An international team of researchers, led by scientists from Tel Aviv University, has discovered that the pathogen responsible for the mass deaths of sea urchins along the Red Sea coast is the same one responsible for mass mortality events among sea urchins off the coast of Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. This finding raises fears that the pathogen – a waterborne ciliate - could spread further, to the Pacific Ocean.

Weather, climate and hydrometeorology forecasts require accurate surface-atmosphere coupled modeling, but arbitrary reference heights have been used in computing surface turbulent fluxes. A team of atmospheric scientists have found optimal coupling heights for improved surface-atmosphere modeling.

On the barrier islands of Miami, 35 skyscrapers – including Trump Tower III - have sunk as much as three inches since 2016, and researchers from the University of Houston have played a pivotal role in uncovering the reason why – urban development. 

Ice nucleating particles as a kind of aerosols have a significant impact on the Arctic climate by promoting the formation of ice clouds at a temperature above ­–38˚C. Wildfires in mid-latitudinal areas are a major source of these aerosols. However, a direct observation of wildfire-emitted aerosols facilitating ice cloud formation has never been documented. Now, using field and climate data, scientists from Japan have linked aerosols emitted by Canadian wildfires in 2023 to the formation of ice clouds over the Arctic Ocean.

Dating key tectonic events in Japan's geological history has long been often challenging due to poor microfossil preservation from intense heat due to metamorphism. Researchers tackled this by using Re–Os isotope geochronology on Besshi-type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (Makimine and Shimokawa deposits) associated with sediment-covered mid-ocean ridges. Their findings revealed the timing of ridge subduction—when one tectonic plate was forced beneath another—a process that shaped Japan's landscape and provided new insights into its geological evolution.

Using syrup and baking soda, research at Niigata University has demonstrated the formation mechanism of rootless cones, small volcanic landforms commonly found on Earth and Mars. The study clarified, through an experimental approach, that a self-organization process determines the spatial distribution and size of these landforms. This research will enhance our understanding of explosive eruption phenomena caused by the interaction of lava and water and provide new insights into geological phenomena on the red planet.