The biopolymer lignin – one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils – not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked with reactive oxygen species, without the involvement of microorganisms. When this happens, the lignin is converted into methanol and subsequently into formaldehyde. That is shown by a study conducted at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Earth Sciences. The researchers also proved that this conversion takes place in natural soils – solely through wetting and without adding chemicals. This form of lignin degradation shines a light on a previously overlooked abiotic process that is related to Earth’s carbon cycle and can have implications for trace gas fluxes and atmospheric chemistry.

Eighteen early-career scientists have been named Finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, competing for three unrestricted $250,000 Laureate prizes

Since 2007, the Awards have invested more than $20 million in over 500 scientists worldwide

The investment has led to the founding of more than 50 companies, five of which are publicly traded and collectively valued at over $40 billion

A 178-year-old mystery surrounding one of the earliest recorded examples of space weather affecting technology has been solved by an international team led by Lancaster University.

 

The first practical electric telegraph networks were deployed during the 1840s, and as solar activity increased during the following years, Victorian telegraph operators began to experience unexplained electrical effects caused by geomagnetic disturbances.

Professor Jim Wild from Lancaster University with scientists from the British Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada, Baylor University, RMIT University, and STFC RAL Space, re-examined a widely cited account of a train delay in Exeter that was reportedly caused by geomagnetic disturbance from the sun interfering with railway’s telegraph systems.

The event has previously been cited as potentially the earliest recorded example of space weather affecting human technology but the team’s research published in the American Geophysical Union journal Space Weather contradicts this assumption.

 

A latest study published in National Science Review has resolved inconsistencies in the responses of Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) to greenhouse warming that arise from earlier definitions. The study reports a robust increase in WPSH’s area and intensity, its northwestward expansion, as well as in occurrence of stronger, longer-lasting record-breaking WPSH events under the past and future climate change scenario. These changes imply increasing risk exposure to monsoon rainfall extremes and heatwaves beyond historical experience for human society and communities.

Structures critically control hydrothermal gold mineralization and orebodies distribution. Using borehole data, deep geophysical surveys, and 3D geological models from typical Jiaodong gold deposits, this study reveals the ore-controlling role of fault-dip variations. Gold orebodies preferentially occur in gently dipping fault segments and at steep-to-gentle transitions, forming a step-like mineralization pattern. Comparison with gold deposits across China identifies three step-control styles: (1) gently dipping segments and steep-to-gentle bends of a single fault; (2) subsidiary gently dipping faults linked to a steep master fault; (3) gently dipping interlayer structures bounded by steep faults. Mechanical analysis shows that gently dipping faults concentrate stress, provide good sealing, and have low wall-rock shear strength, which together promote fluid focusing and gold precipitation. These findings refine the theory of hydrothermal gold mineralization and offer valuable guidance for deep gold exploration.