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Mangrove forests could play a crucial role in protecting coastal areas from sea level rise caused by climate change, according to new research involving the University of Southampton.

The automotive industry needs to face up to the hazard to health posed by its diesel engines. That stark reality was brought home again to Europeans and, in particular, Londoners last week when Transport for London and the Greater London Authority revealed that an additional 5,900 early deaths annually in the EU’s largest city are attributable to long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a toxic gas emitted in urban areas largely from diesel engines.

Concern about the health effects of NO2 is growing fast. The gas was known to irritate lungs and cause respiratory infections and asthma, including acute respiratory illnesses in children. It has also been linked to birth abnormalities. But this new research by King’s College London estimates for the first time the number of premature deaths caused. The study also shows an additional 3,500 deaths are caused by PM2.5, bringing the total number of people who die early because of air pollution annually in London to 9,400.

The first worldwide study of animals and the seeds they eat has overturned a long-held assumption - that large animals mainly eat large seeds. The finding by UNSW Australia scientists has implications for conservation showing that a wider variety of plants than is often thought could be at risk if large animals go extinct and do not disperse their seeds.

The negative health effects of international air travel are well documented but now it seems that the common elderberry can provide some relief.

Hawai…el solo nombre provoca imágenes de rítmicos bailes tradicionales, impresionantes costas del mar azul celeste y escenas de pájaros vibrantes revoloteando través de una exuberante jungla. Por desgracia, el futuro de muchas aves nativas de Hawai se ve sombrío conforme las enfermedades transmitidas por los mosquitos los obligan a expandirse hacia zonas elevadas de seguridad.

En un nuevo estudio publicado en Global Change Biology, los investigadores del Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos y la Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison, evalúan cómo el cambio climático global afectará en el futuro el riesgo de malaria a las poblaciones de aves nativas de Hawai en el próximo siglo.