news 2024

Microbes hidden within tree bark can absorb methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere. Tree bark surfaces play an important role in removing methane gas from the atmosphere, according to a study published in Nature. While trees have long been known to benefit climate by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this new research reveals a surprising additional climate benefit.

Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests are considered 'worth' conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the point of no return.

Water scarcity drove steam power adoption during Industrial Revolution, new research suggests A groundbreaking new reconstruction of 19th-century Britain's water resources has revealed how limited access to waterpower during the Industrial Revolution helped drive the adoption of steam engines in Greater Manchester's Cottonopolis.

The Last Common Universal Ancestor (LUCA), from which life evolved into bacteria, plants and animals, was older and more complex than previously thought. An international team of researchers, including Dr James Clark from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, has shed light on Earth's earliest ecosystem, showing that within a few hundred million years of planetary formation, life on Earth was already flourishing.

The capacity of Mozambican woodlands to capture and store carbon is underestimated and potentially undervalued for their protection and restoration, finds new research from an international team of scientists including UCL researchers. The research, led by carbon data provider Sylvera and published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment , found that miombo woodlands, which span large areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, store 1.5 to 2.2 times more carbon than had previously been estimated by standard methods.

Research into a rare planet is revealing the link between hot Jupiter-sized exoplanets and cold solar system giants like Saturn. Astronomers searching for exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) have investigated a Saturn-sized body around a Sun-like star, 490 lightyears from Earth. The research, led by The University of Warwick in collaboration with other global institutions, focused on a transiting exoplanet called TOI-2447 b, which is much cooler and further away from its host star than most known exoplanets.

New evidence of changes to the Gulf Stream during the last ice age could indicate additional sensitivity to future climatic changes, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Nature, found that during the last ice age about 20,000 years ago, the Gulf Stream was stronger than today because of more powerful winds across the subtropical North Atlantic.

Painting roofs white or covering them with a reflective coating would be more effective at cooling cities like London than vegetation-covered "green roofs," street-level vegetation or solar panels, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Conversely, extensive use of air conditioning would warm the outside environment by as much as 1 degree C in London's dense city centre, the researchers found.

Some fish species in the Arabian Gulf's coral reefs are more resilient to climate change than previously thought, an international team of scientists has found. The study, published in Nature Communications , challenges current scientific models which argue that by 2050, coral reef fish could shrink by 14-39 percent in size due to increasing temperatures under climate change.

A new legal requirement for developers to demonstrate a biodiversity boost in planning applications could make a more meaningful impact on nature recovery if improvements are made to the way nature's value is calculated, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. We hope our study will contribute to improving the way nature's value is calculated, to make the most of this valuable opportunity for nature recovery.

New research into the public perception of climate change initiatives finds that whilst there is strong support for low-carbon lifestyles, inaction is limiting public beliefs that a low-carbon future is possible. The new study by the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations found that political and media debate that justifies inadequate mitigation efforts for climate change - termed 'discourses of delay' - is drastically impacting public perception in the UK.

A study of 17 commonly used synthetic -forever chemicalshas shown that these toxic substances can readily be absorbed through human skin. New research, published in Environment International, proves for the first time that a wide range of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) - chemicals which do not break down in nature - can permeate the skin barrier and reach the body's bloodstream.

The carbon stored globally by plants is shorter-lived and more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, according to a new study. The findings have implications for our understanding of the role of nature in mitigating climate change, including the potential for nature-based carbon removal projects such as mass tree-planting.

New research by Cardiff University's Otter Project has found that PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals', present in English otters, raising concerns about potential health impacts in the future. The Cardiff scientists tested otters from across the UK to monitor levels of PFAS in the environment, to gain an understanding of the concentration of these chemicals in the UK's freshwaters, their persistence in the environment and any ecological and health risks.

Video footage of Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption is providing researchers from the University of Cambridge with rare, up-close observations of volcanic ash clouds - information that could help better forecast how far explosive eruptions disperse their hazardous ash particles. When Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, it ejected roughly 250 million tonnes of volcanic ash into the atmosphere: much of which was blown over Europe and into flight paths.

A new study by the Milner Centre for Evolution suggests that mating systems of birds have a stronger effect on evolution rates than previously thought. New research led by the University of Bath's Milner Centre for Evolution shows that shorebird species where females breed with multiple males in each season evolve significantly faster than monogamous species.

The carbon emissions of French manufacturers fell by an estimated 15% during the first eight years of the EU Emissions Trading System policy. This is the key finding of a new study by experts at Imperial College Business School, in collaboration with the University of Virginia and University of Mannheim.

A new way of helping a critically endangered species of eel swim upstream during their migration has been tested by Cardiff researchers. The cheap and easy to retrofit method helps the fish overcome human-made obstacles such as culverts, weirs and flumes routinely used in UK waterways to enable river crossings via bridges and to regulate river flow.

PhD candidate Ben Williams (UCL Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research and ZSL's Institute of Zoology) writes with a colleague about why they built SurfPerch, an AI led system to make it faster and easier for marine scientists to answer ecological questions. Coral reefs cover only 0.1% of the ocean's surface - yet they host 25% of all known marine species.

Researchers have developed a low-cost, energy-efficient method for making materials that can capture carbon dioxide directly from the air. The first and most urgent thing we've got to do is reduce carbon emissions worldwide, but greenhouse gas removal is also thought to be necessary to achieve net zero emissions and limit the worst effects of climate change.