At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to cover all of them. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed.

When it comes to climate policy, consistency beats one-off action

The negative effects of air pollution on human health have been well-studied. Asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer can be the result of being exposed to polluted air over long periods.

Writing in Frontiers in Public Health, researchers in the US evaluated levels of particulate matter – small enough to bypass the respiratory system’s defenses – and nitrogen dioxide – a poisonous gas that plays a key role in the formation of smog – in New York City between 1998 and 2021.

Their results showed a consistent downward trend in air pollution over time. Citywide, particulate matter pollution decreased by 37% and nitrogen dioxide pollution decreased by 31%. The researchers noted that this decrease is likely due to the accumulative benefit of consistent policy aiming to reduce air pollution, which highlights the importance of policy actions targeting air pollution sources.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1474534/full

Thousands of ingredients in lab-made cosmetics could have negative effects on people and planet

Synthetic cosmetics can contain more than 10,000 ingredients, including chemicals, insecticides, and endocrine disruptors, which are chemicals that can interfere with the hormonal system. Many of these ingredients can have harmful effects on both people and the environment they live in.

A new review article published in Frontiers in Environmental Science summarized the risks associated with the use of these products. They range from increased risk of allergic reaction due to parabens, a commonly used preservative, to elevated risk of cancer due to chemicals that have been identified as carcinogenic if used in the long-term.

Synthetic cosmetics also impact the environment and can, for example, lead to water pollution. Once ingredients like parabens and UV filters are washed off the skin, they enter water systems where they can disrupt microbial communities and lead to antibiotic resistance. To counteract these effects on humans and the environment, extensive initiatives to advance safer ingredients, more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, and conscientious behavior by consumers are necessary, the article concluded.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1402893/full

Researchers track down the Mediterranean’s last white sharks

White sharks are fascinating predators that can be found across the world’s oceans. The Mediterranean Sea is home to one of the smallest and most endangered populations of white sharks globally. To aid conservation efforts in the area, an international team of researchers set out to track the remaining white sharks of the Mediterranean. They published their results in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Over three years, the team collected new information about Mediterranean white sharks, including current population density and historic hotspots. By collecting 159 eDNA samples, the researchers were able to detect white sharks at four sites. A more focused effort to document the animals, may be necessary, they said, as their results indicate that populations may be smaller and more fragmented than previously though.

The researchers recorded more than 400 hours of video surveys and fished for more than 100 hours – activities that in the future will make detecting free-living white sharks in the area easier. Rolling out an extensive monitoring program based on their findings from three separate trips is imperative, they wrote.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1425511/full

Livestock presence could make giraffes relaxed enough to nap more

Large herbivores devote much of their waking time to grazing. Their resting periods are often determined by food availability, predator presence, and thermoregulation. If these factors vary a lot, resting behaviors throughout the day will vary, too.

In a new Frontiers in Conservation article, an international team of researchers investigated resting behavior of West African giraffes – megaherbivores that adapt social resting strategies – living in the ‘Giraffe Zone,’ an unofficial protected area in Niger that’s densely populated by humans and where giraffe habitats overlap with agricultural activities, such as livestock farming.

They found that if giraffes were closer to livestock or other giraffes, they increased their resting time. This may be because the presence of conspecifics or domestic animals may provide a safe environment for giraffes who tend to rest in groups for increased protection from predators. In the presence of humans, giraffes did not rest less. Their findings showed that human-giraffe co-existence can be successfully implemented in human-dominated landscapes, the researchers said.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2024.1459960/full

Even small shrubs could lower ground temperatures, creating ‘microclimatic refuges’

Warming temperatures affect all ecosystems, from oceans and forests to grasslands. There, foundation plants like shrubs offer cover for other plants and animals, protect them from direct sunlight, and cool the soil beneath.

Writing in Frontiers in Plant Science, researchers in Canada and the US investigated if a shrub native to south-west California known as California jointfir (Ephedra californica) improves the microclimate beneath its canopy.

They found that under the shrub, ground temperatures were significantly lower than in the open, but that other variables, like air temperature did not differ. The size of the shrub, the researchers wrote, is of secondary importance and even small shrubs have beneficial effects. They also found that plant abundance was greater under shrubs, which suggests that shrub cover has an impact on microclimate.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1396004/full

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