Bioplastic breakthrough: Sustainable cooling film could slash building energy use by 20% amid rising global temperatures
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Jun-2025 12:10 ET (28-Jun-2025 16:10 GMT/UTC)
An international team of scientists has developed a biodegradable material that could slash global energy consumption without using any electricity, according to a new study published today.
In the ever-evolving landscape of geospatial technology, innovations are steadily advancing our capabilities in Earth monitoring and urban planning. Precise positioning technologies and geoinformation science have become essential for various applications, from scientific research on global climate change and earthquake monitoring to supporting major initiatives in satellite navigation and smart city development. This article explores recent advancements in the field, including improvements in Terrestrial Reference Frame accuracy, real-time seismic monitoring through Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs), the development of advanced hyperspectral imaging systems, new techniques for ionospheric irregularity detection, and the creation of three-dimensional (3D) building space datasets for urban planning. These developments, while incremental, collectively enhance our ability to understand and manage our planet's resources and urban environments with greater precision and insight.
Psychologists at Leipzig University and TU Dortmund University have, for the first time, brought together international research findings on the phenomenon of climate anxiety. They found that certain groups are more prone to climate anxiety than others. These include, above all, younger people, women, individuals with more left-leaning political views, people with deep concerns about the future and the environment, and those frequently exposed to the consequences of climate change and related information. The researchers have just published the findings of their meta-analysis in the journal Global Environmental Change.
Trees are essential to life on Earth. They support ecosystems, store carbon, provide clean water, improve our health, and offer countless benefits to people and nature. In a new study, researchers modeled the future climate exposure (areas where trees will experience conditions they have never faced before) of more than 32,000 tree species worldwide. Their findings reveal that many trees will face conditions far outside what they currently experience—especially under high greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
Climate change and habitat loss are affecting animal populations around the world and reptiles such as South Australia’s own endangered pygmy bluetongue are susceptible to higher temperatures and declining long-term rainfall trends.
Flinders University scientists are working on securing a sustainable future for the burrow-dwelling endemic skink (Tiliqua adelaidensis) by assessing their suitability to cooler and slightly greener locations, below their usual range in the state’s drier, hotter northern regions.