Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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The impact of embodied carbon in the built environment has been difficult to assess, due to a lack of data. To address that knowledge gap, Ming Hu, the associate dean for research, scholarship and creative work in Notre Dame's School of Architecture, and Siavash Ghorbany, a Notre Dame graduate student in civil and environmental engineering, have created a new tool to analyze the embodied carbon in more than 1 million buildings in Chicago. Their recently published research identifies 157 different architectural housing types in the city and provides the first ever visual analysis tool to evaluate embodied carbon at a granular level and to help inform policymakers seeking to strategically plan for urban carbon mitigation.

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Alexander Chase and colleagues collect samples from Earth’s oceans using SMIRC, which could be the first step in uncovering compounds that lead to next-generation antibiotics.

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The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is seeking nominations for its 2025 Excellence in Science Awards, recognizing outstanding women scientists dedicated to advancing the professional development of others, contributing to their scientific society, and impacting the scientific community.

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Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are first to quantify the effect of dark brown carbon on snow melt.

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A research team created seven learning models using Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms to discern flowering-time-associated genes (FTAGs) from non-FTAGs, with the SVM-Kmer-PC-PseAAC model performing the best (F1 score = 0.934, accuracy = 0.939, and receiver operating characterstic = 0.943).

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A research team conducted a comprehensive analysis of phylogenetic relationships among Australian citrus species and 13 international accessions, shedding light on their genetic diversity and evolutionary history.

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The cost effectiveness of wind farms could be significantly improved by reducing the speed of wind turbines that are clustered together, which could improve their longevity and also reduce noise pollution.   A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide led by Dr Rey Chin looked at the operation conditions of wind turbines, investigated those conditions relative to power output and performance, and how turbines interact with each other.

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Ashok Silwal, a doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, has been chosen to receive a NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) scholarship to study stream interaction regions (SIRs) in the heliosphere.

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Researchers have discovered that miR319a, a microRNA, significantly enhances poplar trees' resilience to salt stress, potentially revolutionizing tree cultivation in saline environments. This discovery sheds light on how trees maintain essential ion balance under salty conditions, paving the way for developing salt-tolerant varieties.

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A research team has reviewed the crucial role of light-dependent protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (LPOR) in chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development, particularly during the dark-light transition in plants.

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In a landmark development for environmental conservation, a pioneering plasmonic photocatalyst has been engineered to synergistically degrade the potent pollutants hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and norfloxacin from aquatic environments.

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Republican state officials from 24 states have asked the Supreme Court to pause a Biden administration EPA rule passed in December 2023 meant to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations... ...

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Surprising details about mosquito mating could lead to improved malaria control techniques and help develop precision drone flight. A paper published Aug. 30 in Current Biology revealed that when a male Anopheles coluzzii mosquito hears the sound of female-specific wingbeats, his eyes “activate” and he visually scans the immediate vicinity for a potential mate.

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Broadband electroluminescence based on environment-friendly emitters is promising for healthy lighting yet remains an unprecedented challenge to progress.

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BRI’s story began in 1989 with the capture of a loon on a Michigan lake. Back then, it was all about the science, but over time, founder Dave Evers began to understand that knowledge for knowledge’s sake wasn’t enough.

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WAVR Technologies, first startup to launch from NSF SWSIE resources, advances the search for water sustainability solutions in harsh desert climates.

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Tucked around a corner in his office, you’ll often find Mark Burton, with a laser focus on his work. Mark walked through the doors of BRI seven years ago as an intern in the Center for Mercury Studies, working on the Global Biotic Mercury Synthesis database.

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Leonardo DiCaprio—actor, producer, and activist? You got that right. DiCaprio uses his Instagram page to shed light on environmental issues. Scrolling through his Instagram, he shares articles about restoring forests in Madagascar, rewilding projects in Scotland, and salmon farms in Canada.

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Spending a sunny day on a boat in Casco Bay isn’t a bad summer job, at least not for BRI biologists Helen Yurek and Logan Route. On a Thursday morning, we loaded up into a boat to set off in search of Common Eiders, sea ducks that spend most of their time along rocky seacoasts.

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Move over, Sonic. There’s a new spin-jumping champion in town – the globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta). This diminutive hexapod backflips into the air, spinning to over 60 times its body height in the blink of an eye, and a new study features the first in-depth look at its jumping prowess. Globular springtails are tiny, usually only a couple millimeters in body length.