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Environment
Firefighter gear contains potentially hazardous flame retardants, study shows
Some firefighter gear is manufactured with chemicals called brominated flame retardants that could pose a risk to firefighter health, according to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Ecology Cell & Microbiology
Anatomy of a phytoplankton bloom revealed north of Hawai'i
Large phytoplankton blooms north of the Hawaiian Islands have been seen in satellite imagery as vast swirls of color nearly every summer, but their origin and ecosystem dynamics have remained mysterious.
Analytical Chemistry Materials Science
A new family of barium-based crystals reveals rules for structural changes
The ultimate goal of materials scientists is to design and create materials with precise structures and tailored properties. Predictive technologies have advanced significantly with the rise of AI, yet the delicate nature of chemistry, where even the smallest change can alter a material's behavior, remains a challenge for building truly chemically intuitive frameworks.
Ecology Cell & Microbiology
Living rocks in South Africa rapidly absorb carbon and grow in harsh conditions
South Africa is home to some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth, contained in rocky, often layered outcroppings called microbialites. Like coral reefs, these complex "living rocks" are built up by microbes absorbing and precipitating dissolved minerals into solid formations.
Plants & Animals Agriculture
Voluntary wintertime cover crop adoption up 5% in Arkansas
Using satellite imagery and government data, researchers measured a 5% increase in voluntary, or non-subsidized, cover crop adoption by Arkansas farmers.
Economics & Business
Research shows informed traders never let a climate crisis go to waste
It's serious business for the world establishing a framework to limit the impact of climate change, but for some, market responses to the annual United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) climate negotiations are also a chance to make some serious money.
Environment
New framework reveals where transport emissions concentrate in Singapore
Compact, mixed-use districts are often assumed to naturally produce cleaner travel patterns, but the reality on the ground is far more complex.
Social Sciences Education
Community swimming program for Black youth boosts skills, sense of belonging, study finds
Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their white peers. These statistics relate to historical and structural barriers Black youth face in learning to swim.
Ecology
Nepal starts tiger census to track recovery
Nepal launched on Tuesday a nationwide tiger census, a key step in conservation efforts to aid the recovery of the big cats that once faced near extinction in the Himalayan nation.
Ecology
24 endangered sea turtles recovering in Florida after cold stunning off Cape Cod
Two dozen Kemp's ridley sea turtles are rehabilitating in Florida after the frigid waters off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, left them struggling with frostbite, pneumonia and abrasions.
Environment
Australia's climate future: New model goes global
Climate change will shape everything about life in Australia—from the homes we live in and the food we grow to the risks of bushfires, floods, and heat waves. But what will that future look like? We can't know without climate models.
Plants & Animals Ecology
Scientists warn federal funding cuts could undermine walleye recovery in Minnesota
Christopher Rounds is a scientist who studies walleye in Minnesota, but he doesn't use a boat or a net or even a laboratory.
Social Sciences Economics & Business
Women in the Indian Armed Forces suffer systemic discrimination across all stages of their military careers, study shows
Women serving in the Indian Armed Forces suffer systemic discrimination across all stages of their military careers, a new study shows.
Plants & Animals Ecology
Seals on the move: Key data for offshore development and international ecology revealed
New research led by the University of St Andrews has created the most comprehensive maps to date of the distribution of gray and harbor seals in Northwest Europe, encompassing the majority of seal populations on the continental shelf.
Social Sciences
Call to increase funding for 'invisible' Deaf victim-survivors of domestic abuse
A new report warns Deaf women experiencing domestic abuse in Scotland remain "effectively invisible" due to the chronic absence of specialist services and a lack of coordinated national support. Researchers say this gap leaves deaf victim-survivors without meaningful access to safety and advocacy.
Environment
Iran's record drought and cheap fuel have sparked an air pollution crisis—but the real causes run much deeper
Air pollution is the latest environmental crisis causing havoc across Iran. Large parts of the country are already suffering from a drought, one of the worst in decades. Its wetlands are dry, and its land is subsiding at alarming rates.
Environment
Eroded Jersey Shore beaches could soon get federal money for replenishment: Will it be enough?
Congress appears poised to spend money in 2026 on beach replenishment projects in wake of the zero dollars it allocated this year.
Plants & Animals Ecology
Waterbirds return this year, but amid long-term decline, aerial survey finds
New data released today from one of the world's longest-running wildlife surveys show Australia's waterbird population made a partial return after last year's steep drop, but numbers remain well below historic levels.
Economics & Business
Who owns your chicken? We've mapped the corporate power behind the world's favorite meat
When you next bite into a chicken sandwich, consider this: 2,400 of these birds are being slaughtered somewhere in the world every second. From street stalls in Mumbai to supermarkets in Beijing, chicken has become the world's most consumed meat. In 2023 alone, humans slaughtered an astonishing 76 billion chickens.
Education
Refugee children: Right to education not guaranteed in many arrival centers
Although all children have a right to education, many arrival centers for refugees offer little or no access to education, concludes a study by Johanna Funck (University of Bremen) and Markus Ciesielski (htw saar).
Nanophysics Nanomaterials
Sensor uses acoustic waves to detect objects at smallest scales
At the heart of every camera is a sensor, whether that sensor is a collection of light-detecting pixels or a strip of 35-millimeter film. But what happens when you want to take a picture of something so small that the sensor itself has to shrink down to sizes that cause the sensor's performance to crater?
Economics & Business Political science
Science has always been marketed, from 18th-century coffeehouse demos of Newton's ideas to today's TikTok explainers
People often see science as a world apart: cool, rational and untouched by persuasion or performance. In this view, scientists simply discover truth, and truth speaks for itself.
Agriculture
Some big water agencies in farming areas get water for free: Critics say that needs to end
The water that flows down irrigation canals to some of the West's biggest expanses of farmland comes courtesy of the federal government for a very low price—even, in some cases, for free.
Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture
Researchers explore the impact of different seasonings on the flavor perception of doenjang soup
Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste made from meju—naturally fermented soybean blocks—mixed with salt and aged through long-term fermentation. Unlike Japanese miso, Korean doenjang does not use koji; its flavor develops entirely from the natural fermentation of meju.
Earth Sciences Environment
Climate whiplash by 2064: Study projects extreme swings in rainfall and drought for Asia
A climate study led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with an international research team, reveals that under a high-emission scenario, the Northern Hemisphere summer monsoons region will undergo extreme weather events starting in 2064. Asia and broader tropical regions will face frequent "subseasonal whiplash" events, characterized by extreme downpours and dry spells alternating every 30 to 90 days which trigger climate disruptions with catastrophic impacts on food production, water management, and clean energy systems.
Economics & Business
AI strengthens agility and stakeholder engagement
As businesses navigate increasingly dynamic markets, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging not just as a tool, but as a strategic driver of marketing agility and firm performance.
Economics & Business
Christmas trees are more expensive than ever in Colorado—why?
The holiday season sparks a significant increase in consumer spending. This year, Black Friday alone saw consumers shell out a record US $11.8 billion. It's the time of year when many Americans make purchases to decorate for the holidays—lights, ornaments and Christmas trees.
Planetary Sciences
Forget stardust—it was star ice all along
Carl Sagan famously said that "We're all made of star stuff." But he didn't elaborate on how that actually happened. Yes, many of the molecules in our bodies could only have been created in massive supernovae explosions—hence the saying—and scientists have long thought they had the mechanism for how settled: the isotopes created in the supernovae flew here on tiny dust grains (stardust) that eventually accreted into Earth, and later into biological systems.
Education
New research shows it's never too late to help students learn to read—even in high school
Learning to read is a complex process. It requires children to master and integrate multiple skills, from mapping abstract symbols to the right speech sounds to understanding what all the words mean. This is why reading is one of the first and most important things children are taught in the early years of school.
Education
New York K–12 enrollment down, but charter, homeschool rates double in a decade
New York state's aging population isn't only evident in more graying residents, but in a declining number of school children—down more than a quarter-million over the past decade, according to a new analysis by Cornell University demographers.