Environment
- Chemistry
This eco-friendly glitter gets its color from plants, not plastic
Using cellulose extracted from wood pulp, researchers have created a greener alternative to traditional glitter.
- Agriculture
Potty-trained cattle could help reduce pollution
About a dozen calves have been trained to pee in a stall. Toilet training cows on a large scale could cut down on pollution, researchers say.
- Environment
50 years ago, chemical pollutants were linked to odd animal behavior
Fifty years after studies hinted that pollution interferes with how aquatic creatures communicate, scientists are still unraveling its myriad effects.
- Physics
Windbreaks, surprisingly, could help wind farms boost power output
Wind farm performance could be improved by 10 percent by using low barriers to increase the wind speed directed at the turbines, simulations suggest.
- Environment
Why planting tons of trees isn’t enough to solve climate change
Massive projects need much more planning and follow-through to succeed – and other tree protections need to happen too.
- Agriculture
A tweaked yeast can make ethanol from cornstalks and a harvest’s other leftovers
By genetically modifying baker’s yeast, scientists figured out how to get almost as much ethanol from cornstalks as kernels.
- Animals
Focusing on Asian giant hornets distorts the view of invasive species
2021’s first “murder hornet” is yet another arrival. This is the not-so-new normal.
- Chemistry
Many cosmetics contain hidden, potentially dangerous ‘forever chemicals’
Scientists found signs of long-lasting PFAS compounds in about half of tested makeup products, especially waterproof mascaras and lipsticks.
- Animals
The U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight
After a decade of argument, Oxitec pits genetically modified mosquitoes against Florida’s spreaders of dengue and Zika.
- Chemistry
A new technique could make some plastic trash compostable at home
Embedding enzymes inside biodegradable plastics makes them truly compostable, which could mitigate the plastic waste problem.
- Ecosystems
Wildfires launch microbes into the air. How big of a health risk is that?
How does wildfire smoke move bacteria and fungi — and what harm might they do to people when they get there?
- Animals
Discarded COVID-19 PPE such as masks can be deadly to wildlife
From entanglements to ingestion, two biologists are documenting the impact of single-use masks and gloves on animals around the world.
