This roundup of research focuses on border barriers — what they are, why they have become popular, whether they actually help countries control their borders and how they impact the environment and local communities.

Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread through ticks, has been linked in a study to a new concern: obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS).

What is the microbiome? We highlight recent research on the unique communities of trillions of bacteria that we all host.

The United States produces over 1 million barrels of ethanol a day, mostly from corn, to be mixed into gasoline. But is it cleaner? And are the government’s economic incentives having intended consequences? We review the research.

Author Michael Pollan discussed the Farm Bill’s far-reaching impact on the U.S. food system and the environment, how journalists can better cover food policy, and more during a visit to Harvard's Shorenstein Center.

The debate over farmed salmon raises a number of health and environmental questions. This explainer and research review will help journalists sort through the noise.

Lyme disease is spreading as the warming climate helps bloodthirsty ticks thrive.

Climate change is causing wildfires to consume ever-larger swaths of forest, scientists say, breaking records and blanketing many states in dangerous smoke.

As people who live near hydraulic fracking have long complained, the process seems to poison their water. A new paper measures the distance prospectors should keep from water supplies.

When we flush, Prozac, cocaine and antibiotics trickle into the ecosystem. Researchers are just beginning to understand their effects.