Study Shows Common Pesticide May Be Harming Bumblebee Reproduction
A new study by researchers at Georgia Tech has found that sulfoxaflor — a pesticide introduced in 2013 to protect crops such as soybeans and corn from sap-feeding insects — may be undermining bees’ ability to reproduce. Bumblebees support roughly one-third of the world’s food production, highlighting the need to protect crops without harming the insects that make harvests possible.
Scientists Just Mapped 68 Quadrillion Miles of Underground Fungal Networks
Scientists have newly mapped a vast network of fungal threads stretching 68 quadrillion miles — about a third of the way to the Milky Way’s center — beneath every forest and grassland on Earth. These underground networks move an estimated 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the soil each year. That’s equal to approximately 11% of all human-related emissions.
Oak Trees May Store Less Carbon Than Expected
Trees fight climate change by converting absorbed carbon into wood for long-term storage. But a new Columbia University study found that oak trees keep absorbing carbon long after their growth stops — meaning that carbon never becomes wood. If forests store less than models predict, current emissions offset strategies may need to be fundamentally rethought.
Scientists Find a Weakness in “Forever Chemicals”
PFAS or “forever chemicals” accumulate in drinking water, food packaging, and human blood, and almost nothing can break them down. A new study by researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark found that intense ultraviolet light generates hydrogen radicals from water that can destroy PFAS entirely, without added chemicals — the first real path to elimination rather than filtration.
The Ocean Acts as a Natural Brake on Global Drought
A study led by the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar found that synchronized droughts affect only 1.8% to 6.5% of the planet’s land area at any one time. Shifting ocean temperature cycles create regional drought hotspots in some areas while simultaneously reducing drought risk in others, creating a natural planetary thermostat.
