A study of over a thousand people in Hungary has found for the first time that people who feel more connected to nature are less likely to be affected by snake and spider fears or phobias. In the study, researchers from universities in Hungary, Czech Republic and Portugal used clinically established questionnaires to assess participants’…

Researchers have developed a method for forecasting the locations where a distinct population of New Zealand blue whales are most likely to occur up to three weeks in advance. This ability to forecast is a significant advance in conservation management for a species whose habitat overlaps with a wide range of commercial activities, including oil…

Planting and growing a strategic mix of cover crops not only reduces the loss of nitrogen from farm fields, protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, but the practice also contributes nitrogen to subsequent cash crops, improving yields, according to researchers. The economic benefits of taking cover-cropping to the next level are important because the…

Particle removal increased from 41% on hydrophilic smooth Si wafers to 98% on superhydrophobic Si-based nanotextured surfaces. The researchers confirmed these results by measuring the adhesion of a micron-sized particle to the flat and nanotextured substrate using an atomic force microscope. They found that the adhesion in water is reduced by a factor of 30.…

Sustainable agriculture will not be achieved by one universal solution. A meta-analysis shows that the current focus on no-till farming does not achieve the desired results. A sustainable system of agriculture must be designed for local needs and in dialog with local farmers. In 2016, the United Nations developed 17 Sustainable Development Goals to build…

Researchers have found that plants balance growth and genome maintenance by organizing their responses to damage. Plants can’t replace dead cells as animals do, and must deal with DNA damage without halting growth. Combined control of the plant hormones cytokinin and auxin allows plants to organize different DNA damage responses while minimizing cell death. This…

Although concentrations of chemicals and pollutants like salt and nutrients have increased in the deep waters of Lake George, they’re still too low to harm the ecosystem at those depths, according to an analysis of nearly 40 years of data. The Offshore Chemistry Program (OCP), run by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute, has…