Environment

Tohoku University researchers have dubbed a newly discovered phenomenon, where microbe-generated gas bubbles create granular fluctuations on the wet sandy floors of waterbodies, the microbial Brazil nut effect.

A joint research team at the Division of Biotechnology, DGIST, confirmed that microplastics(MPs) ingested orally accumulate in the brain and act as neurotoxic substances.

Surveys have revealed an upward trend in the number of brown bears over the past three decades in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. Researchers at Hokkaido University have been investigating the causes and implications of the increase.

Quick seawater test may reveal health of corals, Infectious disease caused by a new nairovirus, Converting CO2 into useful compounds and Automated COVID-19 diagnosis from chest scans all in the November Editor's Choice. Plus our latest podcast: Gender and Conflict in Myanmar.

The diversity of threatened fish in estuaries increases when surrounded by forest cover, whereas estuaries surrounded by farmland show the opposite effect.

The UNESCO-listed Wolong National Nature Reserve, a prime habitat for the endangered panda, was badly damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. To rebuild the reserve into an ecologically sustainable area, Dr Lewis Cheung Ting-on, Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), and his research team devised two unique accreditation systems for the ecotourism industry, one for tourism businesses and one for ecotour guides, as part of the regulations for the tourism development in the ecologically sensitive reserve. The guidelines included holistic recommendations for ecotourism planning, activities, infrastructure and marketing. In 2016, the local administration in Wolong implemented the recommendations in full. This was the first regional ecotourism certification programme in a protected area in China and it has had a positive influence on the ecotourism development in other protected areas in the mainland and in Taiwan.

Set the stage for a path to recovery through innovations

An ambitious project using cutting edge environmental DNA, known as eDNA, to understand the richness of biodiversity of UNESCO’s marine World Heritage sites launches today.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) could impact child nutrition in many countries in the tropics, a new study in Nature Communications suggests.

Coral reefs, comprising some of the most diverse and delicate ecosystems under water, are under immense stress. From global warming to pollution to pathogens, many of the reef-building coral species are listed as threatened or endangered. But, according to researchers in Japan, the corals may have an unlikely ally: bacteria.

Researchers in Japan have found an energy-efficient way to convert the chief greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful chemicals. Using the method, CO2 is transformed into structures called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), suggesting a new and simpler route to dispose of the greenhouse gas to help tackle global warming.

Võ Quý (31 December 1929 – 10 January 2017) was a Vietnamese ornithologist who studied the destruction of tropical forests and agricultural lands in Vietnam by Agent Orange, a herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

Accommodation for young people in Hong Kong has long been at the top of the policy agenda. Recent research conducted by Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) and the City University of Hong Kong on the younger generation’s housing opportunities finds that 26 per cent of parents who responded expect to subsidise their adult children when they buy a property. Findings also suggest reliance on the family is now increasingly frequent, and important to young adults who wish to live independently and have a choice.

Abnormally high levels of DNA methylation have been identified in dogs exposed to high levels of lead near a mining area in Kabwe, Zambia, by a team of scientists from Japan and Zambia.

A recent study conducted by the Science Unit of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) shows that concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from incense burning both inside and outside temples could be 6 times and 4 times of the recommended levels respectively. In addition, the more temples there are in the same district, the higher the respiratory mortality rate. The research team suggests that alternative measures, such as installation of automatic mist sprayers to reduce smoke dispersion, as well as using incense made with non-toxic substances to minimise health risks to worshippers and neighbours, should be considered.

Knowledge of the detailed accumulation profiles of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and POPs-like contaminants in wild animals is critical for ecological risk assessment. Comprehensive screening of organohalogen compounds in the livers of wild birds from Osaka, Japan using two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–HRToFMS) revealed specific accumulation of typically unmonitored POPs-like compounds in raptors.

Speakers announced for the 10th edition of IPI’s premier technology matching event

A collaboration between Osaka City University and Setsunan University sheds light on the effect urbanization has on the flesh fly species Sarcophaga similis. Through a series of laboratory and in-field experiments, scientists show that an increase in nighttime illumination and temperature, two of the major characteristics of urbanization, can postpone S. similis hibernation anywhere from 3 weeks to a month.

The university has unveiled a few more details of its new Green Goals Initiative, which includes developing green technology and promoting resilience and social Innovation. It also hopes to achieve carbon neutrality on campus by 2040.

Using neurons directly reprogrammed from tissues of stranded whales to assess brain health A research team of the Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES) of Ehime University, Japan succeeded for the first time in direct reprogramming of whale somatic cells to neuronal cells, and conducted a neurotoxicity test using these cells. Exposure to a metabolite (4′OH-CB72) of polychlorinated biphenyls, ubiquitous environmental pollutants, caused apoptosis in the reprogrammed neurons. Transcriptome analysis of 4′OH-CB72-treated whale neurons showed altered expressions of genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation, chromatin degradation, axonal transport, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has been endorsed by the United Nations (UN) to initiate a ten-year "Global Estuaries Monitoring (GEM)" Programme (www.globalestuaries.org) to collect and study environmental pollutants in the estuaries of major cities around the globe so as to formulate a long-term policy of promoting clean estuaries.

Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents. The high yield, high selective process has CO2 blown at atmospheric pressure to evaporate excess water by-product allowing for a catalytic process that can be used with any substrate with a boiling point higher than water.

Scientists develop a 3D-printed pressure sensor embedded with a temperature sensor from conductive carbon-based composites.

Scientists in Singapore are calling for revisions in planned hydropower expansions in light of the rapidly decreasing cost of solar photovoltaic systems

A new study monitored satellite images to obtain sea discoloration data as a novel indicator in detecting if an underwater volcano’s eruption is imminent.

ARN's July newsletter features research about a promising treatment candidate to reverse dementia, a newly discovered climate pattern, using starch in tiny energy devices, exploring earth Earth ecosystems and the photo of the month.

A team of leading climate social scientists, including a chair professor at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), argues that influential studies that attempt to quantify different countries’ “fair shares” of climate action have put forward a biased and oversimplified view of what is primarily a political and ethical discussion.

Scientists show that an ocean-bottom seismometer deployed close to the calving front of a glacier in Greenland can detect continuous seismic radiation from a glacier sliding, reminiscent of a slow earthquake.

Japanese and Zambian scientists have shown that environmental lead poisoning in children affects not only their own health and wellbeing, but the vitality and mental health of their mothers, as well.

Magnetic layers interact with sunlight differently, creating a temperature gradient that generates electricity day and night.