The problem with shaming people for Auschwitz selfies

The problem with shaming people for Auschwitz selfies

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Selfies have become the modern day equivalent of postcards, a way to share our travel experiences with family and friends on social media. It’s one thing to strike a goofy pose and snap a photo for Instagram on a beach or town square, but what if you are visiting a Holocaust … Read more

Understanding soil carbon’s sensitivity to increasing global temperatures

Understanding soil carbon’s sensitivity to increasing global temperatures

a,b, Total soil C stocks (a) and the proportion of total soil C that is protected (mineral-associated) (b) as a function of the mean annual temperature (MAT) globally. Each gridcell is colored by the percentage of clay and silt minerals, and best-fit trends are depicted for fine- and coarse-textured soils; here, fine-textured soils were classified … Read more

Evaluating land-based mitigation strategies for achieving 2°C climate targets

Evaluating land-based mitigation strategies for achieving 2°C climate targets

Credit: National University of Singapore Global warming poses a significant threat to ecosystems, societies, and economies worldwide. In recent decades, an international climate policy goal of limiting global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels was established. This was to avoid severe and irreversible impacts on the environment. International agreements like the Paris Agreement and policy … Read more

Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology

Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology

Credit: Pixabay from Pexels The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots—objects so tiny, they’re controlled by the strange and complex rules of quantum physics. Many quantum dots used in electronics are made from toxic substances, but their nontoxic counterparts are now being developed and explored for uses in medicine and in … Read more

New model clarifies why water freezes at a range of temperatures

New model clarifies why water freezes at a range of temperatures

Credit: CC0 Public Domain From abstract-looking cloud formations to roars of snow machines on ski slopes, the transformation of liquid water into solid ice touches many facets of life. Water’s freezing point is generally accepted to be 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But that is due to ice nucleation—impurities in everyday water raise its freezing point to … Read more

Vietnam farmers struggle for fresh water as drought brings salinization

Vietnam farmers struggle for fresh water as drought brings salinization

A farmer sits in a drought-stricken rice field in Vietnam’s southern Ben Tre province, which is plagued by intruding salt water. Every day, farmer Nguyen Hoai Thuong prays in vain for rain to fall on the cracked dry earth of her garden in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—the country’s “rice bowl” agricultural heartland. A blazing month-long heat … Read more

Information resilience can help people cope with the uncertainty created by crises

Information resilience can help people cope with the uncertainty created by crises

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Successive and overlapping crises can lead to a lack of information, a flood of information that overwhelms essential information, or even distorted information. Society needs to be information-resilient and resistant to crises, including disruptions related to information. According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, we need a … Read more

Ammonia induction strategy for preparation of transition metal oxides / zeolite H₂S adsorbent

Ammonia induction strategy for preparation of transition metal oxides / zeolite H₂S adsorbent

by KeAi Communications Co. H2S removal and regeneration mechanism of NH3–CuO/13X-3 adsorbent. Credit: Erping Cao, et al. Blast furnace gas (BFG) is an important by-product energy for the iron and steel industry and has been widely used for heating and electricity generation. However, the undesirable contaminants, such as COS, CS2, and H2S, in BFG generate … Read more

Plant water stress causes Namibia’s gaps in grass

Plant water stress causes Namibia’s gaps in grass

A typical fairy circle on the Kamberg, which the researchers investigated during the 2024 rainy season: The clumps of grass—up to 80 cm high—can be seen at the edge of the fairy circle. These clumps use the fallen rain first and have an immense competitive advantage due to their size. With their established roots at … Read more

Study finds large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch

Study finds large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch

Close-up of a sample collected with the neuston net, showing plastic particles with considerable animal ‘by-catch’ Credit: Annika Jahnke / UFZ When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles. If marine animals ingest these particles, their health can be severely affected. Large accumulations of plastic can therefore disrupt … Read more