https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from IOP Publishing New research reveals that "foundation models" trained on vast, general time-series data may be able to forecast river flows accurately, even in regions with little or no local hydrological records. The approach could improve flood warnings, drought planning and water-resource management in parts of the world where monitoring data is limited. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ai-scarce-regions.html Earth Sciences Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:00:01 EDT news693123731 A new study spanning 11 years of data has revealed a clear link between wildfire smoke pollution and an increase in violent assaults in Seattle. These findings represent the first direct causal evidence that short-term exposure to wildfire-driven air pollution can increase interpersonal violence in an urban environment. The work is published in Environmental Research Letters . https://phys.org/news/2026-02-wildfire-linked-violent-assaults-year.html Environment Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:00:01 EST news691231322 To mark the United Nations' International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Institute of Physics and IOP Publishing celebrate women who are advancing scientific discovery and help to build a research culture where everyone can thrive. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-celebrating-women-future-science-scholarly.html Education Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:50:24 EST news690029401 A new study published in Environmental Research Letters finds that continued growth in artificial intelligence (AI) use across the United States could add approximately 900,000 tons of CO₂ annually. This is not a small amount but equates to a relatively minor increase when viewed in the context of nationwide emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-ai-tons-annually.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 11 Nov 2025 04:00:02 EST news681986761 A new study published in Environmental Research Letters reveals that even advanced climate intervention strategies may not be enough to secure the future of wine grapes, coffee and cacao. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-climate-intervention-coffee-chocolate-wine.html Ecology Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:00:01 EST news681384328 Scientists at Tsinghua University have developed a method to grow kidney tumors in the lab using cells from real patients, offering a potential new tool in the fight against renal cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-3d-kidney-tumors-potential-treatment.html Oncology & Cancer Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:00:03 EDT news674123522 A new study in the journal Machine Learning: Health discovers that ChatGPT can accelerate patient screening for clinical trials, showing promise in reducing delays and improving trial success rates. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-eligible-clinical-trial-chatgpt.html Medical research Thu, 31 Jul 2025 06:45:04 EDT news673163102 A new study published in Nanotechnology offers new hope for less harmful breast cancer therapy by combining two powerful, non-invasive cancer treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-dual-action-therapy-combines-iron.html Oncology & Cancer Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:09:30 EDT news672487765 A team of researchers has unveiled a cutting-edge Amphibious Robotic Dog capable of roving across both land and water with remarkable efficiency. The study, published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, was inspired by mammals' ability to move through water as well as on land. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-05-robotic-dog-mimics-mammals-superior.html Robotics Thu, 08 May 2025 11:03:02 EDT news665920981 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have developed a new low-cost mobile tool to detect arsenic contamination in water sources, addressing a critical threat to human health and the environment. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-portable-sensor-arsenic-safer.html Environment Tue, 06 May 2025 04:00:04 EDT news665674261 A new lifecycle study published in Sustainability Science and Technology has discovered a promising alternative to plastic sanitary products, potentially leading to far reduced sanitary waste. Sanitary pads made with cornstarch are 17 times more environmentally friendly compared to plastic equivalents. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-cornstarch-sanitary-pads-cheap-tons.html Environment Thu, 01 May 2025 04:00:01 EDT news665221861 New research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that artisan gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon has caused more destruction to carbon-rich peatlands in the past two years than in the previous three decades combined, posing a serious threat to the environment and climate. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-years-gold-devastates-peruvian-peatlands.html Earth Sciences Tue, 11 Mar 2025 04:00:02 EDT news660817476 Countries around the world use more land for golf courses than wind or solar energy, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Communications. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-countries-world-golf-courses-solar.html Environment Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:19:03 EST news659351941 A study published in Environmental Research: Energy shows why new safeguards adopted by the U.S. Treasury Department are necessary to avoid substantial climate impacts and wasted taxpayer resources from a generous hydrogen production tax credit. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-energy-tax-credit-safeguards-taxpayers.html Business Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:43:52 EST news655476219 Three leading climate scientists have combined insights from 10 global climate models and, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), conclude that regional warming thresholds are likely to be reached faster than previously estimated. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ai-world-temperatures-3c-faster.html Earth Sciences Tue, 10 Dec 2024 04:00:01 EST news652956602 A study published in Environmental Research Letters reveals that centimeter-sized plastic fragments are increasing much faster than larger floating plastics in the North Pacific Garbage Patch [NPGP], threatening the local ecosystem and potentially the global carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-year-reveals-plastic-fragments-globe.html Environment Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:58:03 EST news651239881 A study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, has revealed a staggering $79 billion in annual climate-related costs from the production of common materials in the United States. These costs, which stem from greenhouse gas emissions, are not reflected in current market prices, effectively creating a massive subsidy for carbon-intensive industries. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-billion-hidden-climate-materials-production.html Environment Thu, 24 Oct 2024 04:00:02 EDT news648896461 California must implement early retirement for existing heavy-duty vehicles as well as introducing zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) to protect Black, Latino and vulnerable communities and hit net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets by 2045. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-07-emissions-trucks-wont-early-polluters.html Automotive Mon, 08 Jul 2024 05:50:50 EDT news639636643 A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that the environmental impact of the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train accident in East Palestine, Ohio covered a very large geographical area. Inorganic pollutants released due to the accident were found in wet weather downfall (wet deposition) from the Midwest through the Northeast, reaching as far as southern Canada and North Carolina. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ohio-derailment-chemical-pollution-falling.html Environment Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:00:01 EDT news637940166 Lifespan caps for passenger vehicles have limited effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and could drive up costs and material use, finds a new study published in Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. The research shows that although light-duty vehicles (LDVs) contribute 17% to the annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, imposing a 15-year lifespan cap on LDV fleets under a business-as-usual scenario will not lead to any meaningful reductions in GHG emissions. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-early-vehicles-wont-planet.html Environment Wed, 15 May 2024 04:00:01 EDT news634925761 A new global study from IOP Publishing (IOPP) has found that certain peer review communities continue to feel overburdened by reviewer requests, while others remain underrepresented. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-reveals-peer-capacity-full-potential.html Education Tue, 14 May 2024 12:51:03 EDT news634909862 The annual rate of carbon emissions due to the degradation of carbon stocks in mangrove forests is predicted to rise by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century, according to a new study published in Environmental Research Letters. Mangroves in regions such as southern India, southeastern China, Singapore and eastern Australia are particularly affected. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-carbon-emissions-destruction-mangrove-forests.html Earth Sciences Thu, 22 Feb 2024 04:00:01 EST news627643937 Two-hundred U.S. communities will fail to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050 despite their pledges to do so, according to a new study published in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-cities-fall-short-sustainable-energy.html Environment Thu, 18 Jan 2024 04:00:02 EST news624630607 A new study published in Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability has found that green ammonia could be used to fulfill the fuel demands of over 60% of global shipping by targeting just the top 10 regional fuel ports. Researchers at the University of Oxford looked at the production costs of ammonia, which are similar to those of very low sulfur fuels, and concluded that the fuel could be a viable option to help decarbonize international shipping by 2050. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01-green-ammonia-decarbonize-global-shipping.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:00:01 EST news623952853 Addressing climate change has become a central issue in Chile's public policy. As part of that debate, Dr. Maisa Rojas, researcher in Atmospheric Physics, who currently serves as Chilean Minister for Environment and Marco Billi of the Center for Climate and Resilience Research, Universidad de Chile, propose a new model of governance at the country level to facilitate the changes needed. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-chilean-tackle-climate-action.html Environment Tue, 19 Dec 2023 13:24:02 EST news622214641 A record-breaking heat wave occurred in North China in June, marking the first time that temperatures reached or exceeded 40°C in Beijing for three consecutive days. A new paper, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, explores the extent to which such extreme heat wave events can be attributed to human-induced climate change and how frequent and intense such strong heat wave events will be in the future. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-three-day-exceptional-china-linked-human-induced.html Earth Sciences Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:00:01 EST news621168142 Dr. Basudev Roy, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has recently published a paper about cell membrane fluctuations and their use for diagnosing cancerous diseases in the journal Physical Biology. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-qa-tool-cancerous-cells-membranes.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 23 Oct 2023 07:46:16 EDT news617265971 A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters examines the links between drinking water quality violations and social vulnerability in the United States, revealing that these violations disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities. Approximately 70% of the population affected ranked in the highest social vulnerability category, with many different social parameters, beyond income, linked to different drinking water quality violations. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-poor-quality-disproportionately-affect-socially.html Earth Sciences Tue, 05 Sep 2023 04:00:02 EDT news612783351 More than 1 billion cows around the world will experience heat stress by the end of the century if carbon emissions are high and environmental protection is low, according to new research published today in Environmental Research Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-cattle-farming-expansion-unchecked-climate.html Ecology Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:56:05 EDT news612111362 Dam constructions have flooded over 1.13 million acres (4,570 km2) of tribal land in the US contributing to the historic and ongoing struggle against land dispossession for Indigenous peoples in the United States. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-million-acres-tribal-submerged.html Environment Wed, 09 Aug 2023 04:00:01 EDT news610608779