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Indiana salmon hatchery to raise nation’s first genetically modified animal cleared for human consumption
On a winding road on the outskirts of a small Rust Belt town in eastern Indiana, a fish hatchery is poised to raise the country's first genetically engineered animal approved...
What is an Enviropig, a GloFish and a Friendly Mosquito?
For the past several decades, scientists have wielded the ability to alter the genomes of plants and animals. Gene editing has been explored in the United States and abroad as...
Asian carp DNA found in Lake Calumet, only 7 miles from Lake Michigan
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected several traces of Asian carp DNA in a body of water on Chicago's Far South Side, a mere 7 miles from Lake Michigan,...
Lake Michigan water levels: ‘They’ve been higher than this before, but not by much’; meanwhile lakes Superior and Erie set to break May records
After a snowy and soggy April, water levels on all five Great Lakes rose by more than a half-foot and are forecast to remain well above their average this summer,...
Why May Day is an international workers’ holiday — and how it began in Chicago
Today is May 1, May Day, a workers' holiday in most nations, although not the U.S. The holiday has its origins in Chicago, as a commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket...
What is a meteotsunami? Why a little-known wave poses a major threat in the Great Lakes
In the past century, the remarkable Great Lakes waves that swept fishermen from piers and plucked swimmers from beaches have gone by many names. "Freak wave." "Wall of water." "Killer...
Lake Michigan’s deadly ‘freak wave’ of 1954 is Chicago folklore. Turns out it was a meteotsunami. And they happen pretty often.
On a Saturday in June 1954, Marvin Katz motored his cabin cruiser onto Lake Michigan for what was supposed to be a pleasant day of fishing. However, when his father...
Deerfield native led climate panel disbanded by Trump. Now he’s launched a new group to help local communities.
When President George H.W. Bush's administration signed a law mandating long-term research into the consequences of global warming, Deerfield native and fledgling climate scientist Richard Moss was tapped to join...
As many as a billion birds are killed crashing into buildings each year — and Chicago’s skyline is the most dangerous area in the country
On a brisk weekday morning, before the sunrise shimmers across Chicago’s downtown skyscrapers, Annette Prince walks a perimeter around the glass facades while carrying a duffel bag and net. Every...
Climate change has already started disrupting life in the Great Lakes region — and it’s only going to get worse
As the Rock River began to rise near the riverfront village of Machesney Park, homeowner Jack Dillon assembled a crew of contractors, friends and family to shore up his two-story...