Study refutes findings behind challenge to Sierra Nevada forest restoration

A study led by ecologists at UC Berkeley has found significant flaws in the research used to challenge the U.S. Forest Service plan to restore Sierra Nevada forests to less dense, and less fire-prone, environments.

All the Trees Will Die, and Then So Will You

The Polyphagous shot hole borer, a brown-black beetle from southeast Asia, never gets bigger than a tenth of an inch. It breeds inside trees; pregnant females drill into trunks to create networks of tunnels where they lay their eggs. The beetles also carry a fungus called Fusarium; it infects the tunnels, and when the eggs hatch, the borer larvae eat the fungus.

Global warming kills gut bacteria in lizards

Climate change could threaten reptiles by reducing the number of bacteria living in their guts, new research suggests.

Scientists from the University of Exeter and the University of Toulouse found that warming of 2-3°C caused a 34% loss of microorganism diversity in the guts of common lizards (also known as viviparous lizards).

U.S. had 2nd wettest, 11th warmest April on record

“April showers bring May flowers,” or so the saying goes.   

Perhaps a more appropriate description this year might be, “Heavy April showers bring record flooding.”

Faculty of Science researchers collaborate with Canada's energy regulator on data visualization project

Every Canadian has a stake in helping to shape the country’s energy systems. But how do we make sense of the ever-increasing and complex information about issues such as pipeline safety, environmental impacts and economic benefits?

Tillage farming damaging earthworm populations, say scientists

The digging, stirring and overturning of soil by conventional ploughing in tillage farming is severely damaging earthworm populations around the world, say scientists.

Scottish badgers highlight the complexity of species responses to environmental change

In a new study researchers have found that although warmer weather should benefit badger populations, the predicted human population increase in the Scottish highlands is likely to disturb badgers and counteract that effect. These results emphasise the importance of interactive effects and context-dependent responses when planning conservation management under human-induced rapid environmental change.

Poor overall environmental quality linked to elevated cancer rates

Nationwide, counties with the poorest quality across five domains – air, water, land, the built environment and sociodemographic – had the highest incidence of cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer.

Space Weather Model Simulates Solar Storms From Nowhere

Our ever-changing sun continuously shoots solar material into space. The grandest such events are massive clouds that erupt from the sun, called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. These solar storms often come first with some kind of warning — the bright flash of a flare, a burst of heat or a flurry of solar energetic particles. But another kind of storm has puzzled scientists for its lack of typical warning signs: They seem to come from nowhere, and scientists call them stealth CMEs.

NASA Spots Powerful Tropical Cyclone Donna Between Vanuatu and New Caledonia

Tropical Cyclone Donna continues to move through the South Pacific Ocean as a major hurricane. NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the storm and captured an image of a clear eye as the storm was located between the island nations of Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The GPM satellite found that the powerful hurricane was generating very high amounts of rainfall.