Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a spray-on polymer coating that could help plants resist harmful bacterial infections and survive drought.
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How Climate Policies that Incentivize and Penalize Can Drive the Clean Energy Transition
A new study from a team of researchers that includes faculty from the University of California San Diego and Princeton University shows how a mix of subsidies for clean energy and taxes on pollution can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Why evolution rewarded ants that sacrificed protection
Some ants thrive by choosing numbers over strength. Instead of heavily protecting each worker, they invest fewer resources in individual armor and produce far more ants. Larger colonies then compensate with collective behaviors like group defense and coordinated foraging. The strategy has been linked to evolutionary success and greater species...
A traditional Brazilian plant shows unexpected strength against arthritis
A Brazilian study has confirmed that Joseph’s Coat, a plant used for generations in folk medicine, can significantly reduce inflammation and arthritis symptoms in lab tests. Researchers observed less swelling, healthier joints, and signs of tissue protection. Just as important, the extract showed a promising safety profile at tested doses....
Global warming could trigger the next ice age
Scientists have uncovered a missing feedback in Earth’s carbon cycle that could cause global warming to overshoot into an ice age. As the planet warms, nutrient-rich runoff fuels plankton blooms that bury huge amounts of carbon in the ocean. In low-oxygen conditions, this process can spiral out of control, cooling...
Hidden seismic signals hint at a tsunami threat in Alaska
Researchers studying a massive landslide in Alaska have detected strange seasonal seismic pulses caused by water freezing and thawing in rock cracks. These faint signals could become an important early clue to changes that might someday trigger a dangerous landslide-driven tsunami.
Ancient sewers expose a hidden health crisis in Roman Britain
Sediments from a Roman latrine at Vindolanda show soldiers were infected with multiple intestinal parasites, including roundworm, whipworm, and Giardia — the first time Giardia has been identified in Roman Britain. These parasites spread through contaminated food and water, causing diarrhea, weakness, and long-term illness. Even with sewers and communal...
Scientists found climate change hidden in old military air samples
Old military air samples turned out to be a treasure trove of biological DNA, allowing scientists to track moss spores over 35 years. The results show mosses now release spores up to a month earlier than in the 1990s. Even more surprising, the timing depends more on last year’s climate...
This “mushroom” is not a fungus, it’s a bizarre plant that breaks all the rules
Balanophora is a plant that abandoned photosynthesis long ago and now lives entirely as a parasite on tree roots, hidden in dark forest undergrowth. Scientists surveying rare populations across East Asian islands uncovered how its cellular machinery shrank but didn’t disappear, revealing unexpected similarities to parasites like malaria. Some island...
Microencapsulated B-Vitamins Help Dairy Cows Produce More Milk with Fewer Emissions
A new international study led by McGill University in collaboration with Jefo Nutrition shows that supplementing dairy cow diets with microencapsulated B-vitamins can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing milk yield and quality.