Gabriel Popkin

Contributing Writer

Latest Articles

The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion

June 16, 2025

By speedrunning ecosystems with microbes, researchers revealed intrinsic properties that may make a community susceptible to invasion.

Simple Equation Predicts the Shapes of Carbon-Capturing Wetlands

May 28, 2024

To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of “bog physics” applicable around the world.

A Soil-Science Revolution Upends Plans to Fight Climate Change

July 27, 2021

A centuries-old concept in soil science has recently been thrown out. Yet it remains a key ingredient in everything from climate models to advanced carbon-capture projects.

A Physicist’s Approach to Biology Brings Ecological Insights

October 13, 2020

The physicist Jeff Gore tests theories about microbe communities experimentally and finds new rules governing ecological stability.

Soil’s Microbial Market Shows the Ruthless Side of Forests

August 27, 2019

In the “underground economy” for soil nutrients, fungi strike hard bargains and punish plants that won’t meet their price.

Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor

October 9, 2018

New work at the intersection of atmospheric science and ecology is finding that forests can influence rainfall and climate from across a continent.

Ultra-Accurate Clocks Lead Search for New Laws of Physics

April 16, 2018

Atomic clocks are letting physicists tighten the lasso around elusive phenomena such as dark matter.

Bacteria Use Brainlike Bursts of Electricity to Communicate

September 5, 2017

With electrical signals, simple cells organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies.

Swirling Bacteria Linked to the Physics of Phase Transitions

May 4, 2017

The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.

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