Research announcements from universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Explore the stories, people and discoveries behind the headlines.
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Cal Poly initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience will host its fifth annual all-virtual Climate Solutions Now conference from February 23 to 27, featuring more than 70 presentations on energy, water, agriculture, environmental justice, and climate communications. Past editions have attracted more than 1,000 attendees from as far as Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Read the releaseAmong iron minerals that interact with dissolved organic matter in soil, ferrihydrite stands apart. Research from Tongji University shows it converts hexavalent chromium to a stable harmless form while binding organic carbon - outperforming goethite and hematite through a surface mechanism validated in real contaminated mine soils.
Read the releaseA study of mangrove soils in China's Zhangjiang Estuary finds that black carbon - a highly stable combustion byproduct - persists in coastal sediments and may strengthen the long-term carbon storage potential of these ecosystems. Plant biomass drives accumulation, while soil nitrogen and moisture regulate how carbon moves toward the ocean.
Read the releaseStanford researchers combined fMRI scanning, behavioral experiments, and social media analytics to show that neural activity in reward and social cognition regions predicts both individual choices and population-level engagement with wildlife photos. Images featuring animal faces and evolutionarily
Read the releaseUsing the Sirius wheat model with advanced climate projections, Rothamsted Research scientists found heat stress during wheat flowering is set to surpass drought as the leading yield threat. By 2050, heat-related flowering losses could rise by roughly one-third; by 2090, by more than three-quarters
Read the releaseA theoretical and numerical study published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics shows that a gyroscopic wave energy converter using a tunable spinning flywheel can achieve 50% energy absorption efficiency - the theoretical maximum for a single point absorber - across a broad range of wave frequencies, not only at a single resonant condition. The analysis provides a roadmap for adaptable ocean energy devices.
Read the releaseA study published in Scientific Reports by geophysicists at the University of Florida and the Paris Institute of Earth Physics used earthquake-based tomography and physics modeling to reconstruct the 70-million-year history of Antarctica's gravity low - the region where Earth's gravitational pull is weakest after accounting for rotation. The study found the timing of changes in the gravity low overlaps with major shifts in Antarctic climate, raising questions about whether the shifting gravity influenced the growth of the continent's ice sheets.
Read the releaseResearchers at EPFL's Laboratory for Nanoscale Biology have published results in Nature Energy showing that coating nanopores with lipid bilayers - the same structures found in cell membranes - enables ions to flow through membranes with dramatically reduced friction. A device with 1,000 lipid-coated nanopores achieved a power density of roughly 15 watts per square meter, two to three times greater than existing polymer membrane technologies, in tests replicating seawater-to-freshwater salt concentration differences.
Read the releaseA comprehensive review in Biochar X synthesizes current evidence showing that biochar - produced by heating biomass under low oxygen - can store carbon in soils for hundreds to thousands of years while also reducing nitrous oxide and methane emissions through changes in microbial chemistry. The authors identify a dual carbon sequestration mechanism and note that large-scale field studies show measurable benefits, but stress that feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and matching to specific soil conditions determine actual performance.
Read the releaseThe American Meteorological Society has issued a rapid response statement in reaction to the EPA's rescission of its 2009 Endangerment Finding, reaffirming that decades of scientific evidence from thousands of researchers across dozens of fields shows human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are harmful to people and ecosystems. The AMS states that the policy decision does not alter the underlying scientific conclusions, which have been validated by independent scientific institutions worldwide.
Read the releaseA batch of new studies in American Meteorological Society journals documents a fourfold increase in tropical cyclones stalling near coastlines since 1982, links extratropical cyclones to a geographic southeastward drift in U.S. tornado activity, and finds that 23.8% of Northern Hemisphere grid cells have shown declining snow cover since 1980. Additional research examines how Hurricane Ida's extreme rainfall in the U.S. Northeast could become five times more likely by 2100.
Read the releaseNew satellite-based research shows that Amazon regions where forest cover has dropped below 60% experience dry-season surface temperatures averaging 3 degrees Celsius higher than intact forest areas, with 25% less rainfall and 11 fewer rainy days annually. The findings, from a study covering the entire Brazilian Amazon, reinforce warnings that large-scale deforestation is pushing parts of the biome toward conditions characteristic of savanna.
Read the releaseA lifecycle study by UK universities finds that shifting solar manufacturing from the current PERC standard to the newer TOPCon architecture, combined with cleaner manufacturing grids, could prevent 8.2 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions by 2035. Published in Nature Communications, the analysis assessed 16 environmental categories and found TOPCon better in 15 of them.
Read the releaseScientists have mapped global cropland greenhouse gas emissions at roughly 10-kilometer resolution, the most detailed picture yet of where agricultural pollution originates. Published in Nature Climate Change, the analysis found croplands emitted 2.5 gigatons of CO2-equivalent in 2020, with rice paddies and drained peatlands for palm oil together responsible for more than two-thirds of the total.
Read the releaseArctic peatlands store more carbon than all the world's forests combined. They are also growing. A University of Exeter study using peat cores from 12 sites across the European and Canadian Arctic finds consistent post-industrial expansion linked to rising temperatures - with implications for the global carbon cycle that cut both ways.
Read the releaseTraditional activated carbon production for CO2 capture requires furnace heating for an hour or more. A new microwave-based method takes ten minutes, consumes dramatically less energy, and produces a carbon material with superior adsorption performance - 4.72 mmol/g at 0 degrees Celsius - through a combination of pore structure and surface chemistry.
Read the releaseA UC Davis Health and UCLA analysis of 8.6 million California births from 2001 to 2019 found that high-intensity wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy was associated with increased autism likelihood - especially in rural areas with otherwise low background pollution, where the association reached 50% higher odds. Average smoke levels showed only weak associations; the link strengthened with intensity and was strongest for wildland-urban interface fires burning buildings and vehicles.
Read the releaseWhen China imposed a 10-year commercial fishing ban across the entire Yangtze River basin in 2021, it was the most ambitious freshwater conservation measure of its kind. Analysis of monitoring data from 2018 to 2023, published in Science, shows the ban has halted seven decades of biodiversity decline - with fish biomass rising substantially, threatened species showing initial recovery, and structural equation modeling confirming the ban as the primary driver.
Read the releaseThe first study to examine whether everyday emotional states predict climate policy support found a clear difference between fear and dread in 418 UK participants. Feeling fearful correlated with greater support for measures like airline carbon taxes and fossil fuel levies. Dread - characterized by a sense of inevitability and helplessness - was associated with lower policy support, suggesting emotional intensity has a ceiling effect.
Read the releaseWhen the time is right, a good love song can make all the difference. A study from the University of California, Davis, found that temperature affects the sound and quality of male frogs’ mating calls. In the colder, early weeks of spring, their songs start off sluggishly. In warmer weather, their songs pick up the pace, and female frogs take note. Better songs not only make the males more attractive mates, but they also suggest to females that environmental conditions are suitable for reproduction. “The song of frogs really depends on the temperature of the environment,” said lead ...
Read the releaseThe National Science Foundation has awarded a UT San Antonio assistant professor of biology, health and the environment the distinguished Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award. The assistant professor, Matthew Troia, will use the award to investigate how climate change and urbanization are affecting freshwater ecosystems by enabling exotic tropical fish species to expand northward. “We hope our research will provide a deeper understanding of how biodiversity responds to increasing human impacts on the environment,” Troia said. “Our goal is to ...
Read the releaseResearchers have found that most biochar fed to dairy cows survives the digestive process and remains highly stable, meaning it could be applied to fields through manure and act as a long-term carbon storage solution. The findings provide new evidence that livestock systems could play a role in climate change mitigation. The study, recently published in Biochar, investigated what happens to biochar after it passes through the digestive system of cattle. Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced ...
Read the releaseWhen severe weather strikes, the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Office of Water Prediction (OWP) makes critical flood forecasts with the National Water Model. Despite improvements over time, the model’s performance has plateaued in recent years, leaving researchers from the federal government, academia, and private industry searching for a better solution. Now a new set of software tools, the Next Generation Water Resources Modeling framework, or NextGen, will help develop better predictions. As detailed in a new study led by OWP and the University ...
Read the releaseA new IIASA-led study examines growing critiques of how global climate mitigation scenarios address equity and justice and identifies key conditions for fair, feasible, and politically credible climate action. Global climate mitigation scenarios shape real-world policy choices of who cuts emissions, who pays, and who benefits from climate action. A new IIASA-led essay published in PLOS Climate identifies how these influential tools address equity and justice, with implications for perceptions of fairness and public trust in climate policy. Drawing on a broad grassroots community process, the study identifies practical ...
Read the releaseMicrobes could help oak trees cope with environmental change. Publishing February 11 in the Cell Press journal Cell Host & Microbe, a study observing oaks growing in a natural woodland found that the trees’ above- and below-ground microbiomes were resilient to drought, nutrient scarcity, and exposure to pathogenic beetles and bacteria. The trees showed subtle changes to their root-associated ...
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