University of Missouri study challenges assumptions about biodiversity near Earth’s first reef systems.

In a study published in National Science Review, a research team led by Prof. Xiaoqi Zhou from the School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences at East China Normal University has revealed that enhancing tree diversity can effectively reduce nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from forest soils. This finding underscores the critical importance of preserving high tree diversity in forests as a strategic approach to mitigate the impacts of global climate change.

Submarine canyons are large, kilometer-deep gorges on the seafloor along continental margins that transport sediments, nutrients, and carbon from offshore regions into the deep sea. Geoscientists Professor Anne Bernhardt of Freie Universität Berlin and PD Dr. Wolfgang Schwanghart of the University of Potsdam have uncovered a surprising insight using a global statistical model: The primary factor influencing the formation of submarine canyons is the steepness of the seafloor – not, as commonly assumed, the role of rivers and where they transport sediment into the ocean. Their new study, “Seafloor Slopes Control Submarine Canyon Distribution: A Global Analysis,” has just been published in the scientific journal “Science Advances”.

The Kaiser effect, which is known as a stress memory effect, predicts that seismic events occur only when the previous maximum stress is exceeded. However, the Kaiser effect has only been tested at room temperature in laboratories. Here, we performed deformation experiments on natural olivine at high pressures and high temperatures. We have successfully confirmed a stress memory effect in strongly deformed olivine at high pressures and high temperatures.

Scientists have overcome a challenge that has prevented medical ultrasound imaging from being used in intensive care and emergency room settings, an advancement that could someday lead to improved critical care for patients. 

In a study of 34 children, the volumes of part of the brain known as the basal ganglia differed significantly between children whose parents were pregnant with them during Superstorm Sandy versus children without prenatal Sandy exposure. Donato DeIngeniis of Queens College, City University of New York, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on June 11, 2025.