Nature"s checkup: Surveying biodiversity with environmental DNA sequencing
A thousand kilometers south of Tokyo, far into the largest ocean on Earth, lies a chain of small, volcanic islands—the Ogasawara Islands. Nature has been able to develop on its own terms here, far from both humans and the warm Kuroshio current, whi.....»»
Scientist on personal mission to improve global water safety makes groundbreaking discovery
A study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters and led by the University of Bristol sheds new light on how arsenic can be made less dangerous to humans has the potential to dramatically improve water and food safety, especially in th.....»»
A global imbalance in reference genomes: Research highlights need for sequencing resources in biodiversity-rich areas
Montana State University and Universidad de los Andes researchers have detected a significant imbalance in the distribution of tetrapod reference genomes. They find a disproportionate concentration of studies in high-latitude regions compared to wher.....»»
Plastics: lifesaver turned environmental threat
Before it threatened biodiversity, the oceans and the global food chain, plastics saved lives and transformed societies as a durable, malleable and cheap material......»»
From fish to clean water, the ocean matters—how to quantify the benefits
Nature protection, conservation and restoration is "not a trivial matter but key to human survival," according to scientists quoted in a 2005 UN report. To demonstrate this, they developed the concept of "ecosystem services"—the benefits that peopl.....»»
Are we missing the mark on biodiversity? 90% of countries ignore key behavior changes
There is a yawning gap between national policies to enhance biodiversity and the individual and small group behavioral changes that are critical to making a real difference, according to new research from the University of Surrey......»»
Public and community engagement key to enhancing urban living conditions, environmental decision making in China
Public and community engagement in decision making is key to enhancing urban living conditions and the environment in China, a new study says......»»
GDP is an outdated way of measuring the health of the economy. It doesn"t reflect the health of people or the planet
Economics and economic policy need a rethink. This is clear from the scale of inequality, joblessness, insecurity and environmental disasters we see in the world......»»
CRISPR-Cas10 can flood virally infected bacteria with toxic molecules, researchers discover
CRISPR-Cas9 has long been likened to a kind of genetic scissors, thanks to its ability to snip out any desired section of DNA with elegant precision......»»
How social interactions evolve in schools: Study reveals people tend to gravitate towards groups of similar sizes
A recent study published in Nature Communications uncovers how human social interactions evolve in group settings, providing a perspective on the dynamic nature of social networks. By analyzing how university students and preschool children form and.....»»
COVID lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humans
The COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks brought into stark relief the harms that can come to humans if we interfere too much with nature, placing ourselves in contact with animals carrying unknown pathogens......»»
UN biodiversity summit making "very good progress": officials
Crunch UN talks on ways to "halt and reverse" species loss by 2030 have made "very good progress," officials said Friday, as the summit in Colombia marked its halfway point......»»
Study: DNA corroborates “Well-man” tale from Norse saga
The "Well-man" likely had blue eyes, blond or light-brown hair, and hailed from southern Norway. A 12th-century Norse saga tells of an invading army from the south razing a castl.....»»
A natural climate change laboratory in Japan reveals the adaptation dynamics of fishers
A new study published in the journal People and Nature reveals the complex relationship between the impacts of climate change and the adaptive responses of coastal fishers in one of the areas most affected by these environmental changes: the southern.....»»
Achieving "nature positive" requires net gain legislation, say researchers
A team of Australian researchers is calling for urgent reforms to the nation's environmental laws to meet its ambitious nature-positive commitments......»»
Want genuine progress toward restoring nature? Follow these four steps
"Nature-positive" is seemingly everywhere. Two weeks ago, Australia hosted the first Global Nature Positive Summit. This week, nations are meeting in Colombia for a global biodiversity summit to discuss progress on nature-positive commitments......»»
From fireflies to drones: Researchers uncover strategy for synchronization efficiency
Researchers from The University of New Mexico School of Engineering looked to the natural world to explain how synchronized systems can work more efficiently and made a significant discovery. Their results were published in the journal Nature Communi.....»»
Study finds UK adults aren"t connected to nature
New research indicates that UK adults experience less of a connection with nature than adults from most other countries, ranking 59th out of 65 national groups surveyed......»»
Stoneflies have changed color as a result of human actions, new study shows
New Zealand's native stoneflies have changed color in response to human-driven environmental changes, new research shows. Just published in the journal Science, the University of Otago study provides arguably the world's most clear-cut case of animal.....»»
With four more years like 2023, carbon emissions will blow past 1.5° limit
With each passing year, it gets harder to reach net zero quickly enough. On Thursday, the United Nations' Environmental Programme (UNEP) released a report on what it terms the "em.....»»
Picky protection rules hamper Swiss mushrooming craze
After suffocating COVID-19 restrictions, many embraced the call of the wild and the joys of foraging, but tightening Swiss biodiversity protection measures are infuriating growing hordes of mushroom-picking enthusiasts......»»