Environment

Dalian, China — Natural gas can be used as fuel for generating electricity, heating and powering transportation. It is also the raw material to manufacture hydrogen and ammonia. Currently, biogenic and thermogenic processes are the two widely accepted methods for natural gas production. Whereas, high content of CO2 in gas products is inevitable during these […]

Helsinki, Finland — The research by the Future Sustainable Food Systems research group at the University of Helsinki together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland  shows that fungus-produced ovalbumin could have the potential to mitigate part of the environmental burden associated with chicken egg white powder. This is especially true when using low carbon […]

Göttingen, Germany — Cacao farms not only provide us with the pleasure of chocolate, but also offer potential advantages for biodiversity-friendly agriculture. The benefits to biodiversity have been widely studied in tropical rainforests, but were so far unknown in tropical dry forests. An international team of researchers led by the University of Göttingen has now […]

Stanford, CA — Vast amounts of energy flow around the ocean as waves, tides and currents, eventually impacting coasts, including coral reefs that provide food, income and coastal protection to more than 500 million people. This water movement is foundational to reef success, bringing nutrients and food and removing waste, yet far less research has […]

Sejong-si, Korea — A Korean research team has developed a technology that can produce carbon monoxide (CO), which has various applications in industry, by direct conversion of flue gas level low-concentration carbon dioxide (CO2). The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Seok-jin Yoon) announced that the research team of Dr. Da Hye Won […]

Philadelphia, PA — If sperm can’t swim, life can’t go on. And a new study suggests that when evolution hit upon an effective strategy for making sperm move, it stuck with it.  A molecular pathway governing sperm motility is shared between corals, sea urchins, and even humans, according to research by a team from Penn’s […]

Edgewater, MD — Coastal plants and animals have found a new way to survive in the open ocean—by colonizing plastic pollution. A new commentary published Dec. 2 in Nature Communications reports coastal species growing on trash hundreds of miles out to sea in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, more commonly known as the “Great Pacific […]

New York, NY — Extracting metals from oxides at high temperatures is essential not only for producing metals such as steel but also for recycling. Because current extraction processes are very carbon-intensive, emitting large quantities of greenhouse gases, researchers have been exploring new approaches to developing “greener” processes. This work has been especially challenging to […]

Berkeley, CA — If the petrochemical industry is ever to wean itself off oil and gas, it has to find sustainably-sourced chemicals that slip effortlessly into existing processes for making products such as fuels, lubricants and plastics. Making those chemicals biologically is the obvious option, but microbial products are different from fossil fuel hydrocarbons in […]

Plymouth, UK — Retrofitting an existing masonry cavity walled building with a green or living wall can reduce the amount of heat lost through its structure by more than 30%, according to new research. The study, conducted at the University of Plymouth, centred around the Sustainability Hub – a pre-1970s building on the university campus […]

New York, NY — A new, widespread study of the global state of marine coral reef wilderness by WCS, NGS, and university collaborators found that remote ocean wilderness areas are sustaining fish populations much better than some of the world’s best marine reserves. Findings show that remote reefs protect three times as many stocks as […]

La Jolla, CA — Scientists have carefully studied the intricacies of how individual organisms live and act together in groups known as biological collectives. In “superorganisms” such as bee colonies, the interactions of the individual members add up to benefit the entire colony. Details have been elusive on how colonies make decisions in the face […]