Environment
press releases.

Environment28 Oct 2024

Co-culture system for sustainable cultured meat production

There is a pressing need for environmentally friendly meat production technologies to tackle the increasing global food demand. Cultured meat production is one such technology that is attracting a lot of attention as an alternative to conventional meat production. First developed in 2012, cultured meat is simply meat that is produced by growing or culturing muscle cells from animals in a laboratory. Typically, cultured meat production requires serum (or the liquid part of the blood) from animals, which is essential for the growth of muscle cells in the culture medium since serum includes abundant proteins that promote muscle cell growth. ...

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Environment28 Oct 2024

More social species live longer, Oxford study finds

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 GMT MONDAY 28 OCTOBER / 20:01 ET SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2024 More social species live longer, Oxford study finds New research published today (28 Oct) from the University of Oxford has revealed that species that are more social live longer and produce offspring for a greater timespan. This is the first study on this topic which spans the animal kingdom, from jellyfish to humans. What are the benefits and costs of sociality? Social organisms may enjoy benefits such as sharing resources, being better protected from predators, and having support to raise offspring. However, by living in more ...

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Environment27 Oct 2024

New study warns that melting Arctic sea-ice could affect global ocean circulation

“Our finding that enhanced melting of Arctic sea-ice likely resulted in significant cooling in northern Europe in the earth’s past is alarming,” says Mohamed Ezat from the iC3 Polar Research Hub, lead author of the new study. “This reminds us that the planet’s climate is a delicate balance, easily disrupted by changes in temperature and ice cover.” Ice-free summer conditions are expected to occur in the Arctic Ocean from the year 2050 onwards. Earlier this ...

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Environment25 Oct 2024

Slowing ocean current could ease Arctic warming -- a little

The Arctic is warming at three to four times the global average. However, new research suggests the slowing of a key ocean current could reduce projected Arctic warming by up to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. For years, scientists have warned that unchecked Arctic warming could lead to devastating consequences, threatening wildlife and ushering in an era of more frequent and extreme weather events. Amid concerns for these types of outcomes, a study led by UC Riverside offers some limited relief. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined ...

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Environment25 Oct 2024

Ripples of colonialism: Decarbonization strategies perpetuate inequalities in human rights

Photos A University of Michigan study of a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo finds that the necessary process of decarbonization is repeating and recreating colonial inequalities. The researchers argue that human rights abuses associated with contemporary cobalt mining, such as child labor, social displacement and structural marginalization, are new forms of old colonial practices. Their study is published in the journal Cities. "We show how those colonial practices emerged through the creation of mining companies and through ...

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Environment25 Oct 2024

Alliance Bioversity-CIAT inaugurates the most advanced respirometry chambers in Latin America to measure methane emissions from livestock

The most advanced respirometry chambers in Latin America were inaugurated at the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT campus in Colombia. These are hermetically sealed spaces designed to precisely measure and analyze the concentrations of gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, produced by animals. This advance is part of the Low-Methane Forages, project led by the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT in collaboration with the CGIAR research centers ILRI and ICARDA and their Germplasm Banks. The project is evaluating thousands of forage ...

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Environment25 Oct 2024

Sliver of cool surface water helps the ocean absorb more carbon

Subtle temperature differences at the ocean surface allow more carbon dioxide (CO₂) to be absorbed, new research shows. Scientists studied the “ocean skin” – a sliver less than 2 mm deep at the ocean surface that is fractionally cooler than the rest. Theoretical and lab work have suggested this temperature difference should increase the amount of CO₂ absorbed by the ocean – but this had never been successfully observed at sea before. The new study – led by researchers from the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall – used precision measurements to confirm that the ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Scientists discover molecules that store much of the carbon in space

A team led by researchers at MIT has discovered that a distant interstellar cloud contains an abundance of pyrene, a type of large, carbon-containing molecule known as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The discovery of pyrene in this far-off cloud, which is similar to the collection of dust and gas that eventually became our own solar system, suggests that pyrene may have been the source of much of the carbon in our solar system. That hypothesis is also supported by a recent finding that samples returned from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu contain large quantities of pyrene. “One of the big questions in ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Understanding that US wildfires are becoming faster-moving is key to preparedness

“The modern era of megafires is often defined based on wildfire size,” say Jennifer Balch and colleagues in a new study, “but it should be defined based on how fast fires grow and their consequent societal impacts.” Balch and colleagues report that wildfire growth rates in the U.S. have surged over 250% over the last 2 decades. Although these fast-moving infernos, or “fast fires” – those spreading more than 1,620 hectares in a day – account for only 2.7% of wildfire events from 2001 to 2020, researchers report that they are responsible for 89% of the total structures damaged ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

By studying new species of tardigrade, researchers glean insights into radiation tolerance

Tardigrades, eight-legged microorganisms colloquially known as “water bears,” are the most radiation-tolerant animals on Earth. Now, by studying a newly identified species of tardigrade, researchers have gleaned valuable insights into the animal’s ability to withstand radiation. These findings hold implications for safeguarding human health in extreme environments, such as spaceflight. Roughly 1,500 species of tardigrades have been described. These creatures can endure gamma radiation ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Wildfires are becoming faster and more dangerous in the Western U.S.

Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90 percent of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001-2020, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. “Fast fires,” which thrust embers into the air ahead of rapidly advancing flames, can ignite homes before emergency responders are able to intervene. The work, published today in Science, shows these fires are getting faster in the Western U.S., increasing the risk for millions of people. The research highlights a critical gap in hazard preparedness across the U.S. — National-level ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Assessing the real climate costs of manufacturing

Producing materials such as steel, plastics and cement in the United States alone inflicts $79 billion a year in climate-related damage around the world, according to a new study by engineers and economists at the University of California, Davis. Accounting for these costs in market prices could encourage progress toward climate-friendly alternatives. “We wanted to look at the cost to society to produce these materials,” said Elisabeth Van Roijen, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Research team undertakes review of carbon anodes for lithium-ion batteries

A team of researchers has undertaken a study of the future of carbon anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Their review provides a comprehensive overview of the progression in carbon anode development and the current status of their industrialization. This study underscores the critical role of interphase regulation engineering in advancing lithium-ion battery technology. Their research is published in the journal Carbon Future on September 24, 2024. Today, graphite is the most commonly used material for anodes in lithium-ion batteries. Graphite can operate at a low voltage, is readily available, and cost effective. While graphite materials ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Crustacean with panda-like coloring confirmed to be a new species

Decades after it was first found in Japan, a species of crustacean with unique black-and-white coloring that resembles a panda has been confirmed to be new to science. Melitid amphipods are shrimp-like crustaceans found worldwide. The newly classified Melita panda — named after the charismatic mammal — was first found in the 1990s. Details of the discovery and morphological analysis were published in a ZooKeys article on 21 September. The discovery of the Melita panda highlights the importance of studying species taxonomy, which is the naming and classification of organisms, for conservation efforts. It is impossible to know if a species is in ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

Feeding practices play a central role in infants’ rapid weight gain, UNC Greensboro researchers find

A UNC Greensboro (UNCG) study following 299 women and their infants from pregnancy to toddlerhood examined mul ple psychological, biological, and social factors in the context of infants’ rapid weight gain. They found infant feeding practices associated with obesity, known as obesogenic practices, are strongly correlated with rapid infant weight gain. Examples of obesogenic practices described in their recent Pediatric Obesity paper include watching television while feeding a baby, formula feeding, and supplementing a bottle with additional foods. “The key take ...

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Environment24 Oct 2024

$79 billion - the hidden climate costs of U.S. materials production

A study published today in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research Letters, has revealed a staggering $79 billion in annual climate-related costs from the production of common materials in the United States. These costs, which stem from greenhouse gas emissions, are not reflected in current market prices, effectively creating a massive subsidy for carbon-intensive industries. “High price point is a common reason why low emission alternative materials are not adopted voluntarily by industries. Accounting for the externalized cost of emissions could provide an economic basis for driving innovation and implementation of alternative material production ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

UK budget 'blindness' risks handing green economy future to China, report argues

A new report by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) argues the UK government should invest in green infrastructure now or watch productivity lag behind China, the United States and other countries already running away with the benefits. Is reaching net zero a growth and prosperity plan? by former Head of Economic Forecasting at the UK Treasury, Dimitri Zenghelis, says the government’s self-imposed rules on infrastructure investment must be modernised to spur the innovation needed for UK prosperity. The ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

Marri trees a lifeline for many native bee species in biodiversity hotspot

New Curtin-led research has revealed Marri trees are critical to the survival of more than 80 species of native bee in Western Australia’s South West region, which is one of the world’s most biologically rich but threatened biodiversity hotspots. Lead author Dr Kit Prendergast, Adjunct Research Fellow from the Curtin School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the study identified the Marri (Corymbia calophylla), which is native to the South West and was named a ‘near threatened’ species in 2019, as a crucial supplier of food for native bees and supporter of the region’s ecosystem. “The findings that these trees support at ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

Fossils unveil how southern Europe’s ecosystem changed through Glacial-Interglacial Stages

Fossils from more than 600,000 years ago reveal how Southern Europe’s animal community shifted between warm and cold climate fluctuations, according to a study published October 23, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Beniamino Mecozzi from the Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy and colleagues. The Notarchirico site has long been valued as a source of information on the Early-Middle Pleistocene, with fossils stretching from around 695 thousand to 614 thousand years ago. The authors of the present study examined mammalian fossils at the site and how they might ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

Under climate change scenarios, 30-44% more land in Ethiopia might become suitable for growing arabica coffee by 2080, although some cultivated areas might also become unsuitable, per modelling study

Under climate change scenarios, 30-44% more land in Ethiopia might become suitable for growing arabica coffee by 2080, although some cultivated areas might also become unsuitable, per modelling study ### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0310945 Article Title: Analysis of current and future bioclimatic suitability for C. arabica production in Ethiopia Author Countries: Ethiopia Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

Biodiversity increases nutrient availability

Animals not only need sufficient calories to function, but also essential nutrients — including omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Insects and arachnids are an important source of these essential fatty acids for birds, hedgehogs, lizards and the like. However, the content depends on the specific types of insects and spiders consumed. Aquatic insects, such as caddisflies or dragonflies, contain significantly more omega-3 long-chain (LC) PUFA than terrestrial insects because omega-3- LC-PUFA rich algae form the base of the food chain in aquatic ecosystems. The ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

A 'worrying confluence' of flood risk, social vulnerability and climate change denial

In certain parts of the United States, especially Appalachia, New England and the Northwest, the ability of residents to prepare for and respond to flooding is being undercut on three different levels. This is according to a new study from the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability. "It's a very worrying confluence that does keep me up," said Joshua Newell, a professor with the school's Center for Sustainable Systems and senior author of the study. "The communities that are most at risk of catastrophic flooding ...

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Environment23 Oct 2024

Climate change no “storm in a teacup” for the tea industry: Joint initiative between the UK and China to provide climate services to help

Tea is a significant global commodity, with an industry worth tens of billions of dollars and growing. However, its production—both in terms of quantity and quality—is highly sensitive to climate variations, particularly in the context of long-term human-induced global warming and its associated shorter-term impacts such as extreme weather events. To tackle this challenge, a collaborative initiative between UK and Chinese scientists and tea industry stakeholders has been launched. This project, known as “Tea-CUP” ...

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Environment22 Oct 2024

Abundant urban green space linked to lower rates of heat related illness and death

Abundant green space in urban areas is linked to lower rates of heat related illness and death as well as better mental health and wellbeing, finds a systematic review of the available research, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Green space may help offset the adverse health effects of high temperatures, conclude the researchers. In recognition of the detrimental heat related effects of increasing urbanisation and climate change, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goal targets stipulates the ...

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Environment22 Oct 2024

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet, apparently due to changing sea ice conditions in a warming Arctic. While surveying the health of two polar bear populations, researchers found lacerations, hair loss, ice buildup and skin ulcerations primarily affecting the feet of adult bears as well as other parts of the body. Two bears had ice blocks up to 1 foot (30 centimeters) in diameter stuck to their foot pads, which caused deep, bleeding cuts and made it difficult for them to walk. The study led by the University of Washington was published Oct. 22 in the journal Ecology. It’s ...

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