Current methods to predict landslides rely primarily on rainfall intensity. Now, a new model combines various water-related factors with machine learning. When applied to more than 600 landslides in California, model identified the conditions that caused 89% of the events.

In the middle of summer, garden vegetables like green beans are proliferating, but so are pests that like to chew and suck on them. Now, a study in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests growing bush basil near bean plants could offer a cost-effective, natural (and tasty!) alternative to chemical repellants. The fragrant herb not only helped the beans develop their own defenses against spider mites but also attracted the pests’ natural enemies.