Salk scientists debut gene expression atlas of plant leaves across development, comparing normal versus drought conditions, revealing that drought accelerates leaf aging; pinpoints a gene that helps leaves keep growing under stress. The study clears the path to more drought-tolerant crops, which would protect yields and reduce farmer losses during mild droughts.

Using machine learning regression models, we predict porosity (measure of potential storage volume) and permeability (measure of fluid flow property in porous media) based on petrographic thin section analysis. Histogram-based Gradient Boosting algorithms successfully predict porosity (RMSE=2.23%) and permeability (RMSE=0.64 (orders of magnitude)) based on textural mineralogical properties recorded in petrographic samples. This may in the future allow to reduce the amount of resource- and time-intensive retrieval of core material in certain use cases, as the same methods can be applied to cuttings, produced as a by-product of any drilling operation worldwide.

A new long-term study reveals that biochar, a carbon-rich material derived from crop residues, can significantly enhance soil carbon storage, but its effectiveness depends strongly on land use and soil type.

The City College of New York's Professor Kaveh Madani and Director of the UN's Think Tank on Water, has been named the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate in recognition of his groundbreaking work linking water science, policy, diplomacy, and public outreach, including his influential “water bankruptcy” concept and fundamental contributions to integrating game theory into water resource modeling. Known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Water’, the Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious water award.

Two microscopic grains collide and produce a tiny spark. This phenomenon may have provided the energy to kick off life on Earth. But if these solid particles have the same composition, what factor causes the charge to flow in a given direction? In a new study published in Nature, physicists from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) identify the key factor as environmental carbon-based molecules that adhere to the materials’ surface.