Environment
press releases.

Environment6 Feb 2026

Turning orange waste into powerful water-cleaning material

Researchers have developed an environmentally friendly way to transform discarded orange peels into a highly efficient material that can remove toxic dyes from wastewater, offering a sustainable solution to two growing global challenges: agricultural waste management and water pollution. Industrial dye pollution is a major environmental problem worldwide. Each year, more than 700,000 tons of synthetic dyes are produced, and a significant portion enters waterways due to incomplete treatment. Even at low concentrations, dyes can discolor water, block sunlight essential for aquatic life, and produce harmful compounds that pose risks to human and ecosystem ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

Methane jump wasn’t just emissions — the atmosphere (temporarily) stopped breaking it down

A temporary weakening of the atmosphere’s chemical capacity to break down methane, combined with elevated emissions from tropical wetlands, drove the sharp increase in atmospheric methane observed in 2020 to 2021, according to a new study. Methane (CH4) is a significant contributor to atmospheric warming. In the early 2020s, the amount of atmospheric CH4 grew faster than ever before observed, peaking at 16.2 parts per billion per year (ppb yr-1), before declining to 8.6 ppb yr-1 in 2023. It’s hypothesized that this surge was driven by a combination of increased natural emissions and a coincident decrease in the atmosphere’s oxidizing capacity, namely, fewer OH ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

Increasing pesticide toxicity threatens UN goal of global biodiversity protection by 2030

At the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, in 2022, nations committed to reducing the risks associated with pesticide use in agriculture by 50% by 2030. A new study by a research team from RPTUKaiserslautern-Landau, published in the journal Science, reveals that this global target is now under serious threat. Using a novel analytical method, the researchers assessed trends in pesticide toxicity worldwide and found that current trajectories fall far short of the 2030 goal. The study concludes that immediate, coordinated ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

H5N1 causes die-off of Antarctic skuas, a seabird

More than 50 skuas in Antarctica died from the high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 in the summers of 2023 and 2024, marking the first documented die-off of wildlife from the virus on the continent. That is confirmed for the first time in a study led by Erasmus MC in The Netherlands and the University of California, Davis. It published this week in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. A relative of gulls, skuas are predatory, large brown birds living mostly in polar and subpolar environments. Similar ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

YouTubers love wildlife, but commenters aren't calling for conservation action

YouTube is a great place to find all sorts of wildlife content. It is not, however, a good place to find viewers encouraging each other to preserve that wildlife, according to new research led by the University of Michigan. Out of nearly 25,000 comments posted to more than 1,750 wildlife YouTube videos, just 2% featured a call to action that would help conservation efforts, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Sustainability. "Our results basically show that people like to watch videos of zoos and safaris and ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

Sustainable electrosynthesis of ethylamine at an industrial scale

From dyes to pharmaceuticals to emulsifiers - ethylamine (EA) is a versatile component used in many industries. The downside of EA is that its production is terribly complicated and energy intensive. However, it is not a simple task to simplify EA production in a way that can also be scaled up to industrial levels. Researchers at Tohoku University's WPI-AIMR may have found an answer to this problem. Rare earth Eu atoms were modified on Cu2O nanoneedles to produce a catalyst (Eu-Cu2O) that can increase the efficiency of ...

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Environment5 Feb 2026

Tropical peatlands are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions

In Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, vast areas spanning up to 300,000 square kilometers have emerged over thousands of years as plants grow and thrive in dense tropical peat swamp forests, then die and slowly decompose in waterlogged, low-oxygen conditions. As a result, large amounts of carbon get stored in the soil rather than released into the atmosphere. Heavy rainfall keeps these landscapes flooded for much of the year, allowing layers of dead vegetation to build up and gradually compress into dense, carbon-rich peat. New research from Hokkaido University suggests that the ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

Two-stage hydrothermal process turns wastewater sludge into cleaner biofuel

Scientists have developed an improved method to convert municipal wastewater sludge into higher quality renewable fuel while significantly reducing harmful nitrogen compounds, offering a promising pathway for cleaner energy and sustainable waste management. Municipal sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment that is produced in massive quantities worldwide. Managing this material remains a growing environmental challenge. Traditional treatment methods often involve high costs, pollution risks, and limited resource recovery. ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

Scientists develop algae-derived biochar nanoreactor to tackle persistent PFAS pollution

Researchers have developed a new algae-based biochar material that shows remarkable ability to break down perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most persistent and hazardous members of the PFAS chemical family. The new material combines advanced nanotechnology with sustainable biomass resources and may provide a promising strategy for removing difficult contaminants from water. The study, published in Biochar, introduces a unique photocatalytic nanoreactor constructed from biochar derived from Ulva, a common marine algae. The material forms a cage-like structure ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

Large increases in PM2.5 exposure from wildfires have exaggerated progress in reducing inequities in traditional sources of PM2.5 in California

Large increases in PM2.5 exposure from wildfires have exaggerated progress in reducing inequities in traditional sources of PM2.5 in California, especially across racial groups and in years with severe wildfires like 2018. Article URL: https://plos.io/45zJHSm Article Title: The diverging role of increasing wildfire smoke to ambient PM2.5 exposure disparity in California, 2006 to 2018 Author Countries: France, United States Funding: This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (RF1AG071024 to JAC; RF1AG071024 to TB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

Ancient rocks reveal evidence of the first continents and crust recycling processes on Earth

MADISON — Parts of the ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought. New research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has uncovered chemical signatures in zircons, the planet’s oldest minerals, that are consistent with subduction and extensive continental crust during the Hadean Eon, more than 4 billion years ago. The findings challenge models that have long considered Earth's earliest times as dominated by a rigid, unmoving ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

CFC replacements behind hundreds of thousands of tonnes of global ‘forever chemical’ pollution

Chemicals brought in to help protect our ozone layer have had the unintended consequences of spreading vast quantities of a potentially toxic ‘forever chemical’ around the globe, a new study shows. Atmospheric scientists, led by researchers at Lancaster University, have for the first time calculated that CFC replacement chemicals and anaesthetics are behind around a third of a million tonnes (335,500 tonnes) of a persistent forever chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) being deposited from the atmosphere across the Earth’s surface between the years 2000 and 2022. And the rate ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

KRICT demonstrates 100kg per day sustainable aviation fuel production from landfill gas

The aviation industry accounts for a significant share of global carbon emissions. In response, the international community is expanding mandatory use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which is produced from organic waste or biomass and is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil-based jet fuel. However, high production costs remain a major challenge, leading some airlines in Europe and Japan to pass SAF-related costs on to consumers. Against this backdrop, a research team led by Dr. Yun-Jo Lee at the ...

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Environment4 Feb 2026

Reproduction in space, an environment hostile to human biology

As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now ‘urgently practical,’ according to a new study. ‘More than 50 years ago,’ explains clinical embryologist Giles Palmer from the International IVF Initiative Inc, ‘two scientific breakthroughs reshaped what was thought biologically and physically possible - the first Moon landing and the first proof of human fertilisation in vitro. Now, more than half a century later, we argue in this report that these once-separate revolutions ...

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Environment3 Feb 2026

Urban light pollution alters nighttime hormones in sharks, study shows

First-ever measurements of melatonin in wild sharks show that artificial light from coastal cities can disrupt nighttime hormone levels, with resident species more affected than highly mobile sharks. MIAMI — Artificial light from major coastal cities can disrupt the nighttime biology of sharks, according to new research that provides the first-ever measurements of melatonin—a hormone tied to biological rhythms—in wild sharks. The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, found that sharks living in brightly lit coastal waters near large urban areas had altered melatonin levels at night compared to ...

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Environment3 Feb 2026

Porto Summit drives critical cooperation on submarine cable resilience

Porto, Portugal, 3 February 2026 – Governments, industry representatives and international organizations representing over 70 countries at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 reaffirmed today the need to strengthen support for the subsea cables at the heart of global digital communications. A declaration issued at the summit’s closing in Porto, Portugal, together with a set of recommendations developed by the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience, offered guidance to bolster international cooperation across the public and private sectors to boost the resilience of this vital shared infrastructure, ...

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Environment3 Feb 2026

Accurately predicting Arctic sea ice in real time

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2026 — Arctic sea ice has large effects on the global climate. By cooling the planet, Arctic ice impacts ocean circulation, atmospheric patterns, and extreme weather conditions, even outside the Arctic region. However, climate change has led to its rapid decline, and being able to make real-time predictions of sea ice extent (SIE) — the area of water with a minimum concentration of sea ice — has become crucial for monitoring sea ice health. In Chaos, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the United States and the ...

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Environment3 Feb 2026

A new thermoelectric material to convert waste heat to electricity

Thermoelectric conversion devices offer a promising route for sustainable heat-to-energy conversion. They are particularly attractive for recovering energy from waste heat, such as that produced by conventional fossil fuel-based engines, improving their overall energy efficiency. Around 20–50% of the input energy is lost as waste heat in industries. This could be used as source by thermoelectric conversion devices. These devices also have the potential to enable portable power generation, for example, to run small sensors in remote locations. Currently, most thermoelectric devices rely on the longitudinal thermoelectric effect in which electricity ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Highly selective asymmetric 1,6-addition of aliphatic Grignard reagents to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds

Scientists at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have successfully realized the highly selective asymmetric 1,6-addition of aliphatic Grignard reagents to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. This new methodology employs an iron catalyst in combination with a chiral N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, which suppresses undesired side reactions and drives highly regio-, stereo-, and enantioselective alkyl migration. The achievement represents a major advance in organic synthesis, offering new opportunities for drug discovery, materials chemistry, and the fine-chemical sector. In organic chemistry, ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Air pollution causes social instability in ant colonies

Markus Knaden's Odor-guided Behavior research group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has been studying the effects of ozone on chemical communication in insects for some time. The research team was able to show that increased ozone levels alter the mating signal in fruit flies because ozone breaks down the carbon-carbon double bonds in the insects' sex pheromones. After male flies were exposed to ozone, they were no longer able to distinguish females from other males (see press release Air ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Some tropical land may experience stronger-than-expected warming under climate change

Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth’s past. Using lake sediments from the Colombian Andes, researchers revealed that when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean. The study was published February 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The tropics are ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

How light pollution disrupts orientation in moths

Moths are under threat from increasing light pollution: streetlights and other artificial light sources in cities and populated areas disrupt the orientation of these nocturnal insects, which reduces their chances of mating. Scientists have been studying the effects of streetlights on moths for years but remain largely in the dark about the underlying mechanisms. The Lightstar project aims to provide new insights. “We want to create a more detailed database on how light pollution affects the ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Chicago Botanic Garden, The Morton Arboretum pledge to safeguard threatened species for Reverse the Red Day

GLENCOE AND LISLE, ILL. (Feb. 2, 2026)— The Chicago Botanic Garden and The Morton Arboretum are pledging to safeguard threatened tree and plant species across continents as part of Reverse the Red Day, held annually worldwide on Feb. 7 to celebrate conservation success. Reverse the Red is a global coalition of partners working to halt extinctions and reverse declines shown on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and to recover species. Botanical gardens and arboreta play a critical role in collaborative and cross-sector plant conservation efforts locally and globally. At a time when government ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Wetlands do not need to be flooded to provide the greatest climate benefit

Wetlands make up only about six percent of the land area but contain about 30 percent of the terrestrial organic carbon pool. Therefore, CO2 emissions from wetlands are central to the global climate balance. In Denmark, the plan is to flood 140,000 hectares of low-lying land such as bogs and meadows as part of the Green Tripartite Agreement. Flooding such areas will slow down the decomposition of organic material in the soil and keep the CO2 in the soil rather than allowing it to be released to the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. At least, that has been the rationale until now. However, a new study from the University of Copenhagen, published in Nature ...

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Environment2 Feb 2026

Unexpected feedback in the climate system

A sediment core from the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean has provided a research team led by geochemist Dr Torben Struve from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, with evidence of an unexpected climate feedback in Antarctica. As the team reports in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience, there was a close correlation between changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and marine algae growth over previous glacial cycles – but the correlation was not as expected. Based on the results, the team concludes ...

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