Ancient Mesopotamian marshes threatened by Iraqi sewage, pollutants
In southern Iraq, putrid water gushes out of waste pipes into marshes reputed to be home to the biblical Garden of Eden, threatening an already fragile world heritage site......»»
Q&A: Looting of the Sudan National Museum—more is at stake than priceless ancient treasures
Reports continue to emerge of the alleged looting of tens of thousands of artifacts from the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum......»»
Researchers sequence the genome of the spur-thighed tortoise
Like many threatened land turtle species, the spur-thighed tortoise had no complete genome. Now for the first time, researchers from the Ecology departments at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the University of Alicante (UA) have succe.....»»
With the right plants, wetlands can recover, says researcher
Wetlands, such as bogs and marshes, have largely disappeared in the Netherlands. With humidification and the growth of the right plants, wetlands can be restored. This is evident from research by Renske Vroom, who will receive her doctorate on this s.....»»
References to ancient Britain linked to hostility online
Political posts on social media that most frequently referenced ancient history tended to be more extreme, hostile and overwhelmingly negative in tone than average, finds a new study by researchers from UCL and the University of Edinburgh......»»
Opinion: Planning smart and sustainable cities should not result in exclusive garden utopias for the rich
One of the big ideas of the 21st century, "smart cities" promised a new world of connected, data-driven and sustainable urbanism. Pervasive digital infrastructures would monitor flows from sewage to traffic to criminal activities, providing informati.....»»
How did volcanism trigger climate change before the eruptions started?
New dating of a major ancient warming shows warming started before major eruptions. Enlarge / Loads of lava: Kasbohm with a few solidified lava flows of the Columbia River Basalts. (credit: Joshua Murray) As our climate.....»»
A mural honoring scientists hung in Pfizer"s NYC lobby for 60 years. Now it"s up for grabs
A mural honoring ancient and modern figures in medicine that has hung in the lobby of Pfizer's original New York City headquarters for more than 60 years could soon end up in pieces if conservationists can't find a new home for it in the next few wee.....»»
Protecting just 0.7% of world"s land could help save a third of unique and endangered species
Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) species, new research by Imperial College London, On the Edge, and ZSL has sh.....»»
Editorial: Rest assured, Ancient teens were full of existential angst too
If you're a young person (or a parent of one), you may be thinking some big thoughts about your future. Am I going to go to university? Maybe I'll look at a trade? I might want to travel? Or maybe I don't? Do I have to decide now? I don't know what I.....»»
Just how dangerous is Great Salt Lake dust? New research looks for clues
As Utah's Great Salt Lake shrinks, exposing more of its playa, concerns grow about the dust the dry lakebed emits. But scientists lack the data to fully understand what pollutants are present in these airborne sediments......»»
Tidal wetlands study offers improved predictions of methane gas emissions
An international study led by UAB researcher Ariane Arias-Ortiz, and published in Global Change Biology, has analyzed methane gas fluxes in more than 100 tidal wetlands and marshes in the U.S......»»
Researchers prove 120-million-year-old volcanism on moon
Extensive geologic evidence of ancient volcanic activity can be found on the moon, but how long this volcanism persisted has been unclear. However, Prof. Li Qiuli's Lab at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IG.....»»
Conservative governments protect more land while socialists and nationalists label more species as "threatened"
The dire state of biodiversity across the globe suggests that not all governments are willing to act decisively to protect nature. Why is that the case, and is a country's political ideology a factor?.....»»
What is societal collapse? Lessons from the past can help us understand our future, but only to a point
As the climate crisis accelerates, it's hard not to wonder if today's societies can adapt. Growing worries over climate change have sparked interest in the collapse of ancient civilizations and the rise of the (often apocalypse-themed) "cli-fi" genre.....»»
Worm study shows risks posed by antidepressants in water
Common drugs such as antidepressants enter the environment via sewage. In her PhD research, Toxicologist Merel van der Most has shown that this affects the behavior of nematodes. These drugs may also be harmful to many other aquatic creatures. Van de.....»»
"It"s time to give up on normal": What winter"s weird weather in Australia means for the warm months ahead
Heavy winds struck south-east Australia over the weekend as a series of cold fronts moved across the continent. It followed a high fire danger in Sydney and other parts of New South Wales last week, and a fire in south-west Sydney that threatened hom.....»»
Five lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates
Modern buildings tend to take electricity and air conditioning for granted. They often have glass facades and windows that can't be opened. And when the power goes out for days in the middle of a heat wave, as the Houston area experienced in July 202.....»»
Ancient viral genomes preserved in glaciers reveal climate history—and how viruses adapt to climate change
As humans alter the planet's climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth's history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature's freezers, archiving detailed recor.....»»
New species of Antarctic dragonfish highlights its threatened ecosystem
A new species of Antarctic dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or Banded Dragonfish, has been discovered in waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). The species, named in ho.....»»
Research highlights drought risk and awareness gaps in global society
Natural disasters have threatened human beings and the ecosystem. Among the various natural disasters, drought is one of the most insidious and costliest, adversely affecting the global economy and livelihoods. Unlike sudden disasters such as earthqu.....»»