Drones and genetics team up for drought smarter wheat
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Jun-2025 23:11 ET (30-Jun-2025 03:11 GMT/UTC)
A new study shows how using drones with advanced cameras, ones that detect both heat and light, can help scientists better measure how field-grown wheat plants cope with climate change. By flying these drones over hundreds of wheat varieties, researchers could estimate key traits like how efficiently the plants breathe through their leaves, how leafy they are, and how much chlorophyll they have. They then matched these traits to specific genes in the wheat, identifying genetic markers linked to better performance under normal and dry conditions. This approach makes it easier to find and develop wheat varieties that are more resilient to climate challenges, helping to secure future food security.
Across the western U.S., wildfires are becoming larger and more severe — and even trees that initially survive are dying in subsequent years, making it harder for forests to regenerate, according to new research from Portland State University.
Trees, shrubs, and other plants along roads and sidewalks play an important role in making cities more resilient to climate change, improving public health, and advancing environmental justice. Yet, tracking its distribution and change over time remains a major challenge – especially across large, rapidly urbanizing regions of the world. A new IIASA-led study addresses this gap.
Climate change had a role but did not cause the LA wildfires, says the new study by UN University
When formulating climate policy, too little attention is paid to social factors and too much to technological breakthroughs and economic reasons. Because citizens are hardly heard in this process, European governments risk losing public support at a crucial moment in the climate debate. This is the conclusion of several researchers from Radboud University in a paper published this week in Earth System Governance.
In several industrialised countries, governments are backing away from controversial building energy legislation that sought to ban oil and gas heating and replace them with fossil-free systems. An article co-authored by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Nature Climate Change now offers guidance on achieving the switch to climate-friendly technology without political uproar. Based on recent economic findings, the article provides criteria and a political roadmap for moderate, targeted regulation to complement the gradual increase in carbon pricing.