environment

Some studies suggest that associations between the health of children and the experiences of their parents or grandparents may be due to epigenetic mechanisms, but confounding factors challenge this interpretation.

Edward Ricketts built his laboratory just onshore from the swirling tidepools of Monterey Bay, California, an ideal backdrop against which he developed a new system for studying the ecology of any given habitat.

In addition to causing more frequent natural disasters, global warming can have long-term health effects, which range from heat stress to mosquito-borne disease.

The concept of epigenetic inheritance has long been controversial. Some researchers hope that new data on cross-generational effects of environmental exposures will help settle the debate.

These social animals keep tabs on aggressive members of the group and groom them less after fights to punish them.

The growing season on the tundra is starting earlier as the planet warms, but the plants aren’t sequestering more carbon, a new study finds.

When soil heats up, microbes scale back protein synthesis machinery by making use of higher reaction rates that occur at higher temperatures, a study finds.

Ukrainian scientists and universities face extraordinary challenges as the Russian invasion continues.

Researchers find that wild baboons are generally good at avoiding inbreeding, but that it’s more likely to occur with paternal than maternal relatives.

Mongolian rodents join the ranks of earthworms and beavers as known ecosystem engineers.

Half or more of the world’s largest forest is in danger of transitioning into grassland, researchers say.

Record-breaking rainfall has caused widespread flooding and devastation in Queensland and New South Wales, forcing the closure of some university campuses.

The decrease in growth appears to be associated with increasing water temperatures, affecting animals throughout the marine food web.

Scientists in Canada trace how aquatic communities change as Quebec’s Romaine River flows into the sea.

Methane production, likely achieved by a diverse group of methanogenic archaea, occurs at similar rates in both alive and dead seagrasses, a study reports. The findings highlight the potential environmental impact of seagrasses declining globally.

Levels of pharmaceuticals considered unsafe for aquatic organisms were found at more than one-quarter of sampling sites.

Scientists have documented examples of corals “remembering” prior exposure to heat stress in the field, and are now simulating these phenomena in the lab to better understand their cellular and molecular underpinnings.

Corals that previously experienced heat stress respond better the next time around. Researchers are trying to figure out how, and hope to one day take advantage of the phenomenon to improve coral restoration efforts. 

The biotech industry is chipping away at the obstacles standing between the lab and the dinner plate.

The dual purposes of the plants’ hidden colors may conflict as the climate warms, authors of a new study suggest.