Road to COP26

Environment

Where Will Birds Live as Extreme Weather Gets Worse?

A new study led by Yale researchers shows something surprising. Extreme weather is quietly shrinking the ranges of more than 500 North American bird species. Heat waves, cold snaps, and droughts are not just short-term problems. They are permanently limiting where many birds can survive. The study appeared in the journal Global Change Biology. It is the first large-scale look at how extreme weather affects bird biodiversity across an entire continent. Why Old Models Got It Wrong Most earlier bird-range models relied on weather averages. They looked at typical seasonal temperatures and rainfall. But averages hide the extremes. A place might have...
Environment

What Do Satellite Images Reveal About the Oil Spills Near Iran and Oman?

Senuri Vithanage -
New satellite images show two separate oil spills spreading through waters near Iran and Oman. Scientists say both events are damaging fragile coastal ecosystems already strained by regional conflict. Researchers at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) studied satellite pictures taken between August 7 and August 10. They wanted to measure how far the oil had spread near two locations: the islands of Qeshm and...
Environment

Climate Change Is Pushing Butterflies to New Places, Study Finds

Senuri Vithanage -
A new study led by Monash University shows something remarkable. One in every ten butterfly species on Earth has changed where it lives. Scientists say climate change and extreme weather caused most of these changes. In fact, these two factors explain nearly 80 per cent of all the shifts recorded. This is the biggest study of its kind so far. Researchers looked at 6,182 separate records of range shifts. These...
Environment

How Did These Inbred Snakes Take Over Guam? New Study Explains

Senuri Vithanage -
The brown tree snake is one of the most notorious invasive species that biologists study today. This snake is originally from Australia and nearby Pacific islands. It somehow reached Guam after World War II, likely hiding in cargo planes. Since then, it has wiped out most of the island's native forest birds. It also causes hundreds of power outages every year by climbing onto electrical poles. In some parts...
Environment

Two Deadly Flowers May Hold Promising Medical Benefits

Senuri Vithanage -
Scientists have made significant progress in synthesising some of nature’s most potent and powerful plant chemicals in the laboratory. The compounds come from two highly poisonous plants, wolfsbane and larkspur. Although these plants can cause severe poisoning, some of their chemicals may also have useful medical properties. Researchers from Michigan State University and the Czech Academy of Sciences worked together to understand how these plants make the complex substances. The...
Environment

The Mystery of the Missing Tiny Dinosaurs: New Study Offers Clues

Senuri Vithanage -
Dinosaurs are famous for their giant size. Tyrannosaurus rex and Patagotitan mayorum are two well-known examples. However, there is another unusual fact about dinosaurs that is often overlooked. Even the smallest ones were still fairly large. Today, tiny animals are everywhere. Mice, hummingbirds, geckos, and shrews all weigh just a few grams. Some weigh even less. But the picture looked entirely unique during the age of dinosaurs. The smallest known...
Environment

University of Bristol Launches New Climate Action Plan

Senuri Vithanage -
The University of Bristol has renewed its plan for tackling climate change. The new approach brings the whole university together. Staff, students, and researchers are working as one team to reach shared climate goals. Bristol is already known as a leader in climate science. Its researchers study the effects of the climate crisis in enormous depth. This expertise helped shape the university's new goals for the next five years and...