Research & development > Environmental science

Controlling root growth could help crops, combat climate change

13 March, 2024

A highly conserved ethylene signalling pathway can be targeted to control the direction of root growth, creating deeper root systems that hold on to carbon.


Iron will: how plants deprive bacteria by depriving themselves

01 March, 2024

When plants feel threatened by harmful bacteria, they are willing to stop acquiring iron and stop growing.


The temperature difference between day and night is widening

29 February, 2024

While night-time temperatures have typically increased at a faster pace than daytime temperatures, researchers recently found that this pattern had reversed.


RNA-based spray combats myrtle rust in plants

22 February, 2024

Queensland researchers have developed a treatment that can both prevent and cure infection caused by an invasive fungal disease devastating native Australian plants.


University of Canberra Scores ARC Discovery Project Funding For Frogs

22 February, 2024

The multi-agency, multi-year project hopes to reintroduce the green and golden bell frog back to wetlands throughout the ACT.


Sea sponges suggest we have surpassed 1.5°C of warming

06 February, 2024 by Lauren Davis

Global mean surface temperatures may have already passed 1.5°C of warming, according to ocean temperature records preserved in sclerosponge skeletons from the Caribbean.


2023 confirmed as the hottest year on record

15 January, 2024

2023 was the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850, thanks to unprecedented global temperatures from June onwards.


L'Oréal and Great Barrier Reef Foundation partner on reef restoration

22 December, 2023

The new partnership will support critical reef interventions including the targeted deployment of two million heat-tolerant corals on the Great Barrier Reef by 2030.


Microplastics found in clouds could affect the weather

07 December, 2023

Scientists are not only detecting microplastics in the atmosphere but also investigating how they may play a role in cloud formation.


Scientists deep-freeze native plants at risk of extinction

15 November, 2023

A process similar to that used to store human embryos is being used by scientists to save native Australian plants under threat from invasive myrtle rust.


Climate scientists sound the alarm; those with lung conditions at risk

30 October, 2023

Scientists say that Earth's vital signs have worsened beyond anything we have seen — and people with lung conditions are particularly at risk.


Over 40% of Antarctica's ice shelves have shrunk in 25 years

26 October, 2023

Scientists found that 71 of the 162 ice shelves surrounding Antarctica have reduced in volume over 25 years from 1997 to 2021, with a net release of 7.5 trillion tonnes of meltwater into the oceans.


Starch discovery reaps benefits for industry

16 October, 2023

UK researchers have brought clarity to the longstanding question of how starch granules form in the seeds of Triticeae crops — wheat, barley and rye.


Melting ice likely triggered climate event >8000 years ago

04 October, 2023

Scientists have identified a melting ice sheet as the probable trigger of a major climate-change event just over 8000 years ago.


Air pollution impacts bees' ability to find flowers

27 September, 2023

Ozone substantially changes the size and scent of floral odour plumes given off by flowers, reducing honeybees' ability to recognise odours by up to 90%.


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