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To achieve the European Green Deal's goal of 25% organic agriculture by 2030, researchers argue that new genomic techniques (NGTs) should be allowed without pre-market authorization in organic as well as conventional food production. NGTs -- also known as gene editing --- are classified under the umbrella of GMOs, but they involve more subtle genetic tweaks.

A new study finds that if global warming exceeds the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the non-polar glacier mass will diminish significantly. However, if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, at least 54 per cent could be preserved -- more than twice as much ice as in a 2.7 C scenario.

Anthropologists have examined the societal consequences of global glacier loss. This article appears alongside new research that estimates that more than three-quarters of the world's glacier mass could disappear by the end of the century under current climate policies.

A professor of crop sciences and of plant biology describes research efforts to 'future-proof' the crops that are essential to feeding a hungry world in a changing climate. Long, who has spent decades studying the process of photosynthesis and finding ways to improve it, provides an overview of key scientific findings that offer a ray of hope.

Scientists have pioneered a new way to breed climate-resilient crops faster by combining plant genebank data with climate and DNA analysis. The method, tested on sorghum, could speed up global efforts to secure food supplies in a changing climate.

Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19th century is replanted, the total effect won't cancel out human-generated warming.

Many policy discussions on AI safety regulation have focused on the need to establish regulatory 'guardrails' to protect the public from the risks of AI technology. Experts now argue that, instead of imposing guardrails, policymakers should demand 'leashes.'

A new study shows that wildlife underpass tunnels dramatically reduce deaths of frog, salamanders, and other amphibians migrating across roads.

The global measles outbreak must trigger an urgent debate into whether a vaccine should be recommended earlier to better protect against the highly contagious disease during infancy, a new review states.

Reducing travel speeds and using an intelligent queuing system at busy ports can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oceangoing container vessels by 16-24%, according to researchers. Not only would those relatively simple interventions reduce emissions from a major, direct source of greenhouse gases, the technology to implement these measures already exists.

A study finds small-scale tree cover in Costa Rica boosts biodiversity while limiting dangerous mosquito species.

New research brings together 7,000 years of history in South Arabia to show how ancient pastoralists changed placement and construction of monuments over time in the face of environmental and cultural forces.

A review of experimental research reveals how VR is best used and why it's struggled to become a megahit with consumers.

Close to five million smuggled seahorses worth an estimated CAD$29 million were seized by authorities over a 10-year span, according to a new study that warns the scale of the trade is far larger than current data suggest. The study analyzed online seizure records from 2010 to 2021 and found smuggling incidents in 62 countries, with dried seahorses, widely used in traditional medicine, most commonly intercepted at airports in passenger baggage or shipped in sea cargo.

Parental warmth and affection in early childhood can have life-long physical and mental health benefits for children, and new research points to an important underlying process: children's sense of social safety.

Involving communities in nature-based solutions to tackle urban climate and environmental challenges leads to innovation and multiple benefits, a study shows.

Researchers have released new insights on a pilot program involving all-electric buses in Ithaca, NY, USA -- with implications for cities, schools and other groups that are considering the electrification of their fleets, as well as operators, policymakers and manufacturers.

When formulating climate policy, too little attention is paid to social factors and too much to technological breakthroughs and economic reasons. Because citizens are hardly heard in this process, European governments risk losing public support at a crucial moment in the climate debate.

A new study shows that people who proactively reorganise their family routines -- such as adjusting childcare schedules or redistributing domestic responsibilities -- are more likely to demonstrate adaptability and innovation at work.

When it comes to public attitudes toward using self-driving cars, understanding how the vehicles work is important -- but so are less obvious characteristics like feelings of excitement or pleasure and a belief in technology's social benefits.

A new study shows that monitoring and managing select bird species can provide benefits for other species within specific regions.

As the US national debate intensifies around immigration, a new study is challenging conventional wisdom about 'brain drain'--the idea that when skilled workers emigrate from developing countries, their home economies suffer.

Every year, total allowable catches (TACs) and fishing quotas are set across Europe through a multi-step process -- and yet many fish stocks in EU waters remain overfished. A new analysis reveals that politically agreed-upon catch limits are not sustainable because fish stock sizes are systematically overestimated and quotas regularly exceed scientific advice. In order to promote profitable and sustainable fisheries, the researchers propose establishing an independent institution to determine ecosystem-based catch limits that management bodies must not exceed.

A new study examines the emergence of overimitation in infants aged between 16 and 21 months to see if and how it is linked to social affiliation and other forms of imitation. The researchers found that young children engaged in low rates of overimitation and that it was not driven by in-group preference -- meaning they were not acting to please someone similar to themselves. This suggests that overimitation for social affiliation reasons may emerge later. But they did find that other types of imitation associated with memory and cognition were closely correlated.

A new study says students appear to be using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) responsibly, and as a way to speed up tasks, not just boost their grades.

From deadly floods in Europe to intensifying tropical cyclones around the world, the climate crisis has made timely and precise forecasting more essential than ever. Yet traditional forecasting methods rely on highly complex numerical models developed over decades, requiring powerful supercomputers and large teams of experts. According to its developers, Aurora offers a powerful and efficient alternative using artificial intelligence.

When deciding whom to trust, people are more likely to choose individuals who grew up with less money over those who went to private schools or vacationed in Europe, according to new research.

A new artificial intelligence system pinpoints the origin of 3D printed parts down to the specific machine that made them. The technology could allow manufacturers to monitor their suppliers and manage their supply chains, detecting early problems and verifying that suppliers are following agreed upon processes.

A study has found that implementing robust air pollution control measures could mean Southeast Asian countries prevent as many as 36,000 ozone-related premature deaths each year by 2050.

Researchers took a fresh approach to urban research by using artificial intelligence to explore the emotional side of city life. Their goal was to better understand the link between a city's physical features and how people feel in those environments.

The way people express emotions while helping others can influence whether their assistance is welcomed, resented, or reciprocated, according to new research.

Hurricane winds are a major contributor to storm-related losses for people living in the southeastern coastal states. As the global temperature continues to rise, scientists predict that hurricanes will get more destructive -- packing higher winds and torrential rainfall. A new study projects that wind losses for homeowners in the Southeastern coastal states could be 76 percent higher by the year 2060 and 102 percent higher by 2100.

The study explores how social influences, particularly peer pressure, impact substance use -- and misuse -- among young adults. A confidential online survey on alcohol use was given to 524 students at a large public university (not UTA).

Poor mental health, rising obesity rates, exposure to violence and climate change are among the key challenges facing our adolescents today, according to a global report.

Worldwide, coastal areas are squeezed between a rising sea level on one end and human structures on the other. The distance between a sandy coastline and the first human structures averages less than 400 meters around the world. And the narrower a coastline is, the lower its biodiversity as well.

Encouraging people in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle could help to cut global household emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide by up to two-fifths, a new study reveals.

Photovoltaic systems are increasingly being installed not only on roofs but also on open land. This does not always meet with citizens' approval. What is known as agrivoltaics (Agri-PV), however, is viewed more favorably, as researchers have now been able to show. In this case, the solar cells are installed in spaces used for agriculture -- such as on pastures or as a canopy over grapevines. According to a survey of almost 2,000 people, this form enjoys much higher acceptance than normal solar parks.

A novel analysis suggests more than 3,500 animal species are threatened by climate change and also sheds light on huge gaps in fully understanding the risk to the animal kingdom.

The average energy project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, finds a new global study. One key insight: The investment risk is highest for nuclear power plant construction and lowest for solar. The researchers analyzed data from 662 energy projects built between 1936 and 2024 in 83 countries, totaling $1.358 trillion in investment.

A new AI decision making tool effectively balances various complex trade-offs to recommend ways of maximizing carbon storage, minimizing economic disruptions and helping improve the environment and people's everyday lives. It uses evolutionary AI, a kind of digital version of biological natural selection, to optimize policies in the face of competing priorities.

Researchers found that consumers tend to overestimate fractional star ratings and underestimate fractional numerals. In either case, the ratings can be misleading, potentially causing a company to unknowingly overpromise and underdeliver -- or sell its own product short.

New research suggests that the negative effects of the ozone hole on the carbon uptake of the Southern Ocean are reversible, but only if greenhouse gas emissions rapidly decrease. The study finds that as the ozone hole heals, its influence on the ocean carbon sink of the Southern Ocean will diminish, while the influence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will rise.

A study has shown scientific knowledge on the conservation of endangered species is often overlooked when not presented in English.

Having school dinners rather than packed lunches could encourage picky eating 13-year-olds to eat a wider variety of foods, according to a new study.

An international genomics study has revealed that early Asians undertook humanity's longest known prehistoric migration. These early humans, who roamed the earth over 100,000 years ago, are believed to have traveled more than 20,000 kilometers on foot from North Asia to the southernmost tip of South America. Scientists have mapped the unexpectedly vast genetic diversity of Asians, who make up more than half of the world's population. These findings overturn long-held assumptions of European genetic dominance and show that native South Americans are of Asian descent. The study also sheds light on how such a vast migration and differing environments have shaped human evolution, including how populations have adapted to diseases and how their immune systems have evolved.

In Project Chimera, a game lab combines a VR computer game with educational problems in order to convey scientific content in a motivating way.

Natural ecosystems comprise groups of species capable of living in the specific conditions of a biological system. However, if we visit a specific natural area, we will not find all the species capable of living in it. The proportion of species that could live in a specific location but do not do so is known as dark diversity, a concept coined in 2011. Research has now discovered that this dark diversity increases in regions with greater human activity.

A new study found that over a quarter of the world's naturalized plant species are threatened in parts of their native range -- raising questions about the role non-native populations may play in global conservation efforts.

A collaborative study tested 17 strategies in an 'intervention tournament.' Interventions targeting future thinking, such as writing a letter for a child to read in the future, are the most effective ways to motivate climate action.

Traditional methods of assessing damage after a disaster can take weeks or even months, delaying emergency response, insurance claims and long-term rebuilding efforts. New research might change that. Researchers have developed a new method that combines remote sensing, deep learning and restoration models to speed up building damage assessments and predict recovery times after a tornado. Once post-event images are available, the model can produce damage assessments and recovery forecasts in less than an hour.

A new game-based experiment sheds light on the tradeoffs people are willing to make about data privacy.

A new study outlines how artificial intelligence-powered handwriting analysis may serve as an early detection tool for dyslexia and dysgraphia among young children.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance. The tool offers governments and humanitarian organizations critical lead time to deliver life-saving food, health care, and supplies to at-risk areas. The machine learning model outperforms traditional approaches by integrating clinical data from more than 17,000 Kenyan health facilities with satellite data on crop health and productivity. It achieves 89% accuracy when forecasting one month out and maintains 86% accuracy over six months -- a significant improvement over simpler baseline models that rely only on recent historical child malnutrition prevalence trends.

A new study finds that with bold and coordinated policy choices -- across emissions, diets, food waste, and water and nitrogen efficiency -- humanity could, by 2050, bring global environmental pressures back to levels seen in 2015. This shift would move us much closer to a future in which people around the world can live well within the Earth's limits.

Being appreciated by colleagues can help employees cope with negative experiences at work, according to a new study. Researchers found that employees experience 'embitterment' -- an emotional response to perceived workplace injustice -- on days when they are assigned more unreasonable tasks than usual. This negative emotion not only affects their work but also spills over into their personal lives, leading to an increase in rumination, the repetitive dwelling on negative feelings and their causes. This can result in difficulty detaching from work, ultimately preventing recovery from job-related stress.

Scientists turned their sophisticated analytical capabilities for testing athlete samples for performance-enhancing drugs to research examining the U.S. meat supply. The study was designed to investigate concerns that residues of growth promoters used in meat production could potentially cause athletes to test positive.

Providing hearing aids and advice on their use may preserve social connections that often wane as we age, a new study shows. Its authors say that this approach could help ease the loneliness epidemic that older Americans face.

Researchers have developed a system, called ProxiCycle, that logs when a passing car comes too close to a cyclist (four feet or less). A small, inexpensive sensor plugs into bicycle handlebars and tracks the passes, sending them to the rider's phone. The team tested the system for two months with 15 cyclists in Seattle and found a significant correlation between the locations of close passes and other indicators of poor safety, such as collisions.

Metals and hormone-disrupting substances such as estrogens present a genuine risk to the sustainability of agriculture and water management in Europe. This research provides new insights into the distribution, availability, and risks associated with these pollutants, while also highlighting shortcomings in current regulations.

New research indicates that while the residential segregation policy was outlawed decades ago, it still impacts women's health today.