Living walls boost biodiversity by providing safe spaces for urban wildlife
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jan-2026 06:11 ET (22-Jan-2026 11:11 GMT/UTC)
A multi-institutional study led by the University of California, Davis, finds that living in urban areas with a higher percentage of visible trees is associated with a 4% decrease in cardiovascular disease. By comparison, living in urban areas with a higher percentage of grass was associated with a 6% increase in cardiovascular disease. Likewise, a higher rate of other types of green space, like bushes or shrubs, was associated with a 3% increase in cardiovascular disease. The new research was published in Environmental Epidemiology.
Researchers investigating the effectiveness of outdoor ads promoting climate change awareness and action found that a general message of climate emergency awareness received more QR code scans compared to a more-specific campaign focusing on sustainable fashion, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Maxwell Boykoff from the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, and colleagues.
The presence of S. jamesii starch on tools, combined with earlier genetic, ecological, and ethnographic research, indicates that Indigenous people intentionally transported, cultivated, and managed the plant across the Four Corners region. These activities define an “anthropogenic range” created through extensive trade networks and long-term use, a key indicator of early domestication.