A new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study suggests greater exposure to extreme heat may accelerate biological aging in older adults, raising new concerns about how climate change and heat waves could affect long-term health and aging at the molecular level.

By tracking half a million fungal highways and the traffic flows within them, researchers describe how plants and symbiotic fungi build efficient supply chains. The team built an imaging robot that allowed them to gather 100 years’ worth of microscopy data in under 3 years. This work advances our understanding of how fungi move billions of tons of CO2e into underground ecosystems each year.

A century of fire suppression, climate change, and drought has worsened wildfires in the Western U.S. While prescribed burns help reduce fuel, a “fire deficit” increases wildfire risks, with significant health and environmental impacts. Deforestation and pests further limit carbon storage. Emulating Indigenous practices, a new study shows that combining physical harvesting of dead wood with thinning reduces wildfire risks, lowers carbon emissions, and boosts carbon storage through products like biochar.

New Curtin University research has revealed how massive ancient glaciers acted like giant bulldozers, reshaping Earth’s surface and paving the way for complex life to flourish.

By chemically analysing crystals in ancient rocks, the researchers discovered that as glaciers carved through the landscape, they scraped deep into the Earth’s crust, releasing key minerals that altered ocean chemistry.

This process had a profound impact on our planet’s composition, creating conditions that allowed complex life to evolve.

A new species of manzanita — a native California shrub famous for its twisted branches and wildfire resilience — has been discovered on the central coast, but its survival is already threatened by urban development that could destroy much of its fragile population.