It started in the summer of 2013. Sea stars were dying in huge numbers in Washington State’s Olympic National Park: They became covered in white lesions.
Blog
In Hunt for Rare Earths, Companies Are Scouring Mining Waste
Over many decades, coal mining in West Virginia has exposed sulfur-bearing rocks to oxygen, creating a widespread problem that continues to plague the region: the draining of highly acidic water into streams and creeks, which are then rendered lifeless.
Domestication Has Changed the Chemicals Squash Flowers Use to Attract Bees
Flowers emit scented chemicals to attract pollinators, but this perfume — and how pollinators interact with the plant — can go through profound changes as a crop becomes domesticated.
Safeguarding the Winter Olympics-Paralympics Against Climate Change
Study reveals changes International Olympic and Paralympic Committees could implement to keep Games viable and safer for athletes.
Magnetic Avalanches Power Solar Flares, Finds Solar Orbiter
Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become more violent.
New Technology Enters the Race to Decarbonise Commercial Buildings
University of Birmingham researchers have designed a novel energy storage system that could pave the way for decarbonisation of commercial buildings by charging from surplus renewable power that would otherwise be wasted, and delivering heat or cooling when required.
World-Leading Rare Earth Magnet Recycling Facility Launches in West Midlands
The University of Birmingham today (15 Jan) launched a new West Midlands-based facility for separating and recycling rare earth magnets that will help to reduce the UK’s reliance on imports of rare earth metals, alloys, and magnets.
How Social Animals Can Spread Diseases
Whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are highly social, but those social ties can also help diseases spread through populations of rare or threatened species.
This new building material pulls carbon out of the air
A new building material developed by engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute could change how the world builds. Made using an enzyme that turns carbon dioxide into solid minerals, the material cures in hours and locks away carbon instead of releasing it. It’s strong, repairable, recyclable, and far cleaner than concrete....
The world’s mountains are warming faster than anyone expected
Mountain regions around the world are heating up faster than the lands below them, triggering dramatic shifts in snow, rain, and water supply that could affect over a billion people. A major global review finds that rising temperatures are turning snowfall into rain, shrinking glaciers, and making mountain weather more...