A new study published in Biochar reveals that biochar, a carbon rich soil amendment widely used to improve soil health and reduce pollution, continues to influence the movement of veterinary antibiotics in farmland soils even after five years in the field. The work shows that biochar’s ability to retain pollutants changes in surprising ways over time, shifting from adsorption driven effects in the first year to soil structure driven mechanisms after long term aging.

New research from the University of Oregon breaks down how chromium converts from a benign form in rocks and soil to a carcinogenic one in the presence of extreme heat during wildfires.

The National Academy of Inventors has named University of Texas at Arlington researcher Muthu B.J. Wijesundara as a 2025 fellow.

The thunder of a rifle echoes across the savannah. Antelope scatter as birds of all feathers take to the air. A dull thud signals that the marksman’s shot was true. The horn from the felled rhino will command more money on the black market than the hunter could otherwise make in a year.

The energy that plants capture from sunlight through photosynthesis provides the source of nearly all of humanity’s food. Yet the process of photosynthesis has inefficiencies that limit crop productivity, especially in a rapidly changing world. A new review by University of Illinois scientists and collaborators reflects on how improving photosynthesis can bring us closer to food security. The review, which was published in Cell, was coauthored by plant biology professors Stephen Long, Amy Marshall-Colon, and Lisa Ainsworth. With chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Diwakar Shukla and colleagues at eight partner institutions, they evaluated biological strategies to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight to sugar in crop plants.

Researchers have developed a device that can precisely control laser light using a fraction of the power and space required today. Because it can be manufactured just like modern microchips, this tiny device could unlock quantum computers capable of solving problems far beyond the reach of today’s technologies.