Environment
22 Jan 2025
Blue growth rings found in woody plant stems represent years when cells did not lignify properly because of summers too cold for growth.
Climate action
12 Dec 2024
Part of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from railways lie in the energy used to produce and maintain the necessary infrastructure. Researchers from Finland here showed the feasibility of using more eco-friendly railway sleepers from two types of recycled plastic, liquid packaging board and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Carbon emissions saved each year by phasing out concrete sleepers and replacing them with such recycled plastic could amount to the equivalent of heating for 1,200 Finnish households.
Environment
06 Dec 2024
Scientists used CT scans to learn more about the anatomy of hailstones, information which could advance hail formation forecasting
Environment
05 Dec 2024
To continue producing enough food for the world, we need to adapt our crops by changing their genetic code or by domesticating their more resilient ancestors
Environment
03 Dec 2024
Crucial advances in technology could allow us to harness the power of the sun to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and siphon off renewable fuel
Space sciences and astronomy
20 Nov 2024
Researchers found that astronauts’ processing speed, working memory, and attention slowed down, but a few months in space did not result in lasting cognitive impairment
Environment
18 Nov 2024
Ticks have always travelled on migrating birds — but the rising temperatures of the climate crisis mean they may now survive at their destination, and so could the pathogens they carry.
Climate action
07 Nov 2024
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.
Climate action
18 Oct 2024
Migrating monarch butterflies depend on mountain forests of sacred firs in Mexico as overwintering sites. These forests are under threat from global warming. But researchers from Mexico have now shown that seedlings derived from their original range can be transplanted successfully to a new site further east, on the higher and colder volcano Nevado de Toluca. The resulting new stand of sacred firs could ultimately serve as the overwintering sites of the future.
Environment
15 Oct 2024
Induced resistance, where plants’ immune systems are activated in a controlled way that prepares them to fight pests and disease, could help build a sustainable and resilient agricultural system
Environment
04 Oct 2024
Around the world, marine heatwaves have devastated fisheries, coral reefs, and kelp forests, damaging economies and stripping countries’ natural capital. So far, the UK has largely escaped a serious marine heatwave – but a short-lived, intense June 2023 heatwave shows what could happen.
Environment
01 Oct 2024
From intensified monsoons and storm tracks to polar precipitation shifts, a new synthesis of regional climate data emphasizes the need for climate adaptation policy based on the latest regional climate science.
Environment
26 Sep 2024
Dramatic new images of orcas in the Humboldt Current system hunting and eating dusky dolphins could help scientists learn more about all southern hemisphere orcas.
Climate action
25 Sep 2024
In a new Frontiers in Forests and Global Change study, researchers examined tree rings and found highly variable responses of different coastal trees to encroaching oceans. In a guest editorial, Dr LeeAnn Haaf writes about her research and the possible consequences of climate change on coastal forests.
Environment
05 Aug 2024
Scientists find that trees on streets exposed to artificial light at night have tougher leaves and are less likely to be eaten by insects, potentially damaging urban biodiversity
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