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The main job of pollen is to help seed the next generation of trees and plants, but a new study from the University of Michigan and Texas A&M shows that the grains might also seed clouds. The unexpected findings demonstrate that these wind-carried capsules of genetic material might have an effect on the planet's climate. And they highlight a new link between plants and the atmosphere.

Electric car pioneer Tesla unveiled a "home battery" last week which its founder Elon Musk said would help change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world". Environmentally-conscious German customers are targeted as potential buyers of the product.

The Tesla Powerwall, unveiled on Thursday (30 April), can store power from solar panels, from the electricity grid at night when it is typically cheaper, and provide a secure backup in the case of a power outage.

In theory the device, which typically would fit on the wall of a garage or inside a house, could make solar-powered homes completely independent of the traditional energy grid.

While climatologists are carefully watching carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, another group of scientists is exploring a massive storehouse of carbon that has the potential to significantly affect the climate change picture. University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography researcher Aron Stubbins is part of a team investigating how ancient carbon, locked away in Arctic permafrost for thousands of years, is now being transformed into carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere.

The resilience of U.S. coastal communities to storms, flooding, erosion and other threats can be strengthened when they are protected by natural infrastructure such as marshes, reefs, and beaches, or with hybrid approaches, such as a “living shoreline” — a combination of natural habitat and built infrastructure, according to a new NOAA study.

Un nuevo estudio sugiere que la participación en actividades de baja intensidad como el estar de pie puede no ser suficiente para compensar los riesgos de salud de estar sentado durante largos períodos de tiempo. Agregar a su rutina dos minutos de caminar cada hora, podría ser el truco. Estos hallazgos fueron publicados en la Revista Clínica de la Sociedad Americana de Nefrología (CJASN).

Numerosos estudios han demostrado que estar sentado durante largos períodos de tiempo cada día conduce a un mayor riesgo de muerte prematura, así como enfermedades del corazón, diabetes y otras enfermedades. Teniendo en cuenta que el 80 por ciento de los estadounidenses...