Climate change is making it more difficult to raise cattle – growth and reproduction are affected by heat – so it’s critical to breed cattle better adapted to a hotter and longer summer. A new study published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology shows it’s possible to identify the genes within breeds of cattle that would lead to the sweatiest, heat-tolerant offspring.

Research led by the University of Washington used computer models to pinpoint varieties of corn that will be best adapted to produce high yields in future U.S. climates. The study combined weather and climate projections across the U.S. for 2050 and 2100 with a model that simulaties corn plants' growth to find the mix of traits that will produce the highest, most reliable yield under future conditions across the country.

In a paper published today in Science, researchers from the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) detail a new wearable fabric that can help urban residents survive the worst impacts of massive heat caused by global climate change, with applications in clothing, building and car design, and food storage. By addressing both direct solar heating and the thermal radiation emitting from pavement and buildings in urban heat islands, the material kept 2.3 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than the broadband emitter fabric used for outdoor endurance sports and 8.9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than the commercialized silk commonly used for shirts, dresses and other summer clothing. 

The increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves in recent decades is one of the effects of global climate change. A study by the University of Barcelona, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, shows that the extreme heatwave of 2022 caused an “unprecedented” increase in mortality of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, affecting 70% of the colonies located in the Montgrí Natural Park, the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter. According to the researchers, these results are “alarming and threaten the viability” of this species of great value for the biodiversity of benthic ecosystems, since it is considered to be an inhabitant-forming species.

Climate change has many widespread and complicated effects on the well-being of people and the planet, and a new study in iScience on June 13 has now added a surprising one to the list. After analyzing the language used in seven million parliamentary speeches around the world, it shows that high temperatures lead to a significant and immediate reduction in politicians’ language complexity.

A joint research project of Utrecht University and the British Antarctic Survey, made possible by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), investigates how during past geologic episodes of rapid warming the ice sheets on West Antarctica interacted with the surrounding ocean. What was the role of sea ice? And did the ocean induce ice-sheet changes or the other way around? By investigating ocean sediment cores collected from near the ice-sheet, we will reconstruct icesheet and ocean changes during the Pleistocene and Pliocene, 130.000 and 3.000.000 years ago. This research contributes fundamentally to more accurate predictions of future ice-sheet melting and associated sea-level rise as a result of climate warming.