Heat stress limits the performance of biofertilizer microbes in hot climates. Researchers at QST combined adaptive laboratory evolution with repeated, precisely dosed gamma irradiation to rapidly generate Bradyrhizobium strains that thrive at higher temperatures, suggesting a faster, non‑transgenic route to robust industrial microorganisms with broad sustainability benefits for agriculture, biomanufacturing, and renewable fuels.

A study reconstructs rainfall patterns during the extreme warming during the early Paleogene Period, 66 to 48 millions years ago. Conducted by University of Utah atmospheric scientists and Colorado School of Mines geologists, the research examined “proxies” in the geologic record and drew conclusions that suggest rainfall becomes more intense, but more irregular when Earth gets hot.