pressnews.MEDICINE · SCIENCE · EVIDENCE
RSSSearchMy library
The archive · since 2010
THE ORIGINAL COLLECTION · SINCE 2010

Environment
press releases.

Research announcements from universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Explore the stories, people and discoveries behind the headlines.

Original publication datesPage 32
FIND A STORY

Find a past release.

Dates and source material belong to the original release.

Read our research explainers

Browse the collection · original publication order

Environment

Research reveals how microplastics threaten Gulf of Mexico marine life

Critical wildlife habitats are exposed to pollution risk in the seas off the southern United States, with implications for human health and food security. “Most of the pollution comes from rivers and not from wastewater treatment plants,” says CMCC scientist Annalisa Bracco, co-author of the study that used advanced computer models to track tiny plastic particles across three years. The Gulf of Mexico is facing a growing threat from microplastic pollution, with new research revealing how tiny plastic particles are accumulating in areas crucial to marine life including sea turtles, red snapper, and dolphins. A comprehensive study ...

Read the release
Environment

New global database opens the door for better understanding of terrestrial ecosystem productivity

With CMCC’s contribution a new study and database provides scientists with an unprecedented resource for understanding how Earth's land systems store carbon and produce biomass, establishing a benchmark for calibrating vegetation models and assessing ecosystem responses to environmental change. Net primary production (NPP) represents the carbon accumulated by plants through photosynthesis after accounting for their own respiration - essentially the amount of biomass ecosystems produce annually. This fundamental measurement underpins our understanding of global ...

Read the release
Environment

Decades-old barrels of industrial waste still impacting ocean floor off Los Angeles

In 2020, haunting images of corroded metal barrels in the deep ocean off Los Angeles leapt into the public consciousness. Initially linked to the toxic pesticide DDT, some barrels were encircled by ghostly halos in the sediment. It was unclear whether the barrels contained DDT waste, leaving the barrels’ contents and the eerie halos unexplained. Now, new research from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals that the barrels with halos contained caustic alkaline ...

Read the release
Environment

Alkali waste dumped in the Pacific Ocean created alkalophilic ecosystems

Barrels filled with industrial waste that were dumped in the sea near Los Angeles more than 50 years ago are creating new microbial ecosystems adapted to highly alkaline conditions. It has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of barrels of waste were dumped off the coast of California in the mid 20th century. Previous investigations suggested that the barrels once contained dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)—an insecticide known for its broad toxicity that was banned for agricultural use in 1972. ...

Read the release
Environment

Pusan National University researchers reveal how uneven ocean warming is altering propagation of the Madden-Julian oscillation

The Earth’s tropical regions drive some of the most powerful weather and climate variability globally. Among these, the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a dominant intraseasonal climate signal, characterized by large clusters of clouds and rainfall that slowly move eastward across the warm tropical oceans. In doing so, the MJO shapes rainfall patterns, influences tropical cyclones, modulates monsoons, and even impacts weather far beyond the tropics. Understanding the factors that govern its ...

Read the release
Environment

Study questions ocean origin of organics in Enceladus’s plumes

Organic molecules detected in the watery plumes that spew out from cracks in the surface of Enceladus could be formed through exposure to radiation on Saturn’s icy moon, rather than originating from deep within its sub-surface ocean. The findings, presented during the EPSC–DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki this week, have repercussions for assessing the habitability of Enceladus’s ocean. ‘While the identification of complex organic molecules in Enceladus’s environment remains an important clue in assessing the moon’s habitability, the results demonstrate that radiation-driven chemistry ...

Read the release
Environment

Sunglasses for plants, and sustainable agriculture

A multilayer film that reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis could make greenhouse agriculture more energy- and water-efficient. Such a film has been developed by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and is described in a recent paper in Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research. Greenhouses enable higher yields of fruits and vegetables while conserving land,water, and fertilizers. But in warm climates, such as California’s Central Valley, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East, they can become extremely hot, which damages crops. Cooling greenhouses usually involves mechanical ventilation (fans) or evaporative cooling, which ...

Read the release
Environment

New and simple detection method for nanoplastics.

A joint team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia has developed a new method for the straightforward analysis of tiny nanoplastic particles in environmental samples. One needs only an ordinary optical microscope and a newly developed test strip—the optical sieve. The research results have now been published in “Nature Photonics” (doi: 10.1038/s41566-025-01733-x). “The test strip can serve as a simple analysis tool in environmental and health research,” explains Prof. ...

Read the release
Environment

Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe Prochlorococcus at risk

Among the tiniest living things in the ocean are a group of single celled microbes called Prochlorococcus. They are cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, and they supply nutrients for animals all the way up the food chain. Over 75% of surface waters teem with Prochlorococcus, but as ocean temperatures rise, researchers fear that the water might be getting too warm to support the population. Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, accounting for 5% of global photosynthesis. Because Prochlorococcus thrive in the tropics, researchers predicted that they would adapt ...

Read the release
Environment

New study and major data updates expand the Kids First data ecosystem

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) has released its 36th study and introduced significant new data updates to two existing studies, further advancing efforts to uncover the genetic foundations of childhood cancers and congenital conditions. This brings the total data files available at the Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC) to more than 110,000. WHO: Kids First, a program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) WHAT: Announcing the latest data releases to the Kids First data ecosystem. Newly released and updated datasets are available publicly, including: CONGENITAL CONDITIONS Kids ...

Read the release
Environment

Scientists uncover key to decoupling economic growth from pollution in developing countries

Balancing environmental conservation with economic progress is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. This is particularly difficult for many developing countries, which urgently need to lift their populations out of poverty while grappling with the increasing degradation of their environment. Unfortunately, a common belief is that these nations have to choose between economic growth and a clean environment—a situation made more complex by their reliance on foreign aid. While the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide a global roadmap for tackling such issues, ...

Read the release
Environment

Researchers quantify rate of essential evolutionary process in the ocean

The movement of genetic material between organisms that aren’t directly related is a significant driver of evolution, especially among single-celled organisms like bacteria and archaea. A team led by researchers at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have now estimated that an average cell line acquires and retains roughly 13 percent of its genes every million years via this process of lateral gene transfer. That equates to about 250 genes swapped per liter of seawater every day. The new study, recently published in The ISME Journal, provides the first quantitative analysis of gene transfer rates across an entire microbiome. It calls into question the strict classification ...

Read the release
Environment

Scientists transform plastic waste into efficient CO2 capture materials

Scientists transform plastic waste into efficient CO2 capture materials From waste to valuable resource: Chemists at the University of Copenhagen have developed a method to convert plastic waste into a climate solution for efficient and sustainable CO2 capture. This is killing two birds with one stone as they address two of the world’s biggest challenges: plastic pollution and the climate crisis. As CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere keep rising regardless of years of political intentions to limit emissions, the world’s ...

Read the release
Environment

Discovery of North America’s role in Asia’s monsoons offers new insights into climate change

The study, published today (5 September) in the journal Science Advances, indicates how the heating in North America can trigger remote effects in Asia – this could be further exacerbated by anthropogenic global warming and human modification of the North American land surface. The authors of the study say their findings emphasise the importance of global cooperation in addressing climate change. Using climate models, scientists from the University of Bristol and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) from the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

Read the release
Environment

Even untouched ecosystems are losing insects at alarming rates, new study finds

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that insect populations are rapidly declining even in relatively undisturbed landscapes, raising concerns about the health of ecosystems that depend on them. Keith Sockman, associate professor of biology at UNC-Chapel Hill, quantified the abundance of flying insects during 15 seasons between 2004 and 2024 on a subalpine meadow in Colorado, a site with 38 years of weather data and minimal direct human impact. He discovered an average annual decline of 6.6% in insect abundance, amounting to a ...

Read the release
Environment

What climate change means for the Mediterranean Sea

Temperatures in the Mediterranean are currently rising to record levels. Instead of a refreshing dip, holidaymakers in places like Greece, Italy, and Spain, among other places, are now facing water temperatures up to 28°C or even higher. With an average water temperature of 26.9°C, July 2025 was the warmest since records began for the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Copernicus Earth Observation Service. Warming caused by climate change is considered – alongside stressors such as overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction – a major factor threatening marine and coastal habitats. “The consequences ...

Read the release
Environment

New study shows proactive forest management reduces high severity wildfire by 88% and stabilizes carbon during extreme droughts

Truckee, CA (5 September 2025) -- New research finds that treated forests are 88% less susceptible to high severity wildfire than their unmanaged counterparts, and can recover carbon stocks in only 7 years. The findings, carried out by researchers at Vibrant Planet, Northern Arizona University, American Forest Foundation, and Blue Forest, make the case for more proactive forest management across the US, and specifically, the increasingly wildfire-prone West. Read the publication in Frontiers in Forests and Global ...

Read the release
Environment

Transparent mesoporous WO₃ film enhances solar water splitting efficiency and stability

Niigata, Japan – A team of scientists have unveiled a breakthrough in the field of renewable energy materials. They have developed a transparent, crystalline mesoporous tungsten trioxide (WO₃) film that exhibited exceptional efficiency and stability for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The innovation can accelerate the transition toward sustainable solar-to-hydrogen technologies, a clean energy pathway with far-reaching implications for global decarbonization. The research developed a transparent film of tungsten trioxide (WO₃) ...

Read the release
Environment

Bio-oil made with corn stalks, wood debris could plug orphaned fossil fuel wells

AMES, Iowa – Filling abandoned oil and gas wells with bio-oil made from plant-based leftovers like corn stalks and forest debris could help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, returning carbon underground in deep shafts once used to extract it. The emerging practice, the focus of a recent study by an Iowa State University research team led by mechanical engineering professor Mark Mba-Wright, has a two-birds-one-stone appeal. Unwanted organic matter collected from forests and fields helps sequester carbon in long-term storage while also reducing the emissions and safety risks posed by the hundreds of ...

Read the release
Environment

Human impact on the ocean will double by 2050, UCSB scientists warn

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — The seas have long sustained human life, but a new UC Santa Barbara study shows that rising climate and human pressures are pushing the oceans toward a dangerous threshold. Vast and powerful, the oceans can seem limitless in their abundance and impervious to disturbances. For millennia, humans have supported their lives, livelihoods and lifestyles with the ocean, relying on its diverse ecosystems for food and material, but also for recreation, business, wellness and tourism. Yet the future of our oceans is worrying, ...

Read the release
Environment

Seagrass as a carbon sponge?

ANN ARBOR—Seagrass has the potential to be one of the world's most effective sponges at soaking up and storing carbon, but we don't yet know how nutrient pollution affects its ability to sequester carbon. In a pair of studies, U-M researchers evaluated the impact of nitrogen and phosphorus on seagrass, short, turf-like grasses that live in shallow, coastal areas. Examining data gathered from a plot of seagrass enriched with nutrients over a period of nine years, the scientists found that nutrients can increase seagrass's ability ...

Read the release
Environment

Unraveling the complex relationship between trade openness and carbon emissions in Asia

In the ongoing debate about the impact of trade openness on environmental sustainability, a new study titled "Trade Openness and Carbon Emissions Using Threshold Approach: Evidence from Selected Asian Countries" offers fresh insights. This research explores the nuanced relationship between trade openness and carbon emissions, providing valuable evidence from a selection of Asian countries. By employing a threshold approach, the study aims to uncover the conditions under which trade openness can either exacerbate or mitigate carbon emissions. The impact of trade openness ...

Read the release
Environment

Climate change is making rollercoaster harvests the new normal

From corn chips to tofu, climate change is messing with the menu. A new global study led by the University of British Columbia shows that hotter and drier conditions are making food production more volatile, with crop yields swinging more sharply from year to year. For some, it may mean pricier burgers; for others, it can bring financial strain and hunger. Published today in Science Advances, the study is the first to show at a global scale how climate change is affecting yield swings of three of the world’s most important food crops: corn, soybean and sorghum. For every degree of warming, year-to-year ...

Read the release
Environment

Understanding catalyst activity for green hydrogen production

Key Aspects: The study focuses on the oxygen evolution reaction, a key process in water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Researchers identified a critical transition point in catalyst kinetics using a combination of temperature dependent kinetics and advanced spectroscopy techniques. Findings suggest that the catalyst activity is related to the need for solvation of ions at the catalyst interface. The research emphasizes the importance of viewing the catalyst-electrolyte interface as a unified system. Introduction to Catalyst Activity The Department ...

Read the release
From the original Press-News collection. Issuers of news releases are responsible for the accuracy of their content.