Climate Change

Gloucester Point, VA — New research shows that biodiversity is important not just at the traditional scale of short-term plot experiments–in which ecologists monitor the health of a single meadow, forest grove, or pond after manipulating its species counts–but when measured over decades and across regional landscapes as well. The findings can help guide conservation […]

Salt Lake City, UT — If you live with seasonal allergies and feel like the pollen seasons feel longer and longer every year, you may be right. New research shows that pollen seasons start 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer, and feature 21% more pollen than in 1990–meaning more days of itchy, sneezy, drippy […]

COLUMBUS, OH — Scientists have figured out a cheaper, more efficient way to conduct a chemical reaction at the heart of many biological processes, which may lead to better ways to create biofuels from plants. Scientists around the world have been trying for years to create biofuels and other bioproducts more cheaply; this study, published […]

Newark, DE — As the world grows increasingly globalized, one of the ways that countries have come to rely on one another is through a more intricate and interconnected food supply chain. Food produced in one country is often consumed in another country — with technological advances allowing food to be shipped between countries that […]

Zürich, Switzerland — The world is getting warmer and warmer – and many organisms native to lower latitudes or elevations are moving higher. However, novel organisms moving into a new habitat could disturb the ecological balance which has been established over a long period. Plants and herbivores are characterised by long-term co-evolution, shaping both their […]

Ultimo, Australia — Understanding the impacts of global warming on phytoplankton- the foundation of marine ecosystems -is critical to predicting changes in future biodiversity, ocean productivity, and ultimately fisheries production.  Based on one of the longest time series of phytoplankton in the Southern Hemisphere, Australian researchers have found a significant warming signature in the phytoplankton […]

Stanford, CA — To calculate the true value of a forest, we need to know how people benefit from it, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability. A healthy forest holds a treasure trove of benefits for people — it can filter water for downstream communities, supply timber for building, and provide a place for […]

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany — Peatlands with their huge diversity of peat moss species store about 30 percent of the earth’s soil carbon. This means they store roughly twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. However, peat harvesting and climate change are threatening these long-term carbon stores because there is not enough […]

Cambridge, MD — Excessive nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, have devastating effects on coastal marine ecosystems by causing algal blooms that deplete oxygen in the water, killing marine life. Such nutrients can enter the sea in wastewater or run-off from agricultural land. However, a new review in open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science highlights that problems caused […]

Princeton, NJ — Epidemiologists highlighted the dangers of Covid-19 in its early stages, but their warnings went largely ignored until rising infection rates forced policymakers to take action. Likewise, climate and environmental scientists have warned, for decades, that human activity is triggering global heating and another mass extinction could occur if countries do not enact […]

Newark, DE — One of the earth’s biggest allies in the fight against global warming is the world’s oceans. Since the industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has caused carbon dioxide, the dominant greenhouse gas, to be released into the atmosphere. Approximately 25% of that carbon dioxide is taken each year from the atmosphere […]

La Jolla, CA — Plant biologists have long sought a deeper understanding of foundational processes involving kinases, enzymes that catalyze key biological activities in proteins. Analyzing the processes underlying kinases in plants takes on greater urgency in today’s environment increasingly altered by climate warming. Certain “SnRK2” kinases (sucrose-non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase-2s) are essential since they are […]