Environmental Science News
August 5, 2025
Top Headlines
Aug. 4, 2025 — An intriguing new study reveals that over 80% of parasites found in the ancient poo of New Zealand’s endangered kākāpō have vanished, even though the bird itself is still hanging on. Researchers discovered this dramatic parasite decline by ...
Aug. 2, 2025 — Between 2003 and 2021, Earth saw a net boost in photosynthesis, mainly thanks to land plants thriving in warming, wetter conditions—especially in temperate and high-latitude regions. Meanwhile, ocean algae struggled in increasingly stratified and ...
July 29, 2025 — Researchers are exploring AI-powered digital twins as a game-changing tool to accelerate the clean energy transition. These digital models simulate and optimize real-world energy systems like wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass. But while ...
July 28, 2025 — Deep in Serbia's Jadar Valley, scientists discovered a mineral with an uncanny resemblance to Superman's Kryptonite both in composition and name. Dubbed jadarite, this dull white crystal lacks the ...
July 27, 2025 — For over two decades, satellites have quietly documented a major crisis unfolding beneath our feet: Earth's continents are drying out at unprecedented rates. Fueled by climate change, groundwater ...
July 27, 2025 — Air pollution isn't just bad for your lungs—it may be eroding your brain. In a sweeping review covering nearly 30 million people, researchers found that common pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen ...
July 26, 2025 — In 2023, the world’s oceans experienced the most intense and widespread marine heatwaves ever recorded, with some events persisting for over 500 days and covering nearly the entire globe. These ...
July 23, 2025 — Scientists in Svalbard were shocked to find rain and greenery instead of snow during Arctic winter fieldwork. The event highlights not just warming—but a full seasonal shift with major consequences for ecosystems, climate feedback, and research ...
July 21, 2025 — Beneath Yellowstone’s stunning surface lies a hyperactive seismic world, now better understood thanks to machine learning. Researchers have uncovered over 86,000 earthquakes—10 times more than previously known—revealing chaotic swarms moving ...
July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges ...
July 19, 2025 — Clear-cutting forests doesn’t just raise flood risk — it can supercharge it. UBC researchers found that in certain watersheds, floods became up to 18 times more frequent and over twice as severe after clear-cutting, with these effects lasting ...
July 17, 2025 — Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their ...
Latest Headlines
updated 1:14pm EDT
Aug. 3, 2025 — Plastic pollution is a mounting global issue, but scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have taken a bold step forward by creating a new ...
July 26, 2025 — What would happen if a nuclear war triggered a climate-altering catastrophe? Researchers have modeled how such a scenario could devastate global corn ...
July 16, 2025 — Hawaiian coral reefs may face unprecedented ocean acidification within 30 years, driven by carbon emissions. A new study by University of Hawai‘i researchers shows that even under conservative ...
July 16, 2025 — An ancient glacier high in the French Alps has revealed the oldest known ice in Western Europe—dating back over 12,000 years to the last Ice Age. ...
July 16, 2025 — Twenty-five years after first warning that oil spills would wane while invasive species and climate impacts would surge, an international team revisits its coastal forecasts and finds many ...
July 10, 2025 — Climate change is silently sapping the nutrients from our food. A pioneering study finds that rising CO2 and higher temperatures are not only reshaping how crops grow but are also degrading their ...
July 10, 2025 — A laser-equipped research platform has, for the first time, photographed airflow just millimeters above ocean waves, revealing two simultaneous wind–wave energy-transfer tricks—slow short waves ...
July 10, 2025 — People can intuitively sense how biodiverse a forest is just by looking at photos or listening to sounds, and their gut feelings surprisingly line up with what scientists ...
July 8, 2025 — As glaciers melt around the world, long-dormant volcanoes may be waking up beneath the ice. New research reveals that massive ice sheets have suppressed eruptions for thousands of years, building up ...
July 8, 2025 — High heat and heavy metals dampen a bumblebee’s trademark buzz, threatening pollen release and colony chatter. Tiny sensors captured up-to-400-hertz tremors that falter under environmental stress, ...
Earlier Headlines
July 7, 2025 — Feral honey bees, once celebrated for their agricultural value, are now threatening native ecosystems in Southern California by monopolizing pollen sources and overwhelming native pollinators. A new ...
July 6, 2025 — Immersing stressed volunteers in a 360° virtual Douglas-fir forest complete with sights, sounds and scents boosted their mood, sharpened short-term memory and deepened their feeling of ...
July 4, 2025 — Forests aren’t keeping up with today’s climate chaos. While temperatures soar within decades, tree populations take 100 to 200 years to shift in response. A sweeping new analysis of ancient ...
July 3, 2025 — When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, Earth’s biggest carbon sponge vanished, CO₂ ...
July 3, 2025 — Tropical trees are dying faster than ever, and it's not just heat or drought to blame. Scientists have uncovered a surprising culprit: ordinary thunderstorms. These quick, fierce storms, powered ...
July 3, 2025 — Breathing polluted air—even at levels considered “safe”—may quietly damage your heart. A new study using advanced MRI scans found that people exposed to more air pollution showed early signs ...
June 28, 2025 — Parts of New Orleans are sinking at alarming rates — including some of the very floodwalls built to protect it. A new satellite-based study finds that some areas are losing nearly two inches of ...
June 30, 2025 — Smoke from wildfires and structural fires doesn t just irritate lungs it actually changes your immune system. Harvard scientists found that even healthy people exposed to smoke showed signs of immune ...
June 30, 2025 — Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burns—intentionally set, controlled fires—can significantly lessen their impact. By ...
June 27, 2025 — At Flinders University, scientists have cracked a cleaner and greener way to extract gold—not just from ore, but also from our mounting piles of e-waste. By using a compound normally found in pool ...
June 26, 2025 — South Australia’s tiny pygmy bluetongue skink is baking in a warming, drying homeland, so Flinders University scientists have tried a bold fix—move it. Three separate populations were shifted ...
June 24, 2025 — Wildfires don’t just leave behind scorched earth—they leave a toxic legacy in Western rivers that can linger for nearly a decade. A sweeping new study analyzed over 100,000 water samples from ...
June 24, 2025 — Over 300 million years ago, Earth experienced powerful bursts of carbon dioxide from natural sources—like massive volcanic eruptions—that triggered dramatic drops in ocean oxygen levels. These ...
June 20, 2025 — A century-old mystery of a stubborn cold patch in the North Atlantic is finally being unraveled. A new study links this anomaly to a long-term weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning ...
June 20, 2025 — Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a new photoredox catalysis system that uses visible light mimicking photosynthesis to drive energy-intensive chemical reactions at room ...
June 20, 2025 — Arctic peatlands are expanding with rising temperatures, storing more carbon at least for now. But future warming could reverse this benefit, releasing massive ...
June 19, 2025 — During Earth's ancient Snowball periods, when the entire planet was wrapped in ice, life may have endured in tiny meltwater ponds on the surface of equatorial glaciers. MIT researchers ...
June 27, 2025 — At current emission rates, we re just over three years away from blowing through the remaining carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5 C. This new international study paints a stark picture: the pace ...
June 19, 2025 — AI researchers in Switzerland have found a way to dramatically cut cement s carbon footprint by redesigning its recipe. Their system simulates thousands of ingredient combinations, pinpointing those ...
June 20, 2025 — Beneath the forest floor lies an overlooked secret: many plants grow a second set of roots far deeper than expected sometimes over three feet down tapping into hidden nutrient stores and potentially ...
Monday, July 7, 2025
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Friday, July 4, 2025
Thursday, July 3, 2025
- When Rainforests Died, the Planet Caught Fire: New Clues from Earth’s Greatest Extinction
- Rainforest Deaths Are Surging and Scientists Just Found the Shocking Cause
- Even Low Levels of Air Pollution May Quietly Scar Your Heart, MRI Study Finds
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Monday, June 30, 2025
- Fire Smoke Exposure Leaves Toxic Metals and Lasting Immune Changes
- Fighting Fire With Fire: How Prescribed Burns Reduce Wildfire Damage and Pollution
Friday, June 27, 2025
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
- Wildfires Threaten Water Quality for Up to Eight Years After They Burn
- Ancient Carbon ‘burps’ Caused Ocean Oxygen Crashes — and We’re Repeating the Mistake
Friday, June 20, 2025
- The Atlantic's Chilling Secret: A Century of Data Reveals Ocean Current Collapse
- Photon-Powered Alchemy: How Light Is Rewriting Fossil Fuel Chemistry
- Hidden Carbon Giants: Satellite Data Reveals a 40-Year Arctic Peatland Surge
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Friday, June 27, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Friday, June 20, 2025
Monday, June 23, 2025
Saturday, June 14, 2025
- Fruit-Eating Mastodons? Ancient Fossils Confirm a Long-Lost Ecological Alliance
- Space-Laser AI Maps Forest Carbon in Minutes—a Game-Changer for Climate Science
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Friday, June 20, 2025
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Friday, June 13, 2025
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
- Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats With Chronic Health Issues
- Collaboration Can Unlock Australia's Energy Transition Without Sacrificing Natural Capital
- Scientists Say Next Few Years Vital to Securing the Future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
- DNA Floating in the Air Tracks Wildlife, Viruses -- Even Drugs
Monday, June 2, 2025
- Researchers Develop Recyclable, Healable Electronics
- Geological Time Capsule Highlights Great Barrier Reef's Resilience
- Still on the Right Track? Researchers Enable Reliable Monitoring of the Paris Climate Goals
- Coastal Flooding More Frequent Than Previously Thought
- Researchers Use Deep Learning to Predict Flooding This Hurricane Season
- Human-Caused Dust Events Are Linked to Fallow Farmland
- Research Shows How Solar Arrays Can Aid Grasslands During Drought
- Air-Quality Monitoring Underestimates Toxic Emissions to Salton Sea Communities, Study Finds
Friday, May 30, 2025
- Scientists Find a New Way to Help Plants Fight Diseases
- Single-Atom Catalysts Change Spin State When Boosted by a Magnetic Field
- Rising Soil Nitrous Acid Emissions, Driven by Climate Change and Fertilization, Accelerate Global Ozone Pollution
- The EU Should Allow Gene Editing to Make Organic Farming More Sustainable, Researchers Say
- Predicting Underwater Landslides Before They Strike
Thursday, May 29, 2025
- Save Twice the Ice by Limiting Global Warming
- Anthropologists Spotlight Human Toll of Glacier Loss
- 2021's Hurricane Ida Could Have Been Even Worse for NYC
- Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
- An Iron Oxide 'oxygen Sponge' For Efficient Thermochemical Hydrogen Production
- 'Future-Proofing' Crops Will Require Urgent, Consistent Effort
- Atlantic Ocean Current Unlikely to Collapse With Climate Change
- Living Libraries Could Save Our Food
- EV Battery Recycling Key to Future Lithium Supplies
- Does Planting Trees Really Help Cool the Planet?
- Waste to Foundation: Transforming Construction Waste Into High-Performance Material
- Portable Sensor Enables Community Lead Detection in Tap Water
- When Climate Disasters Hit, They Often Leave Long-Term Health Care Access Shortages
- A Cheap and Easy Potential Solution for Lowering Carbon Emissions in Maritime Shipping
- Does Outdoor Air Pollution Affect Indoor Air Quality? It Could Depend on Buildings' HVAC
- Agriculture in Forests Can Provide Climate and Economic Dividends
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- Huge Sea-Urchin Populations Are Overwhelming Hawaii's Coral Reefs
- Synthetic Molecular Rings Re-Create Energy Flow Found in Plants
- New Velvet Worm Species a First for the Arid Karoo
- Coastal Alaska Wolves Exposed to High Mercury Concentrations from Eating Sea Otters
- When the Forest Is No Longer a Home -- Forest Bats Seek Refuge in Settlements
- Involving Communities in Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Challenges Leads to Greater Innovation, Study Shows
- Even Birds Can't Outfly Climate Change
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
- New Study Analyzes Air Quality Impacts of Wildfire Smoke
- Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage and Delivery System for Next-Generation Aircraft
- Just Add Iron: Researchers Develop a Clever Way to Remove Forever Chemicals from Water
- Rapid Simulations of Toxic Particles Could Aid Air Pollution Fight
- Cryo-Em Freezes the Funk: How Scientists Visualized a Pungent Protein
- Home Water-Use App Improves Water Conservation
- The Ocean Seems to Be Getting Darker
- Oldest Whale Bone Tools Discovered
Friday, May 23, 2025
- El Niño and La Niña Climate Swings Threaten Mangroves Worldwide
- When the Sea Moves Inland: A Global Climate Wake-Up Call from Bangladesh's Delta
- Managing Surrogate Species, Providing a Conservation Umbrella for More Species
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- New Study Reveals How Competition Between Algae Is Transforming the Gulf of Maine
- A New Approach Could Fractionate Crude Oil Using Much Less Energy
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- How Property Owners Can Work to Prevent Flooding
- Breakthrough AI Model Could Transform How We Prepare for Natural Disasters
- Climate Change May Make It Harder to Reduce Smog in Some Regions
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Personal Space Chemistry Suppressed by Perfume and Body Lotion Indoors
- Something's Fishy Here
- Enormous Boulder Washed Inland a Sign of Pacific Tsunami History
- Yeast Reveals How Species Adapt to a Warmer Climate
- Scientists Invent Breakthrough Device to Detect Airborne Signs of Disease
- Wind-Related Hurricane Losses for Homeowners in the Southeastern U.S. Could Be Nearly 76 Percent Higher by 2060
- Songbirds' Great Risk Results in Great Genetic Reward
- Fool's Gold: A Hidden Climate Stabilizer
- Extreme Weather Cycles Change Underwater Light at Lake Tahoe
- Southeast Asia Could Prevent Up to 36,000 Ozone-Related Early Deaths a Year by 2050 With Stricter Air Pollution Controls