Secrets in the peat: Ghost lights, bog bodies, and life built on death

For centuries, ghostly lights floating over bogs have appeared in folklore. Known by names including will-o'-the-wisp, corpse candles, and ‘Lantern Jack,’ they’ve inspired stories of supernatural tricksters leading travelers astray, sometimes to their doom. But in 2024, scientists finally uncovered the chemistry behind the phenomenon. From there, we travel deep into the strange world of bogs. These waterlogged landscapes help cool the planet and have preserved ancient artifacts — including human bodies — for thousands of years, helping teach us about what life was like many millennia ago, but also providing insight into some of the diseases that plague humanity today, including Alzheimer's.

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• Biofilms: The sticky, slimy communities behind some of medicine's toughest infections
• Foraminifera: The one-celled predators that shaped our planet (and kept the receipts)

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