Researchers identify increased microbial carbon use efficiency upon abrupt permafrost thaw
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Dec-2025 20:11 ET (30-Dec-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)
Europe is experiencing longer and more intense transmission seasons for mosquito-borne diseases, including WNV infection and chikungunya virus disease. This shift is driven by climatic and environmental factors such as rising temperatures, longer summer seasons, milder winters and changes in rainfall patterns — conditions that combine to create a favourable environment for mosquitoes to thrive and transmit viruses.
In just a few decades, the climate in many of the world’s forests will be so changed that many trees will have difficulty surviving. For example, in wide parts of lowland Central Europe, there is a risk that species such as European beech and Norway spruce will be squeezed out, according to new research from Aarhus University.
A new global analysis reveals a critical oversight in sustainable coffee and carbon-capture initiatives. These programs incentivize the planting of new trees yet fail to reward the preservation of mature shade trees in existing agroforestry farms, despite their far greater carbon storage potential. To maximize the potential of coffee farming to fight climate change and boost biodiversity, the study authors call for creating carbon payment programs that reward protecting existing shade trees and ensuring these payments are accessible to small farms. For tree-planting efforts, researchers recommend explicitly prioritizing tree diversity in all planting initiatives to support biodiversity. Without these changes, global coffee agriculture may continue to lose carbon and biodiversity despite investments in tree planting.
The dengue early warning system was piloted in Barbados in June 2024 for the Cricket World Cup, prompting public health interventions to mitigate potential outbreak risk in advance of the tournament.
Led by researchers at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and co-developed with Caribbean health and meteorological agencies and an international team of researchers, the study marks a milestone in disease prediction modelling with climate information.
A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed forests modulate biogenic secondary organic aerosol cooling effects through biogeophysical processes—but direction depends critically on local climate. Where dark canopies dominate, reforestation typically amplifies cooling by warming surfaces and boosting natural aerosol formation. Yet where enhanced airflow creates more clouds, it often suppresses cooling by reducing sunlight and biogenic emissions. This hidden "lever" creates striking regional contrasts, proving that identical forest cover can produce opposite aerosol-mediated climate outcomes. The findings demand location-specific reforestation plans to maximize climate benefits.