540m years to see the biological big bang'
"As an evolutionary biologist, I would love a time machine to go back to the Cambrian explosion [when most major animal groups first appeared in the fossil record] to see why this short period resulted in the really rapid rise of most animal groups, and why some like trilobites [extinct marine arthropods] didn't survive." Evolutionary biologist Dr Corrie Moreau is an expert on ants at Cornell University's Moreau lab
Could some of the smallest life forms help avert climate crisis?
"Just as we humans rely on gut microbiomes for good digestive health, the dirt beneath our feet contains an uncountable number of bacteria, fungi and viruses that influence the health of soil and the plants that grow in it. Because most of these organisms can't be cultured in the lab, we know very little about their ecology. Yet the presence of particular microbes can help trees grow up to three times faster. Could these 'good microbes' be allies in fighting climate change and promoting food security?" Dr Bonnie Waring is a senior lecturer at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute
What is the full biodiversity of the Amazon or Congo basin rainforests?
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Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.
