New research from Michigan State University reveals that photorespiration – long considered a wasteful process – is essential for producing a crucial nutrient for preventing birth defects.

For the first time, scientists have measured how much carbon flows through photorespiration to make folates, a class of compounds that includes vitamin B9 – known for its importance as a prenatal vitamin. According to the study, led by MSU researcher Berkley Walker, about 6 percent of the carbon absorbed by plants is used to make folates. That number plummets by fivefold when photorespiration is suppressed.  

These findings, published in Nature Plants, could help scientists engineer plants to boost production of the nutrient important for human health. They also shed light on how a high-carbon dioxide world caused by climate change could make plants less nutritious.

A research team from Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory introduced a new, eco-friendly method to transform carbon dioxide (CO₂, a major greenhouse gas) into useful high-performance plastics using a simple copper-based catalyst. Conducted under mild conditions at room temperature and ambient pressure, this process efficiently incorporates CO₂ into polymer materials that can be used in packaging, sensors, biomedical devices and more. The developed polymers are highly soluble, customizable, and can be quickly modified to create multifunctional materials. This innovative approach not only offers a sustainable way to recycle CO₂ but also opens new possibilities for producing advanced materials that support environmentally friendly manufacturing and help combat climate change. 

In the next 75 years, surface sea temperatures may rise by up to 4°C, with increasingly frequent short-term marine heatwaves also predicted. This could cause significant damage to our essential marine ecosystems, for example with corals widely known to be vulnerable to bleaching. But how will fish fare in these changing climates? In iScience, researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) describe the metabolic and molecular changes that can support young clownfish to adapt to climate change and warming seas. Through genomic and transcriptomic studies across multiple tissues within young clownfish, the team identified the biological processes affected by rising water temperatures. And the outlook is more positive than we may have thought.

AI Predicts More "Super Floods" and "Extreme Droughts" for Pakistan.

In the world’s cold and snowy regions, shorter and warmer winters are one of the most conspicuous consequences of climate change.

India records the highest number of snakebite fatalities worldwide, between 46,000-60,000 annually. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Imon Abedin at Dibru-Saikhowa Conservation Society, Tinsukia, India and colleagues suggests that climate change-related shifts in the geographic distribution of venomous snakes will increase the risk of snakebites in certain regions.

For the first time, research led by scientists at the University of São Paulo quantifies the impact of forest loss and global climate change on the biome. 

The rise in global mean sea level (GMSL) is a critical indicator of climate change. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have utilised advanced space geodetic technologies to deliver the first precise 30-year (1993-2022) record of global ocean mass change (also known as barystatic sea level), revealing its dominant role in driving GMSL rise. Their research further indicates that GMSL has been increasing at an average rate of approximately 3.3 mm per year with a notable acceleration observed, highlighting the growing severity of climate change. The research findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.