A Dartmouth study uses machine learning to reexamine whether climate change is causing large waves in the polar jet stream that have brought Arctic-like temperatures and storms to temperate regions of the United States in recent years. The researchers constructed a timeline of the jet stream's wintertime variability since 1901 and found it's in the latest of several “wavy” periods from the past 125 years, most of which predate significant effects of climate change. The authors report that climate change is likely not amplifying extreme winter weather by making the jet stream wavier, but through more direct links such as a warmer atmosphere that retains more moisture.

A new study reveals that water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) from air-dried soils can effectively estimate microbial biomass, offering a safer alternative to traditional methods. This approach reduces the use of toxic solvents, simplifies sampling, and shows a strong correlation between WEOM and microbial biomass carbon. The findings open new doors for accessible and scalable soil microbiology research. This innovative method provides a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional chloroform fumigation extraction, enhancing soil microbiology research.

Black soils, revered as the world's agricultural powerhouses, are rapidly deteriorating under mounting environmental and human pressures. 

Research led by Earth scientists at the University of Southampton has uncovered evidence of rhythmic surges of molten mantle rock rising from deep within the Earth beneath Africa. These pulses are gradually tearing the continent apart and forming a new ocean.

A groundbreaking study in PLOS Biology from researchers at Harvard University, offers a fresh and compelling answer to the fundamental evolution mystery of how mammals went from sprawling like lizards to upright; revealing the path to upright posture wasn’t linear, but full of unexpected detours, evolutionary experimentation, and dramatic anatomical upheaval.