Getting zapped with millions of volts of electricity may not sound like a healthy activity, but for some trees, it is. A new study, published in New Phytologist, reports that some tropical tree species are not only able to tolerate lightning strikes, but benefit from them. The trees may have even evolved to act as lightning rods. The research was led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Gora studies how lightning impacts biodiversity and carbon storage in Panama’s tropical forests.

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in collaboration with international partners, have developed a novel approach to addressing uncertainties in ecological and environmental projections, providing a more robust assessment of extinction risk for emperor penguins. The study, which accounts for the unique life history and critical dependence of emperor penguins on the Antarctic environment, reveals that emperor penguins meet the criteria for uplisting to a category ranging from Vulnerable to Endangered under the IUCN guidelines on risk and uncertainty (IUCN, 2024). This represents a significant and urgent change from their current classification of Near Threatened, highlighting the elevated risk emperor penguins face due to future changes in their Antarctic habitat.

This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.  Researchers describe their work in an advanced online publication in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.

A decade after beech leaf disease emerged in Ohio, researchers have found that 30% of local American beech trees have died, with surviving trees growing significantly more slowly. The study, based on rare long-term data, is the first to quantify the devastating effects of the disease—and suggests lasting impacts on eastern North American forests.

MIT scientists used light to control how a starfish egg cell jiggles and moves during its earliest stage of development. Their optical system could guide the design of synthetic, light-activated cells for wound healing or drug delivery.

In a groundbreaking study on the synthesis of cellulose – a major constituent of all plant cell walls – a team of Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers has captured images of the microscopic process of cell-wall building continuously over 24 hours with living plant cells, providing critical insights that may lead to the development of more robust plants for increased food and lower-cost biofuels production.

The discovery, published in the journal Science Advances, reveals a dynamic process never seen before and may provide practical applications for everyday products derived from plants including enhanced textiles, biofuels, biodegradable plastics, and new medical products. The research also is expected to contribute to the fundamental knowledge – while providing a new understanding – of the formation of cell walls, the scientists said