Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have identified two main challenges for renewable biofuel production from cheap sources. Firstly, lowering the cost of developing microbial cell factories, and secondly, establishing more efficient methods for hydrolysis of biomass to sugars for fermentation. Their study was recently published in the journal Nature Energy.

Global agriculture is facing unprecedented challenges. It’s estimated that the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050 with an ever expanding middle class.

Nearly one-third of the world’s farms have adopted more environmentally friendly practices while continuing to be productive, according to a global assessment by 17 scientists in five countries.

Promising to solve an environmental problem may initially worsen it, according to researchers.

Widespread tree felling in African savannas is producing at least three times as many carbon emissions as was previously thought, research suggests.

A whistle blows and young men in brightly coloured jerseys race towards a soccer ball on a grassy field in Erat, a community that lies within the boundaries of Korup National Park in southwest Cameroon.

A new, comprehensive survey led by USC scientists shows the Southern California coast harbors some of the world’s highest concentrations of an algal toxin dangerous to wildlife and people who eat local seafood.

Researchers have found that seawater can replace freshwater to produce the sustainable fuel Bioethanol, reducing the need to drain precious resources.

For thousands of years, people in the Middle East and South America have extracted water from the air to help sustain their populations. Drawing inspiration from those examples, researchers are now developing a lightweight, battery-powered freshwater harvester that could someday take as much as 10 gallons per hour from the air, even in arid locations. They say their nanofiber-based method could help address modern water shortages due to climate change, industrial pollution, droughts and groundwater depletion.

Fishing bans don’t have to hurt fishing communities, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers.