U.S. is developing lithium mines to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. New study assessed whether U.S. subbasins can support water-intensive lithium mining. Team combined water, climate and socioeconomic models to project water supply and demand between 2040 and 2060. Under every scenario, most western subbasins struggled to meet existing water demands, let alone support additional lithium mining.

A new report from PLOS, “Redefining Publishing: Practical pathways to open science”, sets out a practical roadmap for how scholarly publishing can evolve beyond article-centered and APC-driven models to better support open science. The report points to growing pressure on existing publishing models, underlines the need for coordinated action beyond publishing, and outlines practical pathways to address challenges.

An international research collaboration led by the University of East London will explore how engineering and nature-based coastal defences could better protect vulnerable communities from storm surges, tsunamis and climate-driven flooding. Working with partners in the UK, USA and Japan, the project aims to help shape future engineering standards and policy guidance for coastal infrastructure resilience.

Extreme heat, natural disasters, food insecurity: climate change is known to have serious consequences for human physical health. In many places, scientific findings are being used to develop adaptation strategies and to mitigate the consequences of climate change for human health. But what about mental health? Research in this field is still in its early stages. As a result, climate, health and development policy also lacks strategies for prevention and treatment. To draw attention to this area of research, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) are opening the discussion in an international virtual panel discussion on Tuesday, 9 June.

The UK could raise up to £4.9 billion over five years and significantly improve public health by capping tobacco prices and increasing taxes. 

Research published by the University of Bath Tobacco Control Research Group and the University of Sheffield’s Addictions Research Group, provides the first real-world modelling of a proposed ‘polluter pays’ tobacco levy scheme. 

The study found that the proposed policy, aimed at stopping the tobacco industry from using pricing as a marketing tool, could raise between £1 billion and £4.9 billion over five years, depending on the level of price cap and how quickly it is introduced.  It could also prevent up to 10,000 hospital admissions and save almost 44,000 years of life over a 20-year period.