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The early ancestors of plants were simple forms of algae, which drifted rootless through fresh waters. Most biologists believe that, only when algae partnered with a very different life form – fungi – some 470 million years ago, was it able thrive on land. Indeed, today some nine in 10 land plants exist in symbiosis with what’s known as ‘mycorrhizal’ fungi, which helps their roots to extract nutrients from the ground. This animation from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks and the Fungi Foundation details how this hidden relationship operates, the vital role these underground fungal networks play in ecosystems worldwide, and the threats they currently face due to human activity.
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Human rights and justice
When a burial for slave trade victims is unearthed, a small island faces a reckoning
29 minutes
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Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
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Human rights and justice
Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border
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Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
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Film and visual culture
A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life
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Family life
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Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
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Archaeology
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Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
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