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For 25 years, methodical research by scientists has investigated the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 on Alaskan communities and ecosystems. A new study released today into the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska shows that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to very low levels of crude oil can develop hidden heart defects that compromise their later survival, indicating that the spill may have had much greater impacts on spawning fish than previously recognized.

The herring population crashed four years after the spill in Prince William Sound and pink salmon stocks also declined, but the link to the oil spill has remained controversial. The new findings published in the online journal Scientific Reports suggest that the delayed effects of the spill may have been important contributors to the declines.

Los árboles en las ciudades de todo el Reino Unido podrían mejorar significativamente la calidad del aire que respiramos al disminuir los niveles de contaminación para los peatones, han revelado los investigadores de la Universidad de Leicester.

El equipo de la Universidad del Departamento de Física y Astronomía de Leicester encontró que los árboles tienen un impacto regional beneficioso al aumentar la turbulencia y la reducción de las...

Sea level rise poses one of the biggest threats to human systems in a globally warming world, potentially causing trillions of dollars' worth of damages to flooded cities around the world. As surface temperatures rise, ice sheets are melting at record rates and sea levels are rising.

But there may be some good news amid the worry. Sea levels may not rise as high as assumed.

Los objetivos climáticos colectivos presentados por los gobiernos en la ONU, darán lugar a emisiones globales muy por encima de los niveles necesarios para mantener el calentamiento por debajo de los 2 ° C, advirtieron hoy los investigadores del Rastreador de Acciones Climáticas (CAT por sus siglas en inglés).

For researchers trying to untangle the roots of the current epidemic of asthma, one observation is especially intriguing: Children who grow up on dairy farms are much less likely than the average child to develop the respiratory disease. Now, a European team studying mice has homed in on a possible explanation: Bits of bacteria found in farm dust trigger an inflammatory response in the animals’ lungs that later protects them from asthma. An enzyme involved in this defense is sometimes disabled in people with asthma, suggesting that treatments inspired by this molecule could ward off the condition in people.