According to new research from Tulane University, mercury levels in the world's rivers have more than doubled since the pre-industrial era, and primary drivers of the increase are wastewater discharge, soil erosion and mercury releases from industrial activities and mining. The study, published in Science Advances, developed a process-based model to simulate mercury transport in rivers and found that global rivers carried approximately 390 metric tons of mercury to oceans annually before 1850. Today, that figure has jumped to about 1,000 metric tons per year. The research provides the first known global baseline for riverine mercury pollution.

A new adaptive control system for autonomous drones minimizes trajectory tracking error. It uses AI to approximate the unknown forces that could affect the drone’s flight path and automatically pick an optimization algorithm that best suits the problem at hand.

The growing trend of encouraging educators to learn about how children’s brains work can offer reassurance, but it risks teachers’ autonomy and critical thinking, a new study warns.

Environmental engineers at Washington University in St. Louis develop hydrogels to transform wastewater nutrients to useful feedstocks and fertilizers.

Using screwworms, mosquitoes and invasive rodents as case studies, a team of researchers, including a Texas A&M professor, argues that deliberate full extinction is acceptable, but only rarely.