A new study published in the journal Nature Communications reveals that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a key driver of global climate variability, is projected to undergo a dramatic transformation due to greenhouse warming. Using high-resolution climate models (Figure 1), a team of researchers from South Korea, the USA, Germany, and Ireland found that ENSO could intensify rapidly over the coming decades and synchronize with other major climate phenomena, reshaping global temperature and rainfall patterns by the end of the 21^st century.

The deal is done for the new underwater vehicle that will replace Ran, the submarine that was lost under a glacier in Antarctica in 2024. A large donation means that researchers at the University of Gothenburg can plan for new expeditions.

An exceptional “dual feeding” strategy underlies a Mediterranean coral’s resilience to rising sea temperatures, according to a study in Nature. The stony coral Oculina patagonica is known to feed itself with or without algae. Now, the first direct comparison of algae-hosting cells in O. patagonica and other coral species reveals how this flexibility works at the genetic and cellular level. The study is a window into how marine species are adapting to climate change, and also explains why the stony coral has expanded eastwards since it was first discovered in 1966.

Turning agricultural and organic waste into biochar could help store more carbon in the soil and slow climate change, according to a new study published in Biochar. Researchers from Prairie View A&M University reviewed recent findings showing that biochar improves soil health, boosts microbial diversity, and captures carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.

Human-driven climate change made wildfires in parts of South America and Southern California many times larger and more destructive, according to an annual assessment by international experts.

According to climate models, the Los Angeles wildfires in January were twice as likely and 25 times larger, in terms of burned area, in the current climate than they would have been in a world with no human-caused global warming. It also made last year’s burning in the Pantanal-Chiquitano region in South America 35 times larger, while also driving record-breaking fires in the Amazon and Congo.

When starting college, many young people report adopting pro-environmental behaviors such as active travel (e.g. walking, biking) and reduced meat consumption, so targeted interventions in these transition moments could be especially effective. 

Understanding how species survive environmental upheavals is central to evolutionary and conservation science. Southeast Asia, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, has repeatedly swung between forests and grasslands over the last 150,000 years. Until now, however, little was known about how ancient mammals in these tropical landscapes adapted—or failed to adapt—to these dramatic shifts.