The mother tongues of today’s readers span from Russian to Turkish and from Greek to Farsi, as they follow Verne’s characters through the inner workings of his vessel and the mysteries of the aquatic life, discovering their own passions.

Ilya Metchnikoff laid the foundation for modern probiotics.
(Art courtesy of Pasteur Institute)

An Indiana grandma killed off a devastating superbug with a homemade fecal transplant and then embarked on a crusade to win over the FDA.
(Art by Laurel Lynn Leake)

A Vermont farmer decides to reinvent how goods are shipped to market; will the shipping gods listen?
Photo by Jim Pepper

Faced with declining returns, hardy Georgia shrimpers hold tight to their traditions of pageantry and prayer. (Photo by Sarah Beth Glicksteen.)

Hint: it’s pronounced fee-CAL-uh-bak-TEER-ee-um

(An ancient sculpture from the Israel Beer Breweries (IBBL) museum in Ashkelon, Israel. Rafael Ben-Ari/Alamy )

For the brave omnivores, Croquetas de Chapulin is a must. Made from yucca and grasshopper flours, they come decorated with little shiny chapulines, which stick their long legs up in the air like practicing ballerinas.

Caught between depleted stocks, collapsing prices, and commercial trawlers, small-scale fishermen join forces to create new niche markets for their sustainably harvested product. Can they succeed?

How a few seedlings in a warehouse delivered a father and son from grief by giving them hope for a sustainable future.

With the combined powers of nature and machines, innovators can gather secret intelligence, protect our crops, and someday even deliver the mail.

Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that’s waterless, off-grid and able to charge your phone.
(Art by Chester Holme)

The West may have rejected whale captivity, but the painful relationship between humans and orcas is far from over.
(Photo Courtesy of FEROP)

Thanks to an unconventional farmer in the Geneva region, North American buffalos have migrated to the Alps and became iconic Swiss animals. (Photo courtesy Juraparc)

Savvy brewers aim for a plastic-free future for six-packs. If their concoction works, we all will just have to drink more beer!

When the Earth’s population reaches 9 billion with 70 percent of people living in cities, produce will have to be grown in the very buildings people live in. That’s why New Yorkers are already growing food in their basements. (Photo by Lina Zeldovich)

One pioneering chocolatier is using bitter herbs and sour fruits to make his treats stand out.

We thought that our ancestors were farmers first and bakers second. Turns out they learned to bake first—and became farmers to grow more grain.
(Photo courtesy Amaia Arranz-Otaegui)

From dancing tribesmen to larger-than-life mojigangas, San Miguel de Allende really knows how to party!