Drawing inspiration from the veinous ears of jackrabbits and elephants, Drexel University researchers have come up with a new approach to passive heating and cooling that could one day make buildings more energy efficient. Their concept, recently published in the Journal of Building Engineering, embeds a vascular network within cement-based building materials that, when filled with paraffin-based material, can help passively regulate the surface temperature of walls, floors and ceilings.

New research helps narrow down uncertainties in near-term precipitation projections for the Asian Water Tower

Jet streams are often referred to as the “motor” of global weather: High-altitude wind currents steer areas of high and low pressure, playing a crucial role in shaping our weather.  However, how these atmospheric flows are affected by climate change remains uncertain. Now, a team of climate scientists from Leipzig University, working with other research institutions, has developed a new method that enables a deeper understanding of what is referred to as the Eddy-Driven Jet in the Southern Hemisphere. This advance paves the way for more accurate predictions in the coming years about how this wind belt may respond to climate change.

Carbon emissions continue to increase at record levels, fueling climate instability and worsening air quality conditions for billions in cities worldwide. Yet despite global commitments to carbon neutrality, urban policymakers still struggle to implement effective mitigation strategies at the city scale. Now, researchers at Notre Dame’s School of Architecture, the College of Engineering and the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society are working to reduce carbon emissions through advanced simulations and a novel artificial intelligence-driven tool, EcoSphere.

In the fall of 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeastern U.S., later downgrading to a tropical storm causing strong winds, flooding and major destruction throughout Appalachia. Now, researchers and public health officials in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters provide a debrief about how their mapping of key locations, including private wells, septic systems and service facilities, helped distribute disaster relief in North Carolina — a part of Appalachia hit particularly hard by the hurricane.