Feature Channels: Nature

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The latest articles that have been added to the Environmental Health channel.

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Alien floras in regions that were once occupied by the same European power are, on average, more similar to each other compared to outside regions and this similarity increases with the length of time a region was occupied. This is the conclusion of a study by an international team of researchers led by Bernd Lenzner and Franz Essl from the University of Vienna, which was recently published in the scientific journal "Nature Ecology and Evolution".

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A newly released State of the Birds report for the United States reveals a tale of two trends – one hopeful, one dire. Long-term trends of waterfowl show strong increases where investments in wetland conservation have improved conditions for birds and people. But data show birds in the U.S. are declining overall in every other habitat – forests, grasslands, deserts, and oceans.

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Two endemic species of the same flowering plant -- O nakaiana and O hexandra -- have distinctly different origins. Their study is based on molecular analysis of chloroplast samples of this genus taken from surrounding areas. The study demonstrates the complexity of floral speciation and distribution.

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The loss of coral reefs is a serious threat to the health of marine ecosystems around the world.

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Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have engineered duckweed to produce high yields of oil. The team added genes to one of nature's fastest growing aquatic plants to "push" the synthesis of fatty acids, "pull" those fatty acids into oils, and "protect" the oil from degradation.

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Researchers assess the dire consequences of climate change under a business-as-usual scenario.

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Gray whales that migrate along the West Coast of North America continued to decline in number over the last 2 years, according to a new NOAA Fisheries assessment. The population is now down 38 percent from its peak in 2015 and 2016, as researchers probe the underlying reasons.

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The latest dinosaur discoveries in the Dinosaurs channel on Newswise.

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Landslides threaten many lives. A new study suggests we could predict landslides better with electrical measurements of soil.

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Climate change and habitat destruction may have already caused the loss of more than one-tenth of the world’s terrestrial genetic diversity, according to new research led by Carnegie’s Moises Exposito-Alonso and published in Science.

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The woodpecker forebrain contains specialized pecking-related regions that resemble those associated with song and language systems.

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When it comes to showing affection towards people, many dogs are naturals. Now comes word reported in the journal Ecology and Evolution on September 20th that the remarkable ability to show attachment behaviour toward human caregivers also exists in wolves.

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Nitrogen may not get the same level of attention as its neighbors on the periodic table, carbon and oxygen. But like its neighbors, it’s an element we can’t live without.

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A rooftop space transformed into an outdoor garden at the Syracuse VA Medical Center by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has been impacting the lives of veterans for 10 years.

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Arizona State University and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory's College of Global Futures proudly announce the launch of its fourth school, the School of Ocean Futures, which advances learning, discovery and partnerships that shape a thriving global future. The school brings together ASU research and teaching facilities on the Tempe campus, in Bermuda and in Hawaii.

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Data suggests a previously unobserved relationship between body temperature and REM sleep, with REM sleep appearing to act like a "thermostatically controlled brain heater.”

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It's not possible to grow cacao without insects - that's logical. After all, they ensure that the flowers are pollinated and that the valuable cacao fruits, a sought-after material for the food industry, develop. Studies in Indonesia had shown in the past that birds and bats also contribute to increasing crop yields. However, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows now how large this contribution is.

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A three-year study in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana found that – even at small scales – emergent wetlands or ponds support many wetland bird species.

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The Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities will unveil new findings from the first ever global survey of mayors. The new data sheds light on urban trends and political priorities from executive leaders and covers a range of topics including climate change, economic development, access to core urban infrastructure and services, affordable housing, public health, municipal budgets, and more.

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Researchers have created a new metric that uses temperature instead of precipitation deficits to predict and identify droughts, especially flash droughts.

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As more frequent and intense heat waves expose animals to temperatures outside of their normal limits, an international team led by researchers at the University of Bristol studied over 100 species of insect to better understand how these changes will likely affect them.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: September 12, 2022 | 4:13 pm | SHARE: A study by a Florida State University researcher finds that temperatures in forest canopies are higher than previous estimates, threatening forests’ vital role in mitigating global warming. Stephanie Pau, an associate professor in the Department of Geography, was part of a team whose study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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A new Stanford University-led study(link is external) in Costa Rica reveals that restoring relatively narrow strips of riverfront forests could substantially improve regional water quality and carbon storage.

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Ecosystem restoration can assist in COVID-19 recovery if it is closely integrated with socioeconomic, health and environmental policies, scientists say in a new article in The Lancet Planetary Health.

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Tree-planting has been widely seen as an effective way of binding carbon as carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere.

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Leaf samples help identify plant health and nutritional needs.

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Every day, about one quadrillion gallons of water are silently pumped from the ground to the treetops.

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Scientists studying mice from the Andes Mountains in Patagonia noticed something they couldn’t explain: the mice from the western side of the mountains were bigger than the ones from the east, but DNA said that they were all from the same species.

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and their collaborators at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a new method to isolate and study in great detail some of the rarest and most toxic elements on Earth.

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The study, carried out by King’s College London, Nomad Projects and J & L Gibbons in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, shows that spending time by canals and rivers is linked to feeling happy and healthy.

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The latest research on plants brought to you by Newswise.

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The first full genome in the tomatillo tribe adds to the rich story of the tomato family.

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A recent study published in People and Nature focuses on how land use approaches impact human wellbeing.

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Researchers from Binghamton University are working to preserve the world's oldest forest, located in researchers from Binghamton UniversityCairo, N.Y.

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From tree-branch tepees to bush tucker gardens, mud kitchens and even functional fire pits, primary schools are sprouting all sorts of nature play environments in an effort to better connect primary students with the outdoors.

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According to the latest National Recreation and Park Association Park Pulse Survey, political candidates who make park and recreation funding a key priority are more likely to receive support from the public in an election.

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Phthalocyanines dyes can be produced with solid-state synthesis instead of high- boiling organic solvents.

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Researchers at Stockholm University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have developed a novel value chain for production of textile and bio-fuel from fast-growing poplars.

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A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing most deep ocean creatures.

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The impact of environmental conditions on the dynamic structures of RNAs in living cells has been revealed by innovative technology developed by researchers at the John Innes Centre.

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The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters long and weighed over 61 tons. It was estimated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second, require over 98,000 kilo calories every day and have stomach volume of almost 10,000 liters.

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In the face of climate change, breadfruit soon might come to a dinner plate near you. While researchers predict that climate change will have an adverse effect on most staple crops, including rice, corn and soybeans, a new Northwestern University study finds that breadfruit — a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific islands — will be relatively unaffected.

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Lungs are essential to many vertebrates including humans. However, four living amphibian clades have independently eliminated pulmonary respiration and lack lungs, breathing primarily through their wet skin. Little is known of the developmental basis of lung loss in these clades.