Editor’s note: This is the first part in a two-part series detailing developments in the UA’s operation of Biosphere 2. The UA looks to tackle “”grand challenges”” and inform the public about science ...

ORACLE, Ariz. — Plopped in the Sonoran Desert, just outside Tucson, Ariz., sits a massive, multilevel greenhouse that's probably best known as the inspiration for a Pauly Shore movie. A slick, stepped ...