Nate Rott

The wolves are still listed under the Endangered Species Act, but the rise in their population has also led to an increase in human-wolf conflict, particularly in rural areas with a lot of ranching.

Nate Rott, NPR News.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is roughly the size of South Carolina, an area of northeast Alaska with no roads but abundant wildlife like caribou, muskox, and polar bears.

It's also been the subject of a long-running political dispute.

The first Trump administration opened the area to oil and gas lease sales before the Biden administration closed it off again.

The Interior Department now says sales are back on with two planned later this winter.

The last time an oil and gas lease sale was held in the refuge, though, it ended with no bidders.

Nate Rott, NPR News.

Yes, controversial because it gets at an almost like philosophical question, Emily, about what our role should be in the natural world.

And I'm a pretty poor excuse for a philosopher.

But, you know, I think the easiest way to explain this technology that we're going to be talking about is to start with an effort that's going on to save something we all know and love.

Frogs.

This is Anthony Waddell, a researcher at Macquarie University in Australia.

It's just chytrid is too good.

Chytrid fungus, which is like this horrendous and deadly skin disease affecting amphibians that, you know, the antibiotics they have often can't fix.

And this disease is now found on every continent except Antarctica.

Anthony has been focused on protecting frog populations from chytrid pretty much his entire scientific career.

And he started with the type of desert frog that lived near his hometown, Las Vegas.

And Anthony says it worked for that population of frogs.

But the further he got into the frog world.