Each year, a wide variety of new cut flower cultivars and species are evaluated in trials administered by North Carolina State University and the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. The research, conducted at about 50 locations in the United States and Canada, provides valuable production and marketing information. John M. Dole and a research […]
Small streams in agricultural ecosystems are heavily polluted with pesticides
Pesticides safeguard agricultural yields by controlling harmful insects, fungi, and weeds. However, they also enter neighbouring streams and damage the aquatic communities, which are crucial for maintaining biodiversity, are part of the food web and support the self-purification of water. In a nationwide monitoring programme, a consortium of scientists led by the Helmholtz Centre for […]
Populations survive despite many deleterious mutations: Evolutionary model of Muller’s ratchet explored
From protozoans to mammals, evolution has created more and more complex structures and better-adapted organisms. This is all the more astonishing as most genetic mutations are deleterious. Especially in small asexual populations that do not recombine their genes, unfavourable mutations can accumulate. This process is known as Muller’s ratchet in evolutionary biology. The ratchet, proposed […]
Chernobyl Radiation Surge ‘Cause for Concern,’ Say Scientists
Scientists monitoring the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine are detecting increased fission reactions inside an inaccessible chamber built around the radioactive ruins of a reactor that suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986—and they aren’t sure why. New Scientist reported this week that since 2016, researchers have detected a 40% surge in neutron emissions from a sealed […]
New Soil Study Shows Pesticides ‘Destroying the Very Foundations of Web of Life’
A study published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science bolsters alarm about the role that agricultural pesticides play in what scientists have dubbed the “bugpocalypse” and led authors to call for stricter regulations across the U.S. Researchers at the University of Maryland as well as the advocacy groups Friends of the Earth U.S. and the Center for […]
Household aerosols now release more harmful smog chemicals than all UK vehicles
Aerosol products used in the home now emit more harmful volatile organic compound (VOC) air pollution than all the vehicles in the UK, new research shows. A new study by the University of York and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science reveals that the picture is damaging globally with the world’s population now using huge […]
Study: Air pollution from fracking linked to deaths in Pennsylvania
Approximately 20 people in Pennsylvania lost their lives during a seven-year period because of particulate matter pollution emitted by shale gas wells, according to a recent study including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. The researchers —including lead author Ruohao Zhang, a Binghamton University graduate student who specializes in environmental economics, and Professor of […]
Seaspiracy, the latest Netflix documentary exposing the impact of our food systems, is making a splash
It was clear from the title and the promotion of the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy that it was going to adopt a similar approach to the highly influential 2014 documentary Cowspiracy, which uncovered the sheer scale and destructive impact of animal agriculture. Seaspiracy follows Ali, an activist and filmmaker who embarks on a journey of discovery which starts with beach […]
Estimating the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining
As an alternative to government-issued money, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin offers relative anonymity, no sales tax and freedom from bank and government interference. But some people argue that these benefits have an enormous environmental impact, particularly with regard to Bitcoin mining — the process used to secure the cryptocurrency. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & […]
Viruses — lots of them — are falling from the sky
An astonishing number of viruses are circulating around the Earth’s atmosphere — and falling from it — according to new research from scientists in Canada, Spain and the U.S. The study marks the first time scientists have quantified the viruses being swept up from the Earth’s surface into the free troposphere, that layer of atmosphere […]