Scientists have found that adding biochar to farm soils can help steady the release of carbon dioxide during increasingly erratic rain and drought cycles, potentially supporting climate friendly agriculture and healthier soils.

A growing body of research suggests that combining enzymes with biochar, a carbon-rich material made from agricultural and organic waste, could transform how scientists clean polluted water and soil. A new review published in Biochar provides the most comprehensive overview to date of how biochar-immobilized enzymes work, why they are effective, and what challenges remain before the technology can be widely applied.

Biochar has long been promoted as a climate-friendly soil amendment, but new research suggests that treating it as a one-size-fits-all solution may be limiting its full potential. A new open-access review published in Biochar shows that engineered biochar works best when it is carefully customized for specific agricultural and environmental goals, from boosting crop yields to suppressing soil-borne diseases and remediating contaminated land.

The Oceanography Society has selected Dr. Zhongping Lee of Xiamen University as the recipient of the 2026 Nils Gunnar Jerlov Medal, recognizing his transformative contributions to understanding how light interacts with the ocean, as well as his sustained leadership in education, interdisciplinary research, and collaborative work with meaningful societal impact. Dr. Lee will be recognized at The Oceanography Society Honors Breakfast, February 24, 2026, during the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, as well as during the Ocean Optics XXVII Conference in Ghent, Belgium, in September 2026.

Are global forest maps reliable? New research from the University of Notre Dame shows satellite datasets agree only 26 percent of the time, undermining carbon storage estimates and international climate policy.

Large language models (LLM) can generate treatment recommendations for straightforward cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that align with clinical guidelines but fall short in more complex cases, according to a new study by Ji Won Han from The Catholic University of Korea and colleagues publishing January 13^th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.