Ancient Maya cities were dangerously contaminated with mercury

The cities of the ancient Maya in Mesoamerica never fail to impress. But beneath the soil surface, an unexpected danger lurks there: mercury pollution. In a review article in Frontiers in Environmental Science, researchers ...

Study finds pollution is deadlier than war, disaster, hunger

Environmental pollution—from filthy air to contaminated water—is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger or natural disasters. More than AIDS, tuberculosis and ...

AI predicts the influence of microplastics on soil properties

Plastic waste and its buildup in nature has become a major environmental concern in recent times. While plastic pollution in the oceans is undoubtedly a problem, the presence of plastics in soils around the world is also ...

Birch trees remove microplastics from the soil

With the help of trees, microplastic-polluted soils could be remediated. For the first time, researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have shown that birch trees absorb microplastics ...

Study finds toxic mercury is accumulating in the Arctic tundra

Vast amounts of toxic mercury are accumulating in the Arctic tundra, threatening the health and well-being of people, wildlife and waterways, according to a UMass Lowell scientist investigating the source of the pollution.

Did past climate change encourage tree-killing fungi?

The demise of the world's forests some 250 million years ago likely was accelerated by aggressive tree-killing fungi triggered by global climate change, according to a new study by a University of California, Berkeley, scientist ...

The conversation between plants and soil

To a child, soil is just dirt – a home for worms. To a gardener, soil is a collection of organic matter and nutrients. But to plants, soil is a hotbed of chemical activity. And plants don't just observe, they actively participate ...

Growing cereal crops with less fertilizer

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found a way to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers needed to grow cereal crops. The discovery could save farmers in the United States billions of dollars annually ...

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