Top Stories

Glaciers in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert Actually Shrank During the Last Ice Age

The simple story says that during the last ice age, temperatures were colder and ice sheets expanded around the planet. That may hold true for most of Europe and North America, but new research from the University of Washington tells a different story in the high-altitude, desert climates of Mongolia.

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Environmental Exposures Such as Air Pollution are More Determinant of Respiratory Health Than Inherited Genetics

Researchers have found strong evidence that environmental exposures, including air pollution, affect gene expressions associated with respiratory diseases much more than genetic ancestry.

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CO2 Sensor Network Shows Effects of Metro Growth

A team led by atmospheric scientists Logan Mitchell and John Lin report that suburban sprawl increases CO2 emissions more than similar population growth in a developed urban core.

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Sustainable Ocean Development

Researchers model tradeoffs and opportunities for aquaculture development in the Southern California Bight

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Waterfalls Offer Insights Into How Rivers Shape Their Surrounds

How much water flows through a river has little influence over long-term changes to its course and the surrounding landscape, a study of waterfalls shows.

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Research Brief: Shifting Tundra Vegetation Spells Change for Arctic Animals

For nearly two decades, scientists have noted dramatic changes in arctic tundra habitat. Ankle-high grasses and sedges have given way to a sea of woody shrubs growing to waist- or neck-deep heights. This shrubification of the tundra challenges animals like caribou that are adapted to low-stature arctic vegetation.

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University of Guelph Researchers Reveal New Way to Potentially Fight Ebola

More than 11,000 people died during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013-16, demonstrating both the deadly nature of the virus and the limitations of the medication used to fight it.

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New Test Extends Window for Accurate Detection of Zika

Diagnosis of Zika infection is complex. Molecular tests for exposure are only reliable in the first two to three weeks after infection while the virus is circulating in the bloodstream. Antibody tests are confounded by cross-reactivity of antibodies to Zika with dengue, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis viruses following infection or vaccination. A new blood test called ZIKV-NS2B-concat ELISA is faster, less expensive, and extends the window of accurate detection from weeks to months after the onset of infection, giving clinicians a powerful new tool to screen for Zika throughout pregnancy.

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As summers get warmer, more rain may not be better than less

Warm, wet summers are historically unusual and could bring unexpected disruptions to ecosystems and society, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

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Test Spots Malaria in Two Minutes, Without Blood

Magnetism and light have been combined in a test that can diagnose malaria in under two minutes without the need to take blood.

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