Scientists have discovered a remarkable “Pac-Man enzyme” that helps bacteria devour certain types of plastic and may offer new hope in the fight against plastic pollution. Researchers found that several biodegradable plastics completely broke down in soil within about a year, while conventional plastic remained…
Future Arctic winter sea ice is likely to shrink by around 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) more than previously thought, after researchers used clues from a warm period 6,000 years ago to improve the reliability of climate models.
As Hurricane Simon unleashed destructive winds and flooding along Mexico’s coast, NASA satellites captured an extraordinary sight: massive atmospheric waves rippling high above the storm. The rare images reveal how powerful hurricanes can disturb the upper atmosphere, creating patterns that are usually invisible from…
In 2023, professor Damian Helbling was getting a lot of calls and emails from local residents. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had just announced regulations to limit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—some of which have been linked to cancers and other negative health effects—in drinking water…
Expanded excavations at White Sands National Park in New Mexico have provided researchers an opportunity to refine the age of the oldest human footprints in North America and establish a deeper understanding of the landscape and environmental conditions at the time humans were present there.
Humanity's ongoing disruption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations, temperatures, and global nutrient cycles is starving the oceans of oxygen. Although we can measure ongoing changes to ocean circulation and marine life, we still don't know how far the oxygen loss and the damage to ocean ecosystems could…
When a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding. From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation of marine food webs and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. But satellites have a…
Международная команда учёных создала первый глобальный геномный атлас микроскопических эукариот, обитающих в пресных водоёмах. Исследователи проанализировали 3400 наборов данных о ДНК из 362 озёр и водохранилищ на семи континентах и реконструировали около 20 тыс. митохондриальных геномов.
К такому выводу пришла американская природоохранная организация SkyTruth, использовавшая спутниковые снимки, машинное обучение и данные о перемещении судов. Наиболее высокие концентрации загрязнений обнаружены в Красном, Средиземном и Чёрном морях, Персидском заливе, у западного побережья Африки и в водах Индонезии.
Honda разрабатывает систему беспроводной передачи энергии, встроенную в дорожное покрытие. Если технологию удастся довести до практического применения, электромобили смогут заряжаться на ходу, реже останавливаться на зарядных станциях и, возможно, обходиться менее ёмкими батареями.