https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A Rice University-led team has unveiled how tiny molecular structures on industrial catalysts behave during the manufacture of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a core ingredient in adhesives, paints, coatings, packaging, textiles and many other products people use every day. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-catalyst-behavior-emissions-stabilize-everyday.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:01:31 EST news686937661 Scientists have found a way to turn carbon dioxide and methane, the two most notorious greenhouse gases, into useful chemicals without any expensive catalysts, using only light. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-high-energy-photons-conversion-greenhouse.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 14 Dec 2025 09:50:02 EST news684690137 Sydney, like many other Australian cities, has a long history of urban farming. Market gardens, oyster fisheries and wineries on urban fringe once supplied fresh food to city markets. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-smart-greenhouses-food-production-cities.html Biotechnology Wed, 10 Dec 2025 20:30:02 EST news684592822 Terraforming is the theoretical process of transforming a planet or moon to make it habitable for humans and other Earth-like life. The concept involves altering an alien world's atmosphere, temperature, and surface conditions to resemble Earth's environment, such as adding oxygen to the air, creating liquid water on the surface, and establishing a stable climate. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mars-green.html Astrobiology Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:14:04 EDT news679569241 A new fossil fuel site approved for development off Western Australia's coast is estimated to contribute 876 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the course of its lifetime, according to new research led by The Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with the ARC Center of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st century. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-australian-fossil-fuel-site-major.html Earth Sciences Mon, 13 Oct 2025 05:00:01 EDT news679310394 Between a third and half of all soil carbon on Earth is stored in peatlands, says Tom and Marie Patton Distinguished Professor Joel Kostka. These wetlands—formed from layers and layers of decaying plant matter—span from the Arctic to the tropics, supporting biodiversity and regulating global climate. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-microbes-wetland-reveals-earth-carbon.html Earth Sciences Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:15:04 EDT news677423701 Children across Italy are returning to classrooms after a traditional three months off school—the longest summer holiday in Europe. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-hot-italian-teachers-school-resumes.html Environment Sat, 13 Sep 2025 06:50:02 EDT news676964809 A new international study led by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences offers farmers and policymakers a clear roadmap for growing one of the world's most vital crops in a way that is both productive and better for the planet. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-path-emission-corn-farming-globe.html Agriculture Mon, 08 Sep 2025 17:02:04 EDT news676569721 The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest. It harbors immense biodiversity and plays a crucial role in the global climate system by storing vast amounts of carbon in its vegetation. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-earth-amazon-dieback-21st-century.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:14:04 EDT news674900041 Heat waves—prolonged periods of abnormally hot weather—influence egg prices, energy bills and even public transit. And they're becoming more common as temperatures increase. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-africa-hotter-longer-years.html Earth Sciences Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:37:05 EDT news674818621 Record heat, massive fires, deadly floods... August has barely begun, but the summer of 2025 is already marked by a cascade of destructive and deadly weather in the Northern Hemisphere. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-summer-cavalcade-climate-extremes.html Environment Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:00:01 EDT news673627510 Weather prediction systems provide critical information about dangerous storms, deadly heat waves and potential droughts, among other climate emergencies. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-qa-discusses-ai-democratize-weather.html Environment Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:20:05 EDT news671726763 A new study conducted by geologists from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland reveals that, as land is exposed by melting glaciers, chemical reactions in the newly uncovered glacial sediments initially suppress greenhouse gas emissions. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-sediments-exposed-glacier-emitting-greenhouse.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Jul 2025 14:10:07 EDT news671373480 Super pollutants are extremely potent climate pollutants. They include short-lived pollutants like methane, black carbon and tropospheric ozone. Super pollutants are responsible for about 45% of global warming to date. Many of these pollute the air, causing millions of premature deaths and damage to crops. Cutting super pollutants can deliver rapid climate and health benefits. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-super-pollutants-impact-health.html Environment Mon, 16 Jun 2025 09:31:06 EDT news669285062 A research team has developed a unified theoretical framework to better predict the performance of single-atom catalysts (SACs) for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂RR). Their model incorporates both pH and interfacial electric field effects—two critical factors that have often been overlooked or oversimplified in conventional catalyst studies. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-driven-approach-conversion-catalysts.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 21 May 2025 16:53:03 EDT news667065181 As climate change accelerates, scientists are sounding the alarm about its potentially devastating impact on the world's food supply. In a paper published by Trends in Plant Science, an international team of researchers warns that without rapid changes to how we develop climate-resilient crops, we could face widespread food shortages leading to famine, mass migration, and global instability. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-climate-threatens-global-food-scientists.html Agriculture Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:49:21 EST news652639758 A team of astronomers has found that Venus has never been habitable, despite decades of speculation that our closest planetary neighbor was once much more like Earth than it is today. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-astronomers-theory-venus-liquid-surface.html Astrobiology Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:00:01 EST news652350722 This week, much of the US is suffering from yet another heat wave. So far this year, 15 countries have set records for high heat. Last July, the average global temperature, factoring in heat waves in multiple regions around the world, was likely the hottest in 120,000 years. Heat stress already kills about 500,000 people around the world yearly—a number the World Health Organization expects will rise five-fold by 2050. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-air-conditioning-poses-climate-conundrum.html Environment Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:51:07 EDT news644161862 Methane is a potent greenhouse gas frequently produced in the sea and in fresh water. Lakes in particular release large quantities of this climate-killer. Fortunately, however, there are microorganisms that counteract this. They are able to utilize methane to grow and generate energy, thus preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. These microorganisms, known as methanotrophs, are therefore regarded as an important biological methane filter. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-bacteria-lakes-climate-role-methanotrophs.html Ecology Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:25:04 EDT news642684301 A research team has identified three rhizobia strains, Rhizobium sp. TZSR12C, Rhizobium sp. TZSR25B, and Bradyrhizobium sp. TZSR41A, which effectively suppressed root rot fungal pathogens in soybeans under both in vitro and greenhouse conditions. These strains demonstrated significant potential as biocontrol agents, particularly Rhizobium sp. TZSR12C in greenhouse settings. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-unveils-rhizobia-strains-effective-soybean.html Biotechnology Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:02:19 EDT news640440136 Before you decide on a specific geographical location for underground carbon storage, it is good to know exactly what you are setting in motion, both with injection, i.e. the process of pumping the greenhouse gas into the underground, and over time—for up to hundreds of years—while the gas is down there. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-simulator-fate-carbon-dioxide-underground.html Earth Sciences Mon, 08 Jul 2024 16:13:11 EDT news639673987 How wheat and buckwheat respond to drought situations with high CO2 and high temperatures was investigated in the Department of Plant Biology and Ecology https://phys.org/news/2024-06-buckwheat-wheat-future-climate-conditions.html Plants & Animals Fri, 28 Jun 2024 07:38:38 EDT news638779114 Caltech researchers have discovered a new class of enzymes that enable a myriad of bacteria to "breathe" nitrate when in low-oxygen conditions. While this is an evolutionary advantage for bacterial survival, the process produces the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) as a byproduct, the third-most potent greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide and methane. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-bacteria-greenhouse-gases-previously-thought.html Earth Sciences Fri, 21 Jun 2024 13:24:49 EDT news638195085 California firefighters on Monday tackled the state's biggest blaze of the year so far, as fears intensify over ominous conditions forecast for the hot, dry months ahead. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-california-blaze-dangerous-wildfire-season.html Environment Mon, 17 Jun 2024 14:16:34 EDT news637852589 Three videos developed as part of the CoCO2 research project coordinated by ECMWF show a "nature run" of greenhouse gases over the year 2021. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-videos-nature-greenhouse-gases-year.html Environment Wed, 29 May 2024 16:17:04 EDT news636218222 As a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) contributes to climate change as it accumulates in the atmosphere. One way to reduce the amount of unwanted CO2 in the atmosphere is to convert the gas into a useful carbon product that can be used to generate valuable compounds. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nanoparticle-catalysts-carbon-dioxide-monoxide.html Nanomaterials Mon, 06 May 2024 12:16:15 EDT news634216572 Western North America seems to be experiencing more extreme weather events more frequently. From scorching droughts to torrential floods, the climate is changing rapidly, with no signs of slowing down. From 2011 to 2015, California and neighboring states experienced extended periods of drought, while 2017 saw heavy rains trigger catastrophic floods. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-link-human-shifting-weather-patterns.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:37:03 EDT news631453021 A new study investigates the sinks and sources of key greenhouse gases of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the Arctic landscape with a spatial resolution of only a few square meters. Vegetation and soil conditions explain the differences in greenhouse gas emissions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-arctic-greenhouse-gas-source-field.html Earth Sciences Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:18:03 EST news626026681 Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) are emerging as powerful allies in the battle against weeds. These carefully crafted assemblies of microorganisms, such as compatible Pseudomonas strains, are designed to target specific weeds while promoting crop growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-field-weed-synthetic-microbial-communities.html Biotechnology Thu, 01 Feb 2024 12:05:03 EST news626011502 Anoxia threatens inland waters worldwide. Once it has occurred in a lake, the lack of oxygen even sets in motion a downward spiral that accelerates with increasing global warming. This is indicated by the results of an international study involving researchers of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, which were published in Global Change Biology. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-anoxia-begets-positive-feedback-deoxygenation.html Ecology Fri, 05 Jan 2024 12:13:04 EST news623679181