Environmental News - NaturesList.org

Molecular link between air pollution and pregnancy risks

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:12:02 EDT A new study found exposure to specific tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy are associated with increased risk of various negative birth outcomes.

Atmospheric chemistry keeps pollutants in the air

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:50:26 EDT A new study details processes that keep pollutants aloft despite a drop in emissions.

Scientists say next few years vital to securing the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:50:18 EDT Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be triggered with very little ocean warming above present-day, leading to a devastating four meters of global sea level rise to play out over hundreds of years according to a new study. However, the authors emphasize that immediate actions to reduce emissions could still avoid a catastrophic outcome.

First direct observation of the trapped waves that shook the world in 2023

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:50:15 EDT A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the researchers provide the first observations to confirm the existence of these waves whose behavior is entirely unprecedented.

DNA floating in the air tracks wildlife, viruses -- even drugs

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:48:22 EDT Environmental DNA from the air, captured with simple air filters, can track everything from illegal drugs to the wildlife it was originally designed to study.

The EU should allow gene editing to make organic farming more sustainable, researchers say

Fri, 30 May 2025 12:38:18 EDT To achieve the European Green Deal's goal of 25% organic agriculture by 2030, researchers argue that new genomic techniques (NGTs) should be allowed without pre-market authorization in organic as well as conventional food production. NGTs -- also known as gene editing --- are classified under the umbrella of GMOs, but they involve more subtle genetic tweaks.

Does outdoor air pollution affect indoor air quality? It could depend on buildings' HVAC

Thu, 29 May 2025 14:57:27 EDT Researchers determined how much outdoor particulate pollution affects indoor air quality. Their study concluded pollution from inversion and dust events is kept out of buildings, but wildfire smoke can sneak inside if efficient 'air-side economizers' are in use.

EV battery recycling key to future lithium supplies

Thu, 29 May 2025 12:47:24 EDT Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries are crucial for the transition to electric vehicles, and global demand for lithium is set to grow rapidly over the next 25 years. A new analysis looks at how new mining operations and battery recycling could meet that demand. Recycling could play a big role in easing supply constraints, the researchers found.

Does planting trees really help cool the planet?

Thu, 29 May 2025 12:46:28 EDT Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19th century is replanted, the total effect won't cancel out human-generated warming.

New study analyzes air quality impacts of wildfire smoke

Tue, 27 May 2025 18:09:29 EDT With wildfires increasing in frequency, severity, and size in the Western U.S., researchers are determined to better understand how smoke impacts air quality, public health, and even the weather. As fires burn, they release enormous amounts of aerosols -- the vaporized remains of burning trees and homes that enter the atmosphere and the air we breathe. Now, a new study dissects these aerosols and gases to pinpoint their potential effects on our health as well as the planet's short and long-term weather.

Rapid simulations of toxic particles could aid air pollution fight

Tue, 27 May 2025 13:52:44 EDT A pioneering method to simulate how microscopic particles move through the air could boost efforts to combat air pollution, a study suggests.

The ocean seems to be getting darker

Tue, 27 May 2025 12:44:38 EDT Scientists, who have spent more than a decade examining the impact of artificial light at night on the world's coasts and oceans, have shown that more than one-fifth of the global ocean -- an area spanning more than 75 million sq km -- has been the subject of ocean darkening over the past two decades. Ocean darkening occurs when changes in the optical properties of the ocean reduce the depth of its photic zones, home to 90% of all marine life and places where sunlight and moonlight drive ecological interactions.

New study reveals how competition between algae is transforming the Gulf of Maine

Thu, 22 May 2025 16:27:00 EDT New research shows how rapidly proliferating turf algae are waging 'chemical warfare' to inhibit the recovery of kelp forests along Maine's warming coast.

Scientists say microplastics are 'silently spreading from soil to salad to humans'

Thu, 22 May 2025 12:53:53 EDT A review has stressed that agricultural soils now hold around 23 times more microplastics than oceans.

Personal space chemistry suppressed by perfume and body lotion indoors

Wed, 21 May 2025 16:11:15 EDT In 2022 a team discovered that high levels of OH radicals can be generated indoors, simply due to the presence of people and ozone. This means: People generate their own oxidation field and change the indoor air chemistry around them within their own personal space. Now, in a follow-up study again in cooperation with an international research team, they found that commonly applied personal care products substantially suppress a human's production of OH radicals. These findings have implications for the indoor chemistry, the air quality of occupied spaces, and human health, since many of the chemicals in our immediate vicinity are transformed by this field.