Prehistoric kangaroos in southern Australia had a more general diet than previously assumed, giving rise to new ideas about their survival and resilience to climate change, and the final extinction of the megafauna, a new study has found.

The new research, a collaboration between palaeontologists from Flinders University and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), used advanced dental analysis techniques to study microscopic wear patterns on fossilised kangaroo teeth.

Construction materials such as concrete and plastic have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to a new study by civil engineers and earth systems scientists at UC Davis and Stanford University. The study, published Jan. 10 in Science, shows that combined with steps to decarbonize the economy, storing CO2 in buildings could help the world achieve goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Salk Institute scientists have created the first single cell genomic atlas of mature plants' outer armor layer, called the periderm, and its carbon-capturing phellem cells. The findings will be useful in creating more robust, climate change-fighting plants.

A joint U.S.-Japan project funded by the NSF and JST, involving researchers from FAU, Lehigh University, and Japanese institutions like Kyoto University, aims to develop a human-centered flood risk management framework. Supported by a $1 million grant, the three-year project focuses on integrating natural conditions, public perceptions, policies, and the impacts of flooding on vulnerable groups such as low-income, minority, disabled, and elderly populations.

With the continuous growth of global energy demand and the intensification of environmental issues, CO₂ emissions have surged dramatically, reaching up to 54 billion tons annually, drawing worldwide attention. Converting CO₂ into high-value chemicals not only helps mitigate global climate change but also promotes the development of the carbon cycle and green chemistry. Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reactions offer an effective pathway for this conversion, and porous materials, with their unique physicochemical properties, have shown tremendous potential in these reactions.

Salk scientists have created a new atlas of plant cells during immune response, in turn discovering a new rare cell state, called Primary IMmunE Responder (PRIMER), that acts as an immune response hub to initiate defense strategy throughout plants. The publicly available database offers novel insight into the plant immune response—an urgent task in the face of climate change growing antimicrobial resistance.

In the ongoing battle against climate change, quantifying the carbon locked within trees is essential for tracking the effectiveness of our mitigation efforts.