It is possible to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the surrounding atmosphere and repurpose it into useful chemicals usually made from fossil fuels, according to a new study.
The world will probably warm beyond the 1. 5-degree limit, but peak warming can be curbed
The world's current climate pledges are insufficient to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. We will overshoot. In new research, scientists chart several potential courses in which the overshoot period is shortened, in some cases by decades.
Research reveals how a common bacterium may spread from the intestine
A typical gut bacterium that can spread through the body and cause a serious infection resists natural immune defenses and antibiotics by enhancing its protective outer layer, known as the cell envelope, according to a new study. The finding suggests possible new ways to target these bacterial infections.
The gut microbiome’s supersized role in shaping molecules in our blood
Scientists have shown which blood metabolites are associated with the gut microbiome, genetics, or the interplay between both. Their findings have promising implications for guiding targeted therapies designed to alter the composition of the blood metabolome to improve human health.
Earth-sun distance dramatically alters seasons in the equatorial Pacific in a 22,000-year cycle
Earth is closer to the sun at some times of year than at others, with the time of closest approach shifting over a period of 22,000 years. This affects Earth's climate, including ice ages, but a team of scientists found that it also affects a yearly weather pattern, the Pacific...
Low levels of air pollution deadlier than previously thought
The World Health Organization's most recent estimates (2016) are that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution (often referred to as PM2.5,). A recent study now suggests that the annual global death toll from outdoor PM2.5 may be significantly...
Molecular fingerprint behind beautiful pearls revealed
Researchers produce the first robust genome of pearl oysters, which they hope can be used to find strains that are resilient to increasingly common diseases or that produce more beautiful pearls.
New pterosaur species found in sub-Saharan Africa
With wings spanning nearly 16 feet, a new species of pterosaurs has been identified from the Atlantic coast of Angola.
Pandemic led to 7.5 percent decrease in 2020 U.S. energy consumption
Total energy consumption decreased 7.5 percent nationwide in 2020 compared with 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns, business closures and employees working from home, according to a new study. The research is the first to quantify the effects of pandemic disruptions on energy consumption trends across all 50...
Mysterious outbreak of bone-eating tuberculosis resembled an ancestral form
The force driving a strange outbreak of tuberculosis that exited the lungs and began chewing away at bones 15 years ago in North Carolina has been solved at the molecular level by a collaborative team of scientists. The mysterious bug reverted to an ancestral form that made its macrophage hosts...