By combining the fields of quantum physics and biology, researchers have developed more efficient solar cells inspired by photosynthesis. With current solar cells wasting about 80 percent of the energy absorbed, it will be interesting to see what future innovative approaches will allow in the pursuit toward universal clean energy.

From August 2015 to June 2016, 7,989 square kilometers (3,085 square miles) of the Amazon Rainforest have been destroyed, a 29 percent increase from last year. Deforestation threatens more than half of the total tree biodiversity in the forest, and harms the approximately 180 indigenous groups that live in and off the Amazon.

Project Flora Robotica studies the symbiotic relationships between robots and plants.

By observing the transparent cells of roundworms, researchers have uncovered a link between lifespan and the natural cellular process of RNA splicing. This research could lead to new breakthroughs in anti-aging treatments that would allow humans to indefinitely keep ourselves healthy, stalling death for as long as possible.