When raindrops hit a leaf of a wheat plant infected with rust – a pathogenic spore that has decimated crops globally – the leaf flutters, creating tiny swirling vortices of air that disperse the spores, where they could end up infecting healthy plants.

New research into the marine phosphorus cycle is deepening our understanding of the impact of human activities on ecosystems in coastal seas.

New Curtin University-led research has estimated that 1454 avoidable deaths (one person every five days) occurred in Australian capital cities in the past 20 years because of fine particle air pollution from extreme events such as bushfires and dust storms, wood-heater smoke or industrial accidents.

Prenatal exposure to air pollution increases the risk of severe respiratory distress in newborn babies, according to new research conducted at the Penn State College of Medicine in collaboration with the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) Study led by Health Canada. 

Global warming continues to pose a threat to human society and the ecological systems, and carbon dioxide accounts for the largest proportion of the greenhouse gases that dominate climate warming.

Plastic microparticles released into the environment from common road tyres should be treated as a “high concern” pollutant, that may exceed chronic safety limits in some heavily contaminated environments, new research has shown.

As sea levels rise due to global warming, ecosystems are being altered.

The pore-like structure of permeable pavements may help protect coho salmon by preventing tire wear particles and related contaminants from entering stormwater runoff, according to a Washington State University study.

The power sector is the biggest source of emissions globally, but the rapid growth of wind, solar, and nuclear generation are at last pushing power sector emissions into decline, analysts say.

The fastest growing type of offset on the global carbon market subsidizes the distribution of efficient cookstoves in developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but a new study finds that the stoves’ carbon saving credits are vastly overestimated, by a factor of 10.