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Environment

The life that grows underfoot accounts for 80% of the biodiversity in a temperate forest. Image credit - www.pikist.com/licenced under CC0
environment | frontier research
01 October 2020

Forest darkness helps stave off effects of nitrogen pollution – but this is set to change

Europe’s forests are sitting on a pollution timebomb which could rewrite their ecology when it explodes, say researchers.

If different industries share resources, data, and materials - an approach known as industrial symbiosis - then the whole ecosystem could become more sustainable. Image credit - Frans Berkelaar/Wikimedia, licensed under CC by 2.0
industry | energy | environment
28 September 2020

How waste CO2 is helping to turn renewable energy into liquid fuel

Storing power generated by strong winds or bright sunshine by turning it into liquid fuel such as methanol can help to ensure green energy does not go to waste, without having to rely on batteries.

During the coronavirus pandemic, railways have been used more heavily to transport Europe's freight. Image credit - Liberaler Humanist/Wikimedia, licensed CC BY 4.0 International
transport | coronavirus outbreak | environment
14 September 2020

Pandemic freight emissions reached 2030 target in just months. How do we make the changes stick?

The pandemic left a visible imprint on car, bus and bicycle use – and at its height brought about cleaner city air – but it also disrupted another, less obvious but highly polluting sector: freight transport. Coronavirus plunged millions of planes, trucks, trains and ships into a massive experiment, disrupting supply chains as national borders closed and industries shut down. Researchers and industry are now looking to see if any of the changes will stick.

A form of tiger mosquito birth control and drones may help stem the spread of some tropical diseases. Image credit - James Gathany/CDC, public domain
health | environment | frontier research
08 September 2020

Sterilised insects could help control mosquito-borne diseases

Aggressive tiger mosquitoes capable of spreading debilitating tropical diseases such as dengue and Zika are spreading through Europe, but scientists hope it may be possible to control these biting pests with a form of insect birth control and drones. 

Having real-time information about the type of fish in their nets could help European fishers decide whether to keep a catch or move on to more bountiful waters. Image credit - www.maxpixel.net/licenced under CC0 1.0
environment
31 August 2020

Hydroacoustic 3D snapshots of fish habitats could help stem overfishing

Robotic eyes and ears under the water’s surface could help researchers figure out how much fish are in our oceans – and how much we can eat.

Better quantifying carbon emissions from mountain erosion could paint a different picture of the global carbon budget. Image credit - Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
environment | frontier research
24 August 2020

‘Earth breathing’: mountain erosion a missing piece in the climate puzzle

Mountains release the same amount of carbon each year as volcanoes – about 100 megatons – and yet we know very little about the process. Understanding these emissions could tell us more about their effects on climate, both in the past and the future.

Blockchain technology can be used to track olive oil from the grove to its point of sale. Image credit - Hans Bernhard/Wikimedia commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0
agriculture | environment
20 August 2020

Smartphone, blockchain technologies to open new frontier in fight against food fraud

Food fraudsters have found myriad ways to trick shoppers – from cheap horsemeat sold as beef to conventional apples labelled as organic. But new rapid testing and tracing technologies may help turn the tables on food crime.

Minerals inside tiny crystals could reveal how Earth's crust began moving. Image credit: Luca Galuzzi/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC 2.5
environment | frontier research
17 August 2020

Unearthing evidence for the origins of plate tectonics

Minerals trapped inside tiny crystals that have survived the grinding of the continents over billions of years may help to reveal the origins of plate tectonics and perhaps even provide clues about how complex life sprang up on Earth. 

Exposure to high temperatures combined with physical activity can lead to physiological problems that affect the ability to work. Image credit- Dimitris Vetsikas/Pixabay
health | environment
13 August 2020

Why more heatwaves endanger our health and ability to work

As the Earth warms, heatwaves are expected to occur more often, with sharper intensity and for longer periods. Rising temperatures adversely affect worker productivity and human health, but for policymakers to take substantive action for heat adaptation, and meet what researchers see as a life-saving Paris climate agreement, making an economic case is key.

Fine hairs on bees' bodies can sense tiny changes in electrostatic fields, enabling them to sense whether another bee has visited a flower before them. Image credit - Unsplash/George Hiles, licenced under Unsplash licence
environment | frontier research
11 August 2020

Bees use shark ‘supersense’ to help find food

Flying insects such as bees and moths have secret senses that allow them to ‘feel’ nearby flowers and navigate over long distances, according to new research.

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