Environment
27 Jan 2026
96% accurate footprint tracker for tiny mammals could help reveal ecosystem health
New footprint identification technology can identify ecosystem-critical species which were once only distinguishable by DNA.
158 news posts in Environment
Environment
21 Jan 2026
DNA tests reveal mysterious beluga family trees
Groundbreaking DNA analysis of Alaskan beluga whales shows both males and females have many different mates.
Environment
22 Aug 2025
Wildfires can raise local death rate by 67%, shows study on 2023 Hawaiʻi fires
Scientists studying the devastating Lāhainā, Maui fires of August 2023 found that deaths were two-thirds higher than expected that month — and 367% higher during the most intense week of the blaze.
Environment
24 Jun 2025
Wildlife forensic scientists develop new tool to detect elephant ivory disguised as legal mammoth ivory
Stable isotope analysis can tell apart ivory from mammoths dug up from the permafrost and modern elephants, closing a loophole for selling elephant ivory
Environment
17 Jun 2025
Yes, in my back yard: people who live near large-scale solar projects are happy to have more built nearby
Scientists studying the impact of solar power on local neighborhoods find that most people living close to large-scale solar plants wouldn’t mind if a new plant was built nearby.
Environment
09 Jun 2025
Protected Antarctic oceanic life threatened by ships anchoring, first underwater videos show
First video footage shows impacts of anchor and chain damage caused by cruise, research, fishing, and private vessels on Antarctic sea floor and animals, highlighting critically understudied conservation issue.
Environment
05 Jun 2025
Survival of the greenest: why world’s oldest organizations are surpassing young upstarts in environmental sustainability
In a new article published in Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, Daria Haner, Dr Yilei Wang, Dr Deniz Ones, Dr Stephan Dilchert, Dr Yagizhan Yazar, and Karn Kaura unveil surprising new findings: the world’s most sustainable businesses are the world’s most long-lived businesses, too. In this guest editorial, they explain their results, discuss the potential underlying reasons for their findings, and underline the importance of sustainability to the future of business.
Environment
27 May 2025
Global warming could be driving up women’s cancer risk
A study on Middle Eastern countries links higher temperatures to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers.
Environment
20 May 2025
Baby on board: humpback whales give birth while migrating and carry on travelling
Humpback whale population’s recovery could reveal we were wrong about where humpback whales give birth — tropical waters aren’t the only nursery.
Environment
19 May 2025
‘Every single species is a unique product of evolution, like a work of art’: how Dr Kit Prendergast champions bees and biodiversity
Macrophotography and bee hotels introduced Dr Kit Prendergast to the world of native bees. Inspired, she began her PhD on protecting native bee biodiversity in urbanised habitats, and investigating the role of the introduced European honey bee on indigenous bee biodiversity and pollination networks. Since completing her PhD, she has worked in diverse roles as an ecological consultant, working to conduct native bee research for not-for-profits, environmental consultancies, Landcare groups, and local and state government, as well as with research institutions. She was awarded a Federal Government Grant to lead a project using bee hotels to help with the recovery of native cavity-nesting bees after the 2019/2020 bushfires. She is also a prolific science communicator, and has won a number of awards for her articles and scientific outreach.
Environment
08 Apr 2025
Trees could be spying on illegal gold mining operations in the Amazon rainforest
By examining mercury concentrations in tree rings, researchers showed that trees could be witnesses to illegal gold mining activities in the Amazon, highlighting their potential as biomonitors
Environment
20 Feb 2025
‘Fog harvesting’ could yield water for drinking and agriculture in the world’s driest regions
A field study spanning a year showed that water collected from fog could ease water scarcity affecting vulnerable populations living in Chile’s Atacama Desert
Environment
18 Feb 2025
Restoring African grassland habitats makes life more peaceful for humans and wildlife, scientists find
Conservation researchers working on grassland restoration in Kenya found that larger areas of restored habitat reduced both social conflicts and human-wildlife conflicts.
Environment
22 Jan 2025
Curious blue rings in trees and shrubs reveal cold summers of the past — potentially caused by volcanic eruptions
Blue growth rings found in woody plant stems represent years when cells did not lignify properly because of summers too cold for growth.
Environment
06 Dec 2024
3D scans of giant hailstones reveal surprising discoveries that could help predict future storms
Scientists used CT scans to learn more about the anatomy of hailstones, information which could advance hail formation forecasting