The outlook for monarch butterflies isn’t great right now. In fact, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, just added North America’s monarchs to its list of endangered species.

From parasitic mind control to feasting waxwings and bubble-breathing lizards, the second BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition has produced a spectacular collection of images that showcase the wonder of the natural world and emphasise the growing need to protect it from human activity. All images are open access and freely available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CCBY) license.

Giving out vape starter kit vouchers on the NHS could help even hardened smokers quit, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. Researchers worked with GPs and the NHS stop smoking service, which is commissioned locally by Public Health at Norfolk County Council, to set up a pilot vape shop voucher scheme to help patients who had tried and failed to quit smoking in the past. An evaluation of the scheme, funded by Norfolk County Council, showed it was a big success – with 42% of the entrenched smokers who were referred to it and redeemed their vape voucher having quit within a month.

In single pollutant models and within a 20-year period, 10 out of 29 reviewed pesticides were associated with thyroid cancer, including several of the most widely used ones in the U.S. These included paraquat dichloride, glyphosate and oxyfluorfen.