Economics and the problems facing the earth are intertwined. Human economic activity has caused global warming and a biodiversity preservation crisis. Graduate School of Human Development and Environment Professor SATO Masayuki, an expert in environmental economics, analyzes the current situation from an economic perspective to try and find solutions. As issues related to the global environment continue to worsen, what kinds of approaches is Sato considering? We asked him about his current research and future prospects.

Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers identified an ongoing merger event of at least five galaxies about 800 million years after the Big Bang, along with evidence that the collision was redistributing heavy elements beyond the galaxies themselves. Before JWST, astronomers expected complex galaxy mergers and widespread enrichment by oxygen and other products of stellar fusion to become common well over a billion years after the Big Bang. This discovery shows those processes were already underway far earlier than models predicted.

Portland State University now houses the Oregon Microplastics Analytical Research Collaboratory (OMARC), the first laboratory in the Pacific Northwest solely dedicated to analyzing and identifying microplastic pollution.

Indiana University researchers are advancing the fight against Alzheimer’s disease using brain organoids, cutting-edge clusters of cells that mimic the structures of the human brain.

Two research teams from the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and the Universitat de València have developed a material and its synthesis method based on multivariate-modulated metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that can be used as a catalyst, particularly for the conversion of CO₂ into formate (for example, sodium formate is used in food preservation and airport de-icing operations).

The new material offers several technical advantages, including enhanced activity compared to conventional metal–organic frameworks, high selectivity in converting CO₂ into products of industrial interest, the ability to modulate structural and functional properties, reduced energy costs, and strong potential for adaptation to different metals, modulators and catalytic applications.

The material, which has been experimentally validated at laboratory scale and protected through the filing of a Spanish patent application, is seeking collaboration with companies for the development and adaptation of the technology to specific applications through tailored agreements and subsequent licensing. The technology aligns with decarbonization and circular economy strategies, and the synthesis method shows potential scalability for industrial applications.

Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang may have uncovered a universal mechanism that explains how bacteria, and potentially many other organisms, adapt to changes in temperature. If the hypothesis holds, the discovery could open the door to a new scientific field and help rewrite long‑standing assumptions about how proteins work.

Researchers with Lehigh University’s Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, led by anthropologist David G. Casagrande, have identified two urgent challenges the United States faces in adapting to climate change: a potential disaster insurance crisis and the lack of comprehensive relocation policies for communities facing chronic flooding.