Microfiber, major problem
Microfibers are getting into our lakes and oceans. With the help of new technology and a little community effort, we may be able to stop them.
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![Women play a central role in agriculture, where pesticide exposure is common. Even without direct occupational contact, proximity to croplands and related activities can increase exposure, with emerging evidence suggesting these chemicals may disrupt hormonal pathways and influence reproductive development in girls. [[File:Role of women in agriculture in Punjab (5712932498).jpg|Role_of_women_in_agriculture_in_Punjab_(5712932498)]]. Source: Public domain via Wikimedia commons](https://i0.wp.com/envirobites.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Role_of_women_in_agriculture_in_Punjab_5712932498.jpg?resize=800%2C445&ssl=1 "Environmental Pesticide Exposure and Reproductive Development: Recent Evidence on Menstruation and Breast Development in Girls")
Leaf Senescence: More Than a Color Show
Leaves change colors during the fall as part of a process called leaf senescence. Why is this process important, and what causes it?
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A weed by any other name would smell as sweet: Unsung pollination heroes
Weeds often get a bad rap, but new research suggests we should think twice before pulling them out of our gardens and farm fields. In fact, they may be even more beneficial than wildflower patches. Read on to learn more about how farmers’ and gardeners’ number one enemy – weeds – could actually be pollinators’ number one ally!
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Resetting the Internal Clock: Adaptable Butterflies’ Response to Climate Warming
As the climate warms, habitats near the poles are becoming increasingly hospitable for many plants, animals, and insects. But it remains uncertain whether species’ range expansions might eventually be hindered by differences in daylength at higher latitudes. Wall brown butterflies are making the journey northwards from Europe in response to climate warming. How do differences in daylength at higher latitudes affect them, and what can they do to survive in these new conditions?
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Fungal Community Changes Amid Salinity and Succession
While we easily observe changes to vegetation in a recovering grassland, the changes below ground are less apparent, but equally important, if not more-so.
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A New Compound Makes Waves for Oil Spill Clean Up
Phase-Selective Organo-WHAT? Scientists are studying complex chemicals called Phase-Selective Organogelators (or PSOGs) to better understand their ability to clean up oil spills. These chemicals create a gel when added, in small quantities, to crude oil. The use of these chemicals could be a game changer when it comes to remediating marine oil spills. It would facilitate the way these disasters are handled, shortening the time it’s left affecting the organisms that live and interact in marine ecosystems
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Into the Brains of Mosquitoes – Finding out how they find us
It’s all fun and games outdoors until mosquitoes crash the party. Female mosquitoes need protein-rich human blood for energy to produce eggs. While an itchy bump follows most bites, some can transfer harmful viruses, like Zika and dengue. Mosquitoes are experts at finding human hosts, and now scientists have discovered how. Mosquito brains may give insights into new strategies to control mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.
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Bridging the gap: Earthworms bring scientists and farmers together to improve soil health
Scientists and farmers have more in common than many people realize, including a desire to improve the health of our soils. By partnering together to study earthworms in farm fields, scientists and farmers are discovering how different agricultural practices impact soil health. Read on to learn more about how earthworms help bridge the gap between scientific research, farm management, and soil health!
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Urban Gardens Provide Stable Nectar Supply for Pollinators
Insect pollinators are in trouble, and many plants on farms or in the wild need them to be able to grow fruits and reproduce. With so much at stake for plants around the world, and the humans who depend on them, how can we stop the decline of insect pollinator populations? Urban gardens may have a role to play in supporting pollinators, especially if we plant flowers that provide a stable supply of nectar, their most important food.
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Matriarch Madness: Mechanism of Social Parasitism and Colony Takeover in Ants
Carpenter ants play an important role in an ecosystem; they break down wood into smaller pieces that will ultimately become part of the soil. But a parasitic ant can rapidly take over and destroy a colony by simply disguising herself through chemical means.
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