Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new study shows that these trees lose this tolerance once they're watered.
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A new tool helps map out where to develop clean energy infrastructure
An update to the Energy Zones Mapping Tool, the Geospatial Energy Mapper is an online tool with an extensive catalog of mapping data for energy planning. It can help identify areas that are suitable for clean energy infrastructure projects.
New study puts gut microbiome at the center of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis
New research says the gut microbiome is involved in multiple pathways in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. The findings show a wide imbalance in microbiome composition in persons with Parkinson's disease. The investigators employed metagenomics, the study of genetic material recovered directly from the stool microbiome of persons with PD...
Rice breeding breakthrough to feed billions
An international team has succeeded in propagating a commercial hybrid rice strain as a clone through seeds with 95 percent efficiency. This could lower the cost of hybrid rice seed, making high-yielding, disease resistant rice strains available to low-income farmers worldwide.
Climate Change Could Cause “Disaster” in the World’s Oceans, Say UC Irvine Scientists
Climate-driven heating of seawater is causing a slowdown of deep circulation patterns in the Atlantic and Southern oceans, according to University of California, Irvine Earth system scientists, and if this process continues, the ocean’s ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be severely limited, further exacerbating global warming.
Riddle Solved: Why Was Roman Concrete So Durable?
An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia.
Coral Species That Withstand Ocean Warming Identified
A team of marine scientists studying reefs in the Pacific island of Palau have identified genetic subgroups of a common coral species that exhibit tolerance to the extreme heat associated with marine heatwaves.
Rodent extinctions in Hispaniola may have been caused by humans
Hispaniola once had among the highest diversity of rodents in the Caribbean. Today, only one rodent species remains, and its prospects for survival are uncertain. New carbon dates place the blame squarely on humans.
Cat locomotion could unlock better human spinal cord injury treatment
Cats always land on their feet, but what makes them so agile? Their unique sense of balance has more in common with humans than it may appear. Researchers are studying cat locomotion to better understand how the spinal cord works to help humans with partial spinal cord damage walk and...
Researchers Propose A More Effective Method to Predict Floods
More of us are vulnerable to the effects of flooding than ever before due to changes in climate, land use, infrastructure and population growth in recent decades.