What happens when cows graze, carbon vanishes from soil, and climate change looms large? Scientists have a plan—and it involves a black, brainy material called biochar that’s transforming how we think about soil health in some of the planet’s most delicate landscapes. A powerful new study—published on July 7, 2025, in Carbon Research—has cracked the code on how to protect and even boost soil carbon in karst ecosystems, the stunning limestone-rich regions that stretch across southern China and beyond. 

Broad support amongst U.K. public for additional regulation of advertisments for high-carbon products and services, per study including large poll and citizens’ jury.

The cultivation of rice—the staple grain for more than 3.5 billion people around the world—comes with extremely high environmental, climate and economic costs. But this may be about to change, thanks to new research led by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and China’s Jiangnan University. They have shown that nanoscale applications of the element selenium can decrease the amount of fertilizer necessary for rice cultivation while sustaining yields, boosting nutrition, enhancing the soil’s microbial diversity and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. What’s more, in a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they demonstrate for the first time that such nanoscale applications work in real-world conditions.

In a bold step toward climate action, leading microbiology societies and organizations have unveiled their first joint global strategy to harness the power of microbial science in addressing the climate crisis. This landmark strategy has been published across 6 scientific journals, including FEMS Microbiology Ecology, mBio, Microbiology Australia, Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, Sustainable Microbiology and The ISME Journal.