Environmental Research Letters

India gained 2.1 million hectares of dry woodland in a decade, major study finds

India gained 2.1 million hectares of dry woodland in a decade, major study finds Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor India gained around 2.1 million hectares of tropical dry woodland between 2014 and 2024—an area larger than Wales—according to a major new study involving researchers from The University of Manchester's Global Development Institute. The research was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The research found that large-scale tree planting,...

Cities are making it rain more—but not as much as scientists thought

Cities are making it rain more—but not as much as scientists thought Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor After another spell of wet weather along Australia's east coast, with storms, heavy rain and flash flooding across Sydney and parts of New South Wales, it is natural to ask whether our cities are shaping the rainfall that descends upon them. This matters because most people now live in cities. If urbanization changes rainfall, even slightly, the effects can reach large...

How Rachel Carson's Silent Spring changed the world in 1962

Rachel Carson was a marine biologist who wrote three books about life in the ocean, before a letter, published in The Boston Herald, prompted a change of focus. The letter described the deadly impact of the pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) on a bird population in Massachusetts. Carson set off to research the environmental effects of pesticides: she pencilled in “Silent Spring” as the title for a chapter on birds, but her agent suggested that it worked for the book as a whole.

Mysterious 'cold blob' in the Atlantic is a sign of the Gulf Stream weakening — and that's bad news for the US East Coast

Mysterious 'cold blob' in the Atlantic is a sign of the Gulf Stream weakening — and that's bad news for the US East Coast The Atlantic's enigmatic "cold blob" has once again been linked to a weakening of key ocean currents and a devastating climate tipping point. A mysterious "cold blob" in the Atlantic Ocean is a sign that key ocean currents are weakening, a new study has found, with potentially devastating long-term impacts on our climate and weather. The cold blob, or North Atlantic...

'We were being bullied in our own home': How 'authoritarian' HOAs are contributing to the insect apocalypse

'We were being bullied in our own home': How 'authoritarian' HOAs are contributing to the insect apocalypse In the book "Bitter Honey," writer and researcher Jennie Durant explores how industrial agriculture is destroying bees — and what can be done to stop them. There's an army of tiny workers buzzing around our fields, helping our food grow. But over the past few decades, populations of bees and other insect pollinators have dropped precipitously.

The LLM warnings Google fired Timnit Gebru over have all come true

"Timnit Gebru was fired from Google in December 2020 for refusing to retract a research paper, and every single warning that paper made about large language models has now happened at a scale the industry spent 4 years trying to make people forget about. Her name is Timnit Gebru. She co-led the Ethical AI team at Google.

Sweet basil carbon dots show potential for sustainable agriculture

June 6, 2026 dialog Sweet basil carbon dots show potential for sustainable agriculture Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor What if a common herb found in the kitchen could help farmers grow healthier crops? As the global population grows and agriculture faces increasing environmental challenges, scientists are searching for innovative ways to improve crop productivity while reducing reliance on chemical inputs. Nanotechnology has emerged as a potential solution.

Massachusetts launches investigation after several teachers at same school are all diagnosed with breast cancer

Massachusetts launches investigation after several teachers at same school are all diagnosed with breast cancer The investigation will begin on Thursday - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Health officials in Massachusetts are launching an investigation after several teachers at Uxbridge High School have been diagnosed with breast cancer over the last several years. The “sobering” announcement was made by Uxbridge Public Schools Superintendent David Ljungberg and Uxbridge High School...

AI is changing how we think, not replacing it | Letters

Shockwaves from dying stars may sculpt 'cosmic wagon wheel' stellar nurseries, simulations reveal

Shockwaves from dying stars may sculpt 'cosmic wagon wheel' stellar nurseries, simulations reveal Supernovas may specifically help create the wheels' spokes. Some of the galaxy's most spectacular stellar nurseries resemble giant cosmic wagon wheels, with spoke-like structures that scientists say were sculpted by shockwaves from stellar explosions and powerful stellar winds. Using powerful 3D simulations, researchers from Kyushu University and Nagoya University in Japan found that shockwaves...