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The iconic marsupial can regulate its temperature to a greater degree than previously thought - but this could prove troublesome as global warming bites. For the first time, free-ranging wild koalas have been observed regulating their body temperatures ahead of the hottest days of summer, by lowering their temperatures well below average during cooler morning conditions.

Due to warming caused by climate change, the Antarctic ice shelves are melting at an accelerated rate. Most of the melt comes from below the ice shelves, a result of warm water flowing underneath them. However, the process does not stop there-as the meltwater enters the ocean, it is carried around the coast of Antarctica by ocean currents, modifying melt rates at ice shelves farther downstream.

New research by Cardiff University's Otter Project has found that PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals', present in English otters, raising concerns about potential health impacts in the future. The Cardiff scientists tested otters from across the UK to monitor levels of PFAS in the environment, to gain an understanding of the concentration of these chemicals in the UK's freshwaters, their persistence in the environment and any ecological and health risks.

TUM Scientists Develop New Method for Early Detection of Climate Tipping Points Abrupt shifts within complex systems such as the Earth's climate system are extremely hard to predict. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have now succeeded in developing a new method to anticipate such tipping points in advance.

Less waste, mild reaction conditions, and no harmful solvents - only a very thin layer of gold is necessary to sustainably convert alcohols into aldehydes through mechanochemistry. A gold-coated milling vessel for ball mills proved to be a real marvel in the research work by Inorganic Chemistry at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany: Without any solvents or environmentally harmful chemicals, the team led by Professor Lars Borchardt was able to use it to convert alcohols into aldehydes.

Researchers are using radar to scan the snow and ice on the Jungfraujoch. Sometimes, scaling an icy peak is the only way for scientists to fully understand satellite data. Glacier melt is just one of the topics the researchers are here to study. They are also developing new radar methods to directly measure the thickness of the snow cover.

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that grassland and arable land could better provide different services at the same time if the use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers is reduced. According to the researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig University (UL) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), these results also apply under possible future climate conditions.

Video footage of Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption is providing researchers from the University of Cambridge with rare, up-close observations of volcanic ash clouds - information that could help better forecast how far explosive eruptions disperse their hazardous ash particles. When Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, it ejected roughly 250 million tonnes of volcanic ash into the atmosphere: much of which was blown over Europe and into flight paths.

In a recently launched project, the aquatic research institute Eawag is investigating how the use of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) affects the surrounding soil, the groundwater and the microorganisms living in it. In collaboration with Empa and its Demonstrator Energy Hub (ehub), a project is being developed in a unique setting on the campus in Dübendorf.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences have developed a novel solution for heat pumps. Using this new approach, companies can generate carbon-free process heat at temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius while also drastically reducing the number of different heat pumps required.

A new study by the Milner Centre for Evolution suggests that mating systems of birds have a stronger effect on evolution rates than previously thought. New research led by the University of Bath's Milner Centre for Evolution shows that shorebird species where females breed with multiple males in each season evolve significantly faster than monogamous species.

The carbon emissions of French manufacturers fell by an estimated 15% during the first eight years of the EU Emissions Trading System policy. This is the key finding of a new study by experts at Imperial College Business School, in collaboration with the University of Virginia and University of Mannheim.

A new downscaling method leverages machine learning to speed up climate model simulations at finer resolutions, making them usable on local levels. Climate models are a key technology in predicting the impacts of climate change. By running simulations of the Earth's climate, scientists and policymakers can estimate conditions like sea level rise, flooding, and rising temperatures, and make decisions about how to appropriately respond.

A new way of helping a critically endangered species of eel swim upstream during their migration has been tested by Cardiff researchers. The cheap and easy to retrofit method helps the fish overcome human-made obstacles such as culverts, weirs and flumes routinely used in UK waterways to enable river crossings via bridges and to regulate river flow.

PhD candidate Ben Williams (UCL Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research and ZSL's Institute of Zoology) writes with a colleague about why they built SurfPerch, an AI led system to make it faster and easier for marine scientists to answer ecological questions. Coral reefs cover only 0.1% of the ocean's surface - yet they host 25% of all known marine species.

According to a study by UC3M and the Elcano Institute The individual pressure that each person can exert to combat climate change has a significant effect on their environment to promote green behaviour. This is one of the conclusions of a scientific study by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies that analyses the socio-political factors that influence the acceptance of climate policies in Spain.

Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed an approach to increase crop yield and efficiency by making plants more resilient against disease and harmful environmental factors. In a world where agriculture accounts for 14%-28% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of all freshwater withdraws, it is impossible to ignore that current agricultural practices are unsustainable.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a threat to health worldwide. This makes it all the more important not only to track their spread, but also to recognise trends. Over the course of a year, researchers have analysed wastewater from six wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland for the spread of antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria.

Led by the University of Bremen, RWTH paleoclimate researcher Professor Thorsten Bauersachs and colleagues have now published their results on the glaciation of West Antarctica in the journal Science Advances. It has been more than 30 million years since West Antarctica was last largely ice-free. In the last 30 million years, however, it has been extensively glaciated.

Researchers at UZH have found that the maturation of the senses for smell and touch is closely linked in mice and that this strong interaction takes place within a narrow developmental time window. These findings not only underline the importance of environmental stimuli for brain assembly in early life, but also the interdependent development of the senses.