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Companies’ ‘Deforestation-Free’ Supply Chain Pledges Have Barely Impacted Forest Clearance In The Amazon

More companies must make and implement zero-deforestation supply chain commitments in order to significantly reduce deforestation and protect diverse ecosystems, say researchers.

London Underground Polluted With Metallic Particles Small Enough To Enter Human Bloodstream

The London Underground is polluted with ultrafine metallic particles small enough to end up in the human bloodstream, according to University of Cambridge researchers. These particles are so small that they are likely being underestimated in surveys of pollution in the world’s oldest metro system.

Mussel Survey Reveals Alarming Degradation Of River Thames Ecosystem Since The 1960s

Scientists replicated a 1964 River Thames survey and found that mussel numbers have declined by almost 95%, with one species – the depressed river mussel – completely gone.

Set Up Reserve Lab Capacity Now For Faster Response To Next Pandemic, Say Researchers

Researchers say a ‘human bottleneck’, due to historical cuts in public health funding, delayed the UK’s scale-up of COVID-19 testing in the early stages of the country’s pandemic response.

Insulation Only Provides Short-Term Reduction In Household Gas Consumption

First study to look at long-term effect of home insulation in England and Wales finds fall in gas consumption per household was small and only lasts a few years.

Runaway West Antarctic Ice Retreat Can Be Slowed By Climate-Driven Changes In Ocean Temperature

New research finds that ice-sheet-wide collapse in West Antarctica isn’t inevitable: the pace of ice loss varies according to regional differences in atmosphere and ocean circulation.

Paying Farmers To Create Woodland And Wetland Is The Most Cost-Effective Way To Hit UK Environment Targets

Study of farmer preferences shows that turning whole areas of farmland into habitats comes with half the price tag of integrating nature into productive farmland, if biodiversity and carbon targets are to be met.

Groundbreaking 3D Model Reveals Megalodon's Capacity to Devour Prey the Size of Killer Whales

In a remarkable breakthrough, scientists have successfully reconstructed the body of the awe-inspiring prehistoric shark, the Megalodon, using a 3D computer model.

Carbon Emissions From Fertilisers Could Be Reduced By As Much As 80% By 2050

Researchers have calculated the carbon footprint for the full life cycle of fertilisers, which are responsible for approximately five percent of total greenhouse gas emissions – the first time this has been accurately quantified – and found that carbon emissions could be reduced to one-fifth of current levels by 2050.

Small-Scale Octopus Fisheries Can Provide Sustainable Source Of Vital Nutrients For Tropical Coastal Communities

Undernourished coastal communities in the tropics - where children’s growth can be stunted by a lack of micronutrients – can get the vitamins and minerals they need from sustainable small-scale octopus fisheries, say researchers.

‘Antisocial’ Damselfish Are Scaring Off Cleaner Fish Customers – And This Could Contribute To Coral Reef Breakdown

Damselfish have been discovered to disrupt ‘cleaning services’ vital to the health of reefs. And climate change may mean this is only likely to get worse.

Researchers Build More Detailed Picture Of The Movement Of Greenland Ice Sheet

Researchers have found that the movement of glaciers in Greenland is more complex than previously thought, with deformation in regions of warmer ice containing small amounts of water accounting for motion that had often been assumed to be caused by sliding where the ice meets the bedrock beneath.

Cambridge-Led Consortium Receives $35m To Boost Crop Production Sustainably In Sub-Saharan Africa

A Cambridge-led consortium has received US$35m (£28m) over five years to develop sustainable solutions to increasing the yields of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, without the need for costly and polluting inorganic fertilisers.

Voluntary UK Initiatives To Phase Out Toxic Lead Shot For Pheasant Hunting Have Had Little Impact

Three years into a five-year pledge to completely phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, a Cambridge study finds that 94% of pheasants on sale for human consumption were killed using lead.

Study Reveals Why Highly Infectious Cholera Variant Mysteriously Died Out

Scientists say continuous monitoring of the cholera bug genome is key to preventing outbreaks of new variants.

GTA South Asian Communities Disproportionately Hit By COVID-19

A COVID CommUNITY – South Asian study led by McMaster University researchers has found that South Asian communities living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic.

Iodine Status Varies Across Canada, Raising Deficiency Risk in Some Regions

Iodine deficiency, a public health concern resolved decades ago, may be making a comeback due to changing eating habits, according to new findings by McMaster University researchers.

Social Media Posts Around Solar Geoengineering ‘Spill Over’ Into Conspiracy Theories

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have analysed more than 800,000 tweets and found that negative emotions expressed about geoengineering – the idea that the climate can be altered using technology – can easily fall into conspiracy.

Study Explores Pros and Cons of Changing Diet to Treat Eczema

People with mild or moderate eczema may gain some relief by adjusting their diets, but there are important downsides to consider, McMaster researcher Derek Chu warns.

New Animal Welfare Scoring System Could Enable Better-Informed Food And Farming Choices

Cambridge University scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.