Flash floods resulting from extreme rainfall pose a major risk to people and infrastructure, especially in urban areas. Higher temperatures due to global climate change affect continuous rainfall and short rain showers in somewhat equal measure. However, if both types of precipitation occur at the same time, as is typical for thunderstorm cloud clusters, the amount of precipitation increases more strongly with increasing temperature, as shown in a study by two scientists from the University of Potsdam and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen. The study has just been published in the journal “Nature Geoscience”.

New research involving Rutgers professors has revealed that expected, extreme changes in India’s summer monsoon could drastically hamper the Bay of Bengal’s ability to support a crucial element of the region’s food supply: marine life. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, was conducted by scientists from Rutgers University, the University of Arizona and collaborators from India, China and Europe. To reach their conclusions, the scientists examined how the monsoon, which brings heavy rains to the Indian subcontinent, has influenced the Bay of Bengal’s marine productivity over the past 22,000 years.

The Frontiers Planet Prize, the world’s largest science competition to enhance planetary health by fast-tracking innovative research, has announced National Champions from 19 different countries who now advance to the International competition, which will award three winners $1M each to scale up their research. Suzanne Tank and co-authors from the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory (ArcticGRO), a multinational project founded at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), were recognized for their publication, “Recent trends in the chemistry of major northern rivers signal widespread Arctic change,” published in Nature Geosciences.

A new study has found worrying signs that climate change may be undermining the capacity of Arctic fjords to serve as effective carbon sinks. The findings suggest that the capacity of polar oceans to remove carbon from the atmosphere may be reduced as the world continues to heat up.

Animals facing distress due to human action or aggression may react in several ways, for example, by fleeing or retaliating. New research showed that sharks may defend themselves – not unlike land-dwelling animals or humans. In French Polynesia, scientists observed a previously undocumented, rapidly delivered but usually non-lethal type of shark bite in response to human aggression. These new insights should be considered by the media to stop systematically blaming sharks, especially if motivated by self-defense, the researchers said.

Strong methods do exist for measuring animal movement in the context of energy expenditure, but these are limited by the physical size of the equipment used. Now, in a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers from the Marine Biophysics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), in collaboration with Professor Amatzia Genin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, describe an innovative method for measuring energy usage during movement with video and 3D-tracking via deep learning.

As federal science agencies, including NOAA, face catastrophic cuts, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) today released a Statement and Special Report on the U.S. Weather Enterprise, highlighting agencies' foundational role in supporting public safety, private sector operations, national security, and vital infrastructure.

BioOne is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of the BioOne Ambassador Award. Now in its eighth year, this prestigious award celebrates the next generation of excellence in science communication. Recipients are exceptional early-career researchers within the BioOne community who are accelerating the dissemination of their work to a broader audience and fostering public understanding and appreciation of science.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem proudly congratulates Dr. Uria Alcolombri on being named one of the 19 Frontiers Planet Prize 2025 National Champions – and the only Israeli scientist to receive this honor in this year’s prestigious global competition.