Air pollution is a major environmental challenge of this century. In a recent Journal of Environmental Sciences review paper, scientists from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have highlighted potential technologies for direct purification of air pollutants in the environment, including photocatalysis and ambient non-photocatalytic approaches. They also propose the novel concept of an ‘Environmental Catalytic City.’

Silver iodide is the material of choice to make clouds release rain and snow. For decades, its remarkable ability to trigger precipitation has been used in cloud seeding to prevent hail damage and mitigate droughts. Now, for the first time, researchers at TU Wien have revealed in atomic detail how this process works.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a new atomically layered material which experiences a five order of magnitude resistivity reduction when oxidized, more than a hundred times the reduction seen in similar, non-layered materials. By analyzing the structure, the team discovered a synergy between oxidation and structural modification which drives dramatic changes in physical properties. The new material promises more power efficient next-generation devices, like memristors in AI computing.

A practical, evidence-based checklist developed by scientists at the University of Surrey is helping everyone from keen gardeners to local councils plan their next greening project with confidence.  

The project will combine natural records around the Eastern Hemisphere tropics to better understand monsoon rainfall patterns across Asia, Indonesia and Australia over the last millennium — and how they might look in the future under a changing climate.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have discovered that extended periods of high stress lead to iron deficiency and stunted growth in wheat crops. Experiments show reducing iron deficiency with a synthetic organic molecule called PDMA results in better growth and healthier plants. These findings are good news for farmers and consumers alike and could lead to treatments in the field that improve wheat production during prolonged periods of heat. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.