Top Stories

‘Tiny Tornadoes’ Around Leaves Spread Deadly Plant Pathogens

When raindrops hit a leaf of a wheat plant infected with rust – a pathogenic spore that has decimated crops globally – the leaf flutters, creating tiny swirling vortices of air that disperse the spores, where they could end up infecting healthy plants.

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Unprecedented Ocean Heating Shows Risks of World 3°C Warmer

Record-high ocean temperatures observed in 2023 could become the norm if the world moved into a climate that is 3.0°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, according to a new study.

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How Sea Otters Are Protecting the California Coast Against Climate Change

California sea otters were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century, with only a small number surviving along the central coast.

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Climate Change Threatens Older Elephants Most, Jeopardizing African Elephants’ Future

A collaborative team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which runs the world’s largest field conservation program, has conducted first-of-its kind research into how global climate change affects African elephants.

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Climate Change: Fungal Disease Endangers Wheat Production

Climate change poses a threat to yields and food security worldwide, with plant diseases as one of the main risks.

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Increased Temperature Difference Between Day and Night Can Affect All Life on Earth

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have discovered a change in what scientists already knew about global warming dynamics.

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Pollutants From Aerosols and River Run-Off are Changing the Marine Phosphorus Cycle in Coastal Seas

New research into the marine phosphorus cycle is deepening our understanding of the impact of human activities on ecosystems in coastal seas.

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Timber Efficiencies Could Help Ease Nation's Housing Crisis

University of Queensland researchers have found improving timber production efficiencies by just 5% could unlock supply for an extra 8,000 homes to be built in Australia each year.

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Death Toll Shows Extreme Air Pollution Events a Growing Urban Threat

New Curtin University-led research has estimated that 1454 avoidable deaths (one person every five days) occurred in Australian capital cities in the past 20 years because of fine particle air pollution from extreme events such as bushfires and dust storms, wood-heater smoke or industrial accidents.

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Saharan Dust Blows Toward Europe

A large plume of dust from the Sahara Desert blew west over the Atlantic Ocean and then curled north toward Europe in late January 2024. 

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